Women routinely ask us if getting a facial is worth their time and money. Facials are a confusing issue, primarily because of the endless misinformation about exactly what they can do for your skin. In fact, more often than not, women who have gotten facials give us mixed feedback: Some tell us they love how their skin looks, others see no change in their skin, and still others report that they’ve ended up with more problems than they had before they got a facial.cucumbers do nothing for the eye area when having a facial
Hype & Hope
Aside from the hype and nonsense you read in fashion magazines and the pictures you see of women serenely wrapped in a towel with a mask on their face and cucumber slices over their eyes (cucumbers do nothing for the eye area), the reality is facials can be hurtful or helpful, depending on the person who performs your facial, what exactly they are using, and what they are doing to your skin.
Without question, facials are not mandatory for you to have beautiful, healthy skin, but for some skin types, and when done right, facials can be a beautiful addition to your skin-care routine. On the flipside, when done wrong, they are a waste of time and can even damage your skin.
Benefits of a Facial
Many women who’ve had facials report that they get them because it’s a relaxing experience. But, ideally, a facial should be about skin care, not just relaxation. If the relaxing experience is the sole reason you get facials (meaning you don’t see much of a difference in your skin from the experience), then you’re better off getting a full body massage instead. That’s far more relaxing and it doesn’t put your skin at risk. Here is what a great facial can provide over and above a relaxing experience:
- Thoroughly cleansed skin.
- Softening and removal of blackheads and whiteheads (called milia) via manual extraction.
- Temporary improvement of severely dehydrated skin with rich, emollient nourishing masks that begin restoring skin’s natural barrier function.
- Plumping skin with a well-formulated moisturizer, which temporarily smooths out wrinkles.
- Exfoliating skin with a gentle scrub, a light chemical peel, or a peel-off mask to achieve a smoother surface.
- Help to fade brown discolorations, improve skin tone, and significantly reduce wrinkles with a professional-strength AHA or BHA treatment.
In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, a skilled aesthetician will not let you leave without applying a well-formulated sunscreen. The sunscreen should contain only titanium dioxide or zinc oxide as active ingredients to eliminate any risk of irritation, especially given that most women’s skin is more sensitive right after having a facial.
It’s important to keep in mind that what you do daily to take care of your skin is more important than what you do occasionally, but the combination of a great facial and a great skin-care routine can have impressive results.
For most skin types a great facial should include gentle exfoliation with a properly formulated alpha hydroxy acid (AHA, active ingredient is glycolic or lactic acid) or beta hydroxy acid (BHA, active ingredient is salicylic acid) product. These are truly anti-aging, as they effectively reveal younger skin, even out skin tone, and build collagen. (Learn why exfoliation is so important and which method is best for you.) A facial also should include an antioxidant treatment, along with information on why antioxidants are so important for healthy skin. They not only repair damaged skin cells, but also help prevent further damage to the skin.
Your aesthetician also should be able to recommend the appropriate skin-care products for you to use at home, and not hesitate to recommend brands or products the spa doesn’t sell. Of course, if healthy, younger-looking skin is your concern, your aesthetician should, above all else, recommend daily use of a sunscreen rated SPF 25 or greater!
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