How to Prep Your Skin for a Facial

Whether you’re a facial veteran or are about to get your first facial ever—knowing how to prepare your skin for your treatment will help extend the life of the facial keeping your face aglow longer.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare for a facial:

–          Know your skin. While our skilled estheticians will let you know the best treatment upon examining your skin, it’s best to already know which areas you’d like to target. For example:  Tone down oily skin, target acne prone areas, focus on lifting, deep cleansing with pore extraction, etc.. Communicate this to your esthetician and your treatment will be specially catered to your needs.

  • No scrubbing. Skip harsh cleansers or facial exfoliants before your treatment. Your facial will consist of exfoliation and most likely pore extraction as well, so leave the dirty work to a trained professional!
  • Save new products for later. Just clean your face following your usual cleansing routine. It’s best not to experiment with new products right before a facial so that your skin can be examined in its “usual” state. Using new products may have adverse reactions on your skin (i.e. over drying, inflammation, etc.), so it’s best to hold off until after your treatment.
  • To steam or not to steam. This is a personal preference that doesn’t positively or negatively affect your treatment. Some like to use a sauna before a facial to relax and open up pores. While this is an option, it’s not necessary since your face will be steamed and cleaned for an hour or more anyway.
  • Remove makeup. While estheticians will remove makeup for you before beginning your facial, you can arrive to the spa 5-10 minutes earlier and remove it yourself to save time. Or just arrive without makeup altogether.

It’s never too early to start getting regular facials for optimum skin health! Shizuka began getting facial treatments in her 20’s and says “facials have helped keep my skin clear and firm throughout the years”. See Shizuka’s related post for tips on how to continually refine your skincare routine: Look Great in Every Decade

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