There are a plethora of strange treatments available to maintain your skin smooth and supple. Marilyn Monroe is said to have kept her face fresh by dipping it into a basin of ice cubes. Alexander Wang claims that he uses the placenta to preserve his skin wrinkle-free. Semen facials are so popular that some beauty bloggers swear by them.
But Madonna’s 59-year-old age-defying performance has to be the strangest of them. She shared a video of herself receiving a facial from her esthetician, who goes by the name Skillets. She employs a filter in the Instagram video that gives her purple hair and a blue ribbon, as well as a comical squeaky voice, but that’s not the strange part.
What’s strange is watching Madonna’s face get massaged with two long-pronged forks, which she claims “tightens the skin.”
“Have you ever stabbed someone with a fork?” she asks, before continuing, “Have you ever tightened your face with a fork? I’ve completed both tasks.”
She doesn’t laugh thereafter, so it’s unclear if it was a joke or not.
In any case, she has a method to her craziness. Kate Garraway, 50, a British TV presenter, admitted to doing the routine herself on Good Morning Britain today, and outlined some of the benefits:
“Microcurrents are present in [the fork she is using]. The theory is that it causes your cells to get slightly agitated, prompting them to fight back by producing more collagen and plumping up your skin. As a result, there’s some science involved.”
Madonna debuted her own skin-care brand, MDNA, in September, with the mineral-rich Skin Chrome Clay Mask as its crown jewel.
When she spoke with Vogue about the new brand, she admitted that skincare has always been a priority for her, even when she was a broke artist in NYC in the late 1970s.
“When I was transitioning from dance to music, I would save up my money and have a facial once every couple of weeks on Seventh Street, sandwiched between all of the punk boutiques.”
Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank, her dermatologist, recently told Marie Claire that her consistency, combined with the fact that she began taking care of herself at a young age, is the real secret to her perfect skin.
“It’s not the once-in-a-while pampering that leads to beautiful aging; it’s the daily religious care you give your skin,” Frank explained.
It’s not too late to start washing your face, applying moisturizer, wearing sunscreen and getting regular facials if you haven’t done so already.
