Woman who spent £4,000 trying to fix her sun damage finds a £49.99 miracle cream cure

A personal trainer who spent more than £4,000 trying to repair her sun-damaged skin finally cured the problem with a £49.99 ‘miracle’ moisturiser.

We all know about the dangers of sun damage and that we’re supposed to wear sun cream to protect us from harmful rays, but often we’re only really aware of how much harm we’ve done to our skin when we can actually see it.

Just ask Harriet Metzger. The self-confessed sun worshiper was left with severely damaged skin after spending years sunbathing on trips abroad when she was growing up.

The 34-year-old from Woodford, Essex says she first noticed the damage to her skin when she was in her late 20s.

“It began with a few small brown patches but it got worse until it covered around 60% of my forehead,” she explains.

“It literally looked like I had smeared mud on my forehead. The brown patches were really dark and very noticeable, even under heavy make-up. It aged my skin by about 10 years, I was very insecure and self-conscious about it.”

Desperate to reduce the effect of the damage, Harriet tried everything to rid her skin of the brown marks including specialist facials, luxury face creams and even a string of clinical treatments, but nothing seemed to work.

And with expensive price tags she soon found herself thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Face creams such as Crème de La Mer, The Brightening Essence Intense, which set her back £220, had no effect.

Neither did the Dermalogica C-12 Pure Bright Serum which left an £86 dent in her bank balance.

After opting for a Skinceuticals Advanced Pigment Corrector (£93.45), which also didn’t work, Harriet underwent her first invasive treatment, a course of Mesotherapy, which cost £1,000 and involved needles being inserted into the epidermal layer of the skin.

And it wasn’t just her bank balance that was taking a hit, as Harriet was forced to endure painful side effects such as bruising, swelling and soreness following the attempts to remove the marks.

A series of expensive monthly facials at a cost of £2,280 also proved fruitless in reducing the appearance of the sun damage.

Harriet had all but given up hope when a local pharmacist recommended over-the-counter moisturiser, CULT51 Night Cream.

Within weeks the brown patches had almost completely vanished, and at just £49.99 it was a fraction of the price she was paying for other remedies.

“I have been promised so much over the years from beauty creams, some of which cost over £200, and I’ve never seen a real difference,” Harriet says. “I never thought a cream would give me these results and I’m so happy that I gave it a go.”

Dr Natalie Blakely, at Light Touch Clinic, said: “Pigmentation can be notoriously difficult to treat.

“Practitioners often have to use machines with downtime or creams that will cause a lot of irritation.

“The fact that Cult51 has achieved these wonderful results without downtime or irritation just highlights how special Cult51 is.”

While the cream has been hugely successful in treating Harriet’s skin pigmentation, it is worth noting that when it comes sun damage prevention is better than cure.

While you might think you don’t need sun cream in chilly February, the Calypso sun care experts are urging people to slap on the sun cream, no matter the weather.

Dr. Shilesh Iyer of New York Dermatology Group said: “Ultraviolet rays that are the cause of sun damage and skin cancer are always present. They are independent of cold or hot weather, and are not blocked by clouds. On overcast days, only visible rays (but not UVB rays) from the sun are blocked. The best way to protect the skin is with sun protection.”

And if you do get to the stage that you’re suffering from skin pigmentation, it’s worth getting some advice from a qualified dermatologist.

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