Facial cleansing is considered the most demanded salon procedure. But can it be done at home?
Alla Melnikova advises the cosmetologist of the beauty salon “BAG” in St. Petersburg.
Of course, it is best if the facial cleansing is carried out by a professional beautician. But many do not have time for regular visits to a beauty salon. In this case, the procedure can be carried out independently.
First you need to wipe your face with a cleansing lotion or milk. Then you should do peeling, which, as a rule, is carried out with the help of scrubs. After applying them, the skin becomes smooth and soft. Peeling has only one contraindication: scrubs cannot be used to clean inflamed skin with pustular rashes – this will only increase the risk of infection of nearby skin areas. The scrub should be applied to damp skin and rubbed with gentle circular movements over the face. Everything must be done very carefully. In time, the procedure should take at least one, but not more than three minutes.
In addition to scrubs, there are other cleansing masks. These are films that are applied to the face, harden and peel off in a single layer, resembling a second skin. It is also a very effective technique for removing the dead layer of horny cells along with particulate dust, dirt and excess sebum. After exfoliation, the skin becomes smooth and silky.
It’s time to start your steam bath. It is very simple to prepare it: you need to boil at least two liters of water and pour them into a large saucepan. You can steam your face with simple boiling water, but it is better to prepare a decoction of medicinal herbs.
For people with oily skin, chamomile and horsetail are ideal for their anti-inflammatory properties. For those with dry and sensitive skin, it is better to opt for rosemary, yarrow or wormwood. They perfectly relieve irritation and peeling, and also improve blood microcirculation.
After the broth is ready, you should start steaming. The head should be tilted over the boiling water and covered with a large terry towel. It should be in close contact with the edges of the pan so that the steam does not escape and does not cool. The procedure itself takes about 10-15 minutes. Within two minutes after its onset, the skin begins to sweat a lot. The moisture that has come out must be gently blotted with a clean towel, but in no case should you rub your face with it – the skin is injured and red spots appear on it.
After a steam bath, the skin begins to “breathe” due to the opened pores.
It’s time to start cleansing your face. But before that, you need to properly prepare your hands. They must be washed with soap and alcohol. If this is not done, then an infection can be introduced, and then a banal purulent pimple will appear at the site of the removed eel. To prevent this from happening, all manipulations must be carried out with clean and dry hands. Better yet, wrap your fingers with a sterile bandage soaked in a 1% salicylic acid solution. This makes cleansing your face more convenient and safer. Greasy and mud plugs are removed by light pressure from both sides.
You can independently carry out not only mechanical, but also vacuum cleaning. To do this, you need to stock up on one of the special cosmetic devices
designed specifically for home use. These include the French Gezatone, Panasonic and Sinomax. All of them are equipped with a special vacuum nozzle in which negative pressure is created. That is, the device works on the principle of a vacuum cleaner – it simply pulls out the sebaceous plugs from the pores. The attachment should be driven over the skin in a circular motion starting from the central part of the face. This should be done no more than ten minutes.
After finishing cleaning it is necessary to narrow the pores, “close” them. This effect is given by alcohol-containing lotions. If they are not at hand, then any acidic solution – lemon or vinegar – will cope with this task . They need to thoroughly wipe their face, paying special attention to the so-called T-zone – forehead, nose and chin. After that, you do not need to wipe the skin, it should dry itself.