No creams. No filters. Just microdroplets of glow, already working before the alarm goes off. She’s not chasing youth — she’s engineering radiance. And at 49, Cat Deeley’s face isn’t just camera-ready. It’s redefining what “fresh” looks like at dawn

Early morning starts are a killer, even when you’re as naturally beautiful as Cat Deeley. Getting up at 5am for This Morning isn’t kind on her face, Cat groans, but she consoles herself with the sure knowledge that even supermodels look drawn at dawn.

‘When I was in LA, I worked with Cindy Crawford, and I said, “Cindy, can we start it earlier, so we can get done?”’ recalls Cat. ‘She said, “We can. The problem is, Cindy Crawford doesn’t turn up until 10 o’clock.” And I know what she means. Your face takes time to settle and get going. So, anything I can do to help I will.’

With her 49th birthday fast approaching, Cat reveals that she’s turned to a new fix that promises to refresh the parts other moisturisers cannot reach. Rather than just relying on creams to bat away the lack of sleep, Cat candidly shares that she’s essentially waking up with her moisturiser already injected in her skin.

The TV presenter has just started having Skinvive, an aesthetic treatment that involves injecting microdroplets of hyaluronic acid (HA) into her face. Unlike volumising HA fillers, Skinvive doesn’t change the shape of the face but is designed to increase moisture, boost glow and stimulate collagen, with hydrating results lasting up to nine months. (Scroll down for our expert lowdown on the treatment.)

Cat, for one, is sold. ‘It definitely took a second [to see the result], but into that first week, I started to notice plumpness and juiciness and general luminosity,’ she says, speaking at a panel event for the brand. ‘And now, first thing in the morning, it’s really good. I’m about four weeks in, and it’s really starting to kick in.’

She adds: ‘It’s just made my skin hydrated. It’s made it feel plump. It’s made it feel radiant, even getting up at five in the morning. It means that makeup goes on better, and it also makes the moisturisers I use even better.’ It’s not a replacement for her regular skincare products, full stop, but she reckons it ‘really elevates them’.

It’s giving her more bare-faced confidence as well. ‘When I’m not in makeup, I can put a bit of shimmer on my cheeks, do a little bit mascara and give myself an eyebrow, then I’m good to go. I don’t scare children. No one runs away screaming!’ she laughs.

She even got a little extra injected in every midlifer’s danger zone. ‘I actually had it done on my neck as well, because I just started to notice that little bit changing,’ she says. ‘Like everyone else, I’m always juggling a million things, so when I’m doing my skincare, I’m probably a bit more slapdash when it comes to my neck. But I had this in my neck, and it’s definitely much, much better.’

The injections don’t seem to cause her undue discomfort (she jokes around with a fellow patient about having her face smothered in numbing cream), and she likes the fact it’s only a twice-annual trip to Dr Joney De Souza’s clinic. ‘I don’t have the time to be in there every week. I don’t want that – I want something that I can go in, do and know it’s going to keep on delivering.’

While she’s happy to be part of today’s more open dialogue about aesthetics, Cat has limits about how far she’d go. ‘I like the term positive ageing. Getting older: that’s a privilege. I really like the person I’m becoming and who I am now. I like feeling comfortable in my own skin.’