We can just about make time for a lunchtime express mani, the occasional pit-stop blow-dry before a big meeting, and the pre-holiday leg wax but in this time-poor world, the nourishing facial has been relegated to once-in-a-blue-moon pampering. Lost in the swirl of the big-city spin cycle, our skin rarely feels truly, madly, deeply cleansed. No more! Skin Laundry, the Californian beauty bar and skincare brand, has just opened its first treatment room and counter in Liberty, offering high-tech laser and IPL (intense pulsed light) treatments that take just 15 minutes. Launched in 2013, the Skin Laundry founder Yen Reis wanted to offer express services using cutting-edge technologies without demanding of clients that they spend the rest of the day ruddy-faced. Three years later, there are laundries all over the US, Hong Kong and now the first in the UK.

Stepping inside the Cali-themed laidback treatment room, we wiped off our face make-up – eye and lip make-up can remain so that there is no need to reapply – and reclined (wearing safety goggles, of course) onto the plush white bed, keeping our shoes firmly on (it’s that speedy). The treatment is divided into two stages: the first using a YAG laser that doesn’t hurt but feels stinging and smells slightly like burning which is designed to vaporise dirt at the level of the dermis; and the second which is an IPL, a bright flashing red light that evens-out sun damage, fades scarring and destroys acne-causing bacteria. Our facialist finished off with a gentle massaging in of product and we were on our way, with the Skin Laundry Nourishing Cleansing Oil, £24, and Night Renew Treatment, £34, in hand. And we can honestly say that we had just a twinge of redness for a couple of minutes following treatment but that our skin was glowy, squeaky clean and visibly brighter.

It just goes to show that the facial can be fast, effective and worked into the most hectic of schedules and that laundry doesn’t have to be a chore!

A single Laser and Light facial costs £50, a course of three facials costs £140, five facials costs £225 and ten facials costs £400. For more information and to book visit skinlaundry.com.