DIY Facial

I still love to have beauty night, just as much as I did when I was spending the night at my girlfriends homes as a teenager. A nice facial is a great thing to do for your skin, whether it is at home or at the spa. Back in Knoxville, where I lived most of my life, I had the most wonderful esthetician and have never been able to replace her any better than I could do it myself, so here is what I do:

1. Put my hair back with a headband and wash my face – Using my regular cleanser, and very warm water, wash my face well.

2. Steam – either with a facial steamer or a boiling pot of water over the stove (be careful!!). Sit with your face as close to the steam as is comfortable for you. You can put a towel over your head and let it hang down so you create a mini steam bath for your face. Steam for about 5 minutes.
3. Extractions – I hate this word, but there are no better ones. I use either my favorite extraction tool or the pore vacuum, do NOT use your fingers. You will bruise your skin and make a big mess, and potentially cause infections (bad!).

4. Scrub – I use a scrub to exfoliate my skin.

5. Tone – Use a toner to bring my skin back to its normal pH.

6. Treatment – Use a mask designed to treat your skin problems, whether it be acne, oil, dryness, wrinkles, whatever. If you, like me, battle 2 things (wrinkles and acne here), use one mask one time, and another a different time. You can also use a microdermabrasion kit or a peel. Choose only one treatment per facial though, you don’t want this treatment to hurt. While you are waiting for your mask to do its thing, lie down and put some cucumber slices over your eyes.

7. Toner again.

8. Moisturize! - I use a good moisturizer and eye cream!

If you can find time weekly to do this, your skin will really thank you. And don’t forget to keep it up all week by washing your face and getting all of that makeup off before you go to bed. Nighttime is the time that your skin does battle with the daily stress of living – give it the best opportunity to do what it does naturally. And get plenty of sleep!