BRIGHTENING UP

Strange, but at every gathering I’ve been to in the past few months, the conversation has turned to teeth. Whether it is a friend who has trouble with her hypoplastic (unusually weak) ones, another considering Invisalign (invisible moulded) braces, or a third anticipating her first visit to a dental hygienist, getting a mouth makeover seems to be a priority.

Personally, I’ve always had an obsession with teeth, opting for a veneer when I was 20 to correct a lone snaggle tooth, then getting the full metal train-track apparatus when the results weren’t adequate. Back then, I was something of an anomaly; these days, the consequence of a struggling NHS dental service is a private cosmetic-dentistry market with a captive audience.

In central London, it seems that on almost every high street there is someone ready to provide a Simon Cowell smile. After the nail bar and the blow-dry, the world of fast beauty now includes the dental bar, which offers walk-in hygiene services. At Toothplace, in the City (020 7929 1462), a classic clean and polish costs £50 and takes half an hour; and the £80 high-gloss diamond polish is so effective at removing the stains of coffee and red wine, it is almost as good as having your teeth whitened. Then there are tooth spas, such as Dr Uchenna Okoye’s London Smiling clinics (londonsmiling.com), where you walk into a room scented with candles, are greeted with camomile tea and can watch an episode of your favourite sitcom through DVD goggles to distract you during a filling or root-canal work. Surely that’s enough to convince everyone not to neglect their teeth.

Lust of the week

What’s great about Kéraskin, the salon-only skincare line from the same L’Oréal stable as the luxury haircare brand Kérastase, are its decadent textures and instant results. The Huile Nudité (£40) is a fine cleansing oil that glides over skin, dissolving even waterproof mascara. There is also a professional-strength range, including ionic patches to zap dark spots and a concentrated peeling gel, that’s available only as part of a salon treatment.

So it’s worth booking in for a facial to get the full impact.Skin Ritual, £150 for90 minutes, at Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa; richardward.co.uk

Take 3

POST HAIR-REMOVAL CREAMS

Lumps, bumps, ingrown hairs - you can stop the unsightly effects of hair removal by using the right product afterwards.

- Rich in antiseptic tea tree, which prevents newly waxed pores becoming irritated, with fruit acids to exfoliate skin gently. Arezoo Ingrown Hair Cream, £15; 020 7584 6868

- A melon-scented, aloe vera-based lotion that calms itchy razor rash, it also contains exfoliating glycolic acid. UR After Shave Anti Bump Lotion, £7; beautique.com

- Exfoliating willow-bark extract keeps pins silky. We’re waiting to see if the secret ingredient actually slows regrowth. Bliss Get Out of Hair!, £27; 0808 100 4151

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