Would you set FIRE to your face to look younger? Disturbing flame facials see women set ablaze in pursuit of eternal youth



Chinese salons offering the fire facial, also known as Huǒ Liáo

Claims to stimulate skin and eliminate sagging and wrinkles

Other uses are as a cure for everything from obesity to common cold



Women will always seek out the hottest new beauty treatments in the pursuit of youth. But a new fire facial being performed in Chinese beauty salons means treatments are literally hotter than ever.



Therapists at the salons are offering women the terrifying new treatment - dubbed the flame facial, also known as Huǒ liáo - where open flames are used to stimulate cell regeneration and youthify the complexion.



The therapists apply a towel soaked in alcohol and a so-called 'special elixir' to the skin before setting fire to the area.

Looking hot: A woman undergoes the flame facial in a Chinese beauty salon

Large flames lick up, spreading quickly around the area where the elixir has been applied.



According to the Huffington Post, the treatment 'stimulates the skin and addresses dullness, sagging and wrinkles', while other reports say it can cure everything from obesity to the common cold.

One witness to the treatment posted a picture of what he or she said was his mother having the treatment to Chinese message board tt.mop.



His mother's face is bound in what look like towels and flannels while a thick unguent seems to have been applied to her skin.



The salons say that this is a perfectly safe treatment when performed carefully by a trained therapist and that thanks to the application of the elixir, the skin should be warmed, not burned.



But there are undoubtedly multiple risks involved when bare flames are in use, dangers that many women would rather not confront on a visit to the spa.

Warming up: In a YouTube video of the treatment, therapists apply an elixir to the customers' bodies before setting fire and watching as the flames spread

Katie Noble of medispa Michaeljohn said: 'This treatment looks incredibly dangerous and is obviously a worrying and untested fad that consumers should be incredibly wary of trying for themselves.



'We would always advise anybody who is looking to have any kind of facial or spa treatment to ensure that they only use reputable and safe practioners..



'There are so many tried and tested techniques to combat ageing, but setting your face on fire is a step too far and highly likely to be ineffective anyway.'



Jacob Teitelbaum, author of Real Cause, Real Cure spoke to website Shine about the treatment, saying: 'If you're asking whether I would try this myself, the answer is no.



'While alcohol will help carry whatever is in the elixir into the body, it's not really necessary to light it on fire.

