Kristina Rihanoff may have stepped away from the glitz and glamour of Strictly Come Dancing after eight years on our TV screen, but she continues to focus on her health and wellness as a business owner in her own yoga studio.
The professional dancer admitted that while she may appear flawless as she attends dancing competitions with her daughter Mila and leads classes at Soo Yoga, she suffers from the same "insecurities" as everyone else.
© The Door W4"When I turned 45 I sort of thought, 'Oh, wow.' Life goes in the first lane when you're a mum and a business owner. It made me stop and reflect and I said to myself, 'Actually, I feel like I have looked after Mila, my family, my business, but not after me.
"Some of my old Strictly pictures came up and there was a picture of me eight years ago. And I look absolutely different from what I look like now.
© The Door W4"Of course, I was in my prime. Of course, I looked my best. But what can I do now?
"It's not about looking young, I'm not thinking I need to look 10 years younger. I understand it's actually a privilege to get old because you're still here and you're still with your family," she explained.
Determined not to settle for a "quick fix", Kristina underwent an anti-ageing transformation at the Door W4 over a period of six months. She sat down with HELLO! to discuss her results from hyaluronic acid filler, new teeth transformation and more.
Facial treatments
© The Door W4"I was really nervous," she explained as she recalled her first consultation. However, she was immediately reassured by the professionals at the Door W4, stating: "There were women of my age who understood how I felt."
They explained their treatment plan was about gradually giving your skin a fresh, plumped look, starting with the AgeJET Plasma Skin Therapy treatment from Dr. Julia Coelho. The non-surgical rejuvenation treatment uses nitrogen-based plasma to cause thermal injury to a slightly deeper level of the skin, destroying the older skin cells whilst leaving the top layer intact.
© The Door W4"They've done that for me three times, which has really rejuvenated my skin. With age, you kind of notice a bit of saggy skin around the eyes. The tightening of the skin actually solves that problem now," Kristina said, adding that it achieved the results she wanted without resorting to more invasive treatments such as an eyelid lift, also known as upper blepharoplasty.
"Then they did hyaluronic acid injections, which is sort of plumping the skin," she said, describing HArmonyCa and Profhilo. The former is a dual-effect injectable treatment that combines hyaluronic acid and calcium hydroxyapatite, while the latter helps further boost hydration and improve skin elasticity by stimulating collagen production.
© The Door W4"At the end, they did a little Botox, literally just the forehead and around the eyes. I said, 'I don't really like the frozen look, I don't really like to do fillers.'"
Teeth transformation
Doctor Julia also suggested that Kristina made a little tweak to her teeth, which had become chipped from grinding her teeth at night – a symptom of stress.
© The Door W4Discussing her difficult few years, the Russian professional ballroom dancer explained: "I started grinding my teeth during the lockdown due to stress, and it got so bad that I had a horrific headache at night.
"I couldn't sleep anymore and I had Botox [injected] into the jaw, into the muscle because it was just so bad," she said, adding the relief from jaw pains and resulting migraines was temporary.
© GettyThe problem returned following her former Strictly dance partner Robin Windsor's death in February 2024, which saw Kristina pause her treatment plan while she grieved. "I was just not in the right state of mind to do anything at all," she said.
"When Robin passed away in February, that severely affected my whole well-being, I couldn't sleep for months. I was crying every day, crying every night," she emotionally recalled.
"The stress and grinding came back quite badly, so it damaged the teeth - one front tooth was kind of chipped."
Despite initially feeling hesitant to have composite restoration , Kristina trusted the medical experts to even out her front teeth and was delighted with the results. She gushed: "It makes a huge difference to your appearance.
"In my day-to-day life, because I have my own yoga and dance studios and I have tonnes of people come in day in and day out, it just makes me so confident."
© The Door W4She added: "I'm a true believer now that if you really kind of keen to keep that freshness and that's sort of youthful, not younger, but just the youthful skin appearance."
Fine lines were never a concern for Kristina, who said that from the age of 20, she thought the neck was the most important part of the body to focus on anti-ageing.
"I think that's when I start doing all these lip treatments and tightening facials. I was always like, 'You've got to do my neck.'
"You can have Botox in your face, but if your skin is really wrinkly and old around your chest line, I think gives away your age more than anything."
Strictly insecurities
© Tony WoolliscroftAfter appearing on the BBC dancing competition for eight years, Kristina developed a "thick skin" and learnt to ignore the negative comments she received about her appearance.
"You can get 100 compliments, but for every nice comment, you get double the trolls saying something horrible about the way you look. All of us girls had a fair share of them on Strictly," she began.
Despite saying she was "very vulnerable" and "very insecure", she developed a great mindset about dealing with the negativity.
"I understand that if people are horrible on your social media, it's because they are deeply insecure and deeply unhappy themselves. It has nothing to do with me. It's to do with the way they are, so I have a better attitude," she continued.
© Rui Vieira - PA ImagesIt's this kind of attitude that she is passing down to her eight-year-old daughter she shares with her fiancé Ben Cohen, whom she met on Strictly. Mila is taking after her mother and has become a "very serious dance competitor" who understands that "you do need to present yourself a certain way."
The doting mother explained she's happy to support her daughter's passion and encourage confidence. "The older she gets, she is much more kind of into her outfits and certain hairstyles. She's a very girly girl, full-on into that whole world of dancing.
© Instagram"But to me, the most important thing is not to raise her with those insecurities I had. It all comes from a place of unconditional love and making her feel that security from a very young age.
"In a world of competitive dancing, whatever the result, there is no condition. There is always unconditional love for her, and I think that's what brings her up as a confident girl."
Wellness secrets
While Kristina has fond memories of Strictly, she does not regret her decision to step away from the limelight and pursue a career in wellness.
"Post Strictly, I decided to close the door more or less on the limelight and show business and went into the world of yoga and wellbeing, because that's where I was always happiest," she said of her "fulfilling" job at Soo Yoga. "I've been practising yoga for two years now, I teach other people to qualify them to be yoga teachers. I gave myself a different world to be in which is actually much kinder."
Shining a spotlight on the importance of prioritising your physical well-being, she said: "What's really sad, is that with the economy being so difficult, the first thing people do is they cancel their gym or yoga studio membership saying, 'Oh, it's lovely but I can't do that anymore.'
© Instagram"And it's very sad that in our society we see going to yoga class once a week for yourself, for your mental and physical health, perceived as a luxury, that should be the number one priority.
"Even if you can't go to a gym there's so much now [available] on YouTube or on different platforms completely free. If you don't look after you, who will? Look after who will be looking after your kids when you're not here."
Aside from yoga and her recent treatments, Kristina revealed her beauty secrets are very simple – drinking plenty of water, taking collagen supplements, and keeping on top of vitamins.
Sharing her advice for other women in their 40s who are feeling insecure, she said: "First of all, it is OK to feel insecure, to feel a little bit unsure about how you look, how you feel at that age and ongoing. So that big milestone of ageing.
"My yoga background helps me to appreciate that and say, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm so lucky to be healthy to be here.'
"It's a wonderful time, let's embrace it because we're here with our families. We are with our kids and it's a privilege. But if you want to do a little bit for yourself, for your skin and wrinkles, there are so many wonderful treatments now, which are not a quick fix. It's not always just about the Botox."
Not only has she received compliments from friends, family and makeup artists about her rejuvenated appearance, but her fiancé has also noticed she looks "really good."
"I never hide my age. I'm actually quite proud of the way I look, I think I look good for my age," she concluded.
READ: I'm 42 and I tried The Ordinary’s TikTok skincare hack - here's my honest opinion
