Facial steps

No woman can ever say no to a good hour of facial and spa time! The multistep facial treatment cleanses up your skin, stimulates skin cells, hydrates and nourishes it thus giving you younger looking, radiant skin. The fact that it relieves stress and makes skin glow like a bulb is just amazing. Isn’t it?

The feeling of getting pampered at a salon and coming back home with soft, flushed skin is unbeatable. As much as we love the two whole hours of getting the royal treatment and bid our bad skin goodbye at a salon, we don’t always get time to get a facial due to hectic schedules and constant hassling around. Now while you may not be able to enjoy the heavenly spa and facial time very often, your skin does need the pampering to keep its glow and health maintained. The good news however is, you can totally do facial at home and get the exact same results. All you have to do is go step-by-step and do it right. And we are going to show you how.

So get ready, pull your hair away from face and throw it in a headband. Read and follow these 7 simple and easy facial steps to pull off a salon-like facial at home and get the envious glowing skin you’ve been longing for.

• Step 1: Cleanse well
• Step 2: Exfoliate
• Step 3: Massage your face
• Step 4: Take steam
• Step 5: Mask it
• Step 6: Get toning
• Step 7: Moisturise obviously

Step 1: Cleanse well

First and foremost, start with a clean canvas. It is really important to cleanse your face thoroughly to remove any dirt, makeup or product build-up before you start with your facial. Wipe off any makeup residue from the face using cleansing wipes. Then use an oil-based cleanser or any facial oil like coconut oil or olive oil and gently clean your skin surface. It will help get rid of every ounce of dirt and give you a clean slate to work on. Lastly, use a mild foam cleanser like Dove Beauty Moisture Conditioning Facial Cleanser on your face and wash off with lukewarm water.

 

Step 2: Exfoliate

The second step is to exfoliate. Exfoliating skin with a mild scrub helps remove dead skin cells, polish the skin and making it brighter. Take a pea-sized amount of your face scrub and rub it gently onto face and neck in a circular motion. If you are blessed with oily skin, use St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask. For dry skin, we recommend St. Ives Energizing Coconut & Coffee Scrub. Splash the scrub off with lukewarm water.

BB Pro tip: Scrub essentially on the nose and chin area to deep cleanse and get all the blackheads and impurities out from the skin.

 

Step 3: Massage your face

No facial is complete without a facial massage and, let’s be honest, this is the most fun part of the treatment. This step is essential to increase blood circulation and improve muscle tones, which keeps skin firm and bright. Dampen your palms and take a small amount of face massage cream. Start with the middle of your forehead and work towards temples. Then massage along the sides of your nose and cheeks. Lastly massage lips, chin and jawline. Don’t forget to massage the neck. Use your fingers and massage in an upward direction working towards the chin. Wash your face with water after good 10 minutes of massage time.

BB Pro Tip: Use both hands and give yourself a facial massage with the help of your fingertips, moving them in an upward, outward circular motion, never down. The upward motion would help to lift up the skin and firming it while downward can result in saggy skin.

 

Step 4: Take steam

Time for some pore cleaning! After exfoliating and massaging, next comes the steam. It helps the pores to open and makes skin absorbent for the products to follow. Heat is also good for the skin as it makes skin relaxed and moist. This step does wonders for oily and acne-prone skin. Boil water in a pot and take it off the stove. Lean over it and take steam for 5-10 minutes. Cover your head with a towel and to make sure the heat is trapped and skin gets the steam. Take the towel off every now and then if you need air.

BB Pro Tip: Add aromatic essential oils like lavender oil or rose oil to the water for the salon-like experience. You can also put green tea or rosemary for extra skin benefits and aromatherapy treatment.

 

Step 5: Mask it

After steaming, your skin needs something nourishing and moisturising. Face masks get all the impurities out and give its radiance back. Grab your favourite face mask and enjoy some relaxed time while your skin relaxes as well. We suggest Lakmé Strawberry Blush & Glow Mask that suits every skin types and gives glowing, rejuvenated skin.

You can also DIY a face mask according to your skin type and requirement using natural ingredients from your kitchen. For example, facial for oily skin, prepare a face mask with oatmeal and avocado or for dry skin, blend banana and honey. Just put chilled cucumber slices on your eyes and leave the face mask for 15 minutes before washing it off.

 

Step 6: Get toning

An essential part of your CTM routine, toning is also very important in facial. Now that your skin has absorbed the nutrients and goodness of face mask, toner would help to close and clean the pores. It also restores the balance of the skin and is essentially beneficial for acne-prone skin as it doesn’t let the dirt settle in on the skin. Take a cotton pad and pour a small amount of toner such as Lakmé Absolute Pore Fix Toner. It shrinks and tightens pores that were opened during the steam and leaves skin clean and bright. Gently move the cotton pad all over the face and let it dry.

 

Step 7: Moisturise obviously

Wrap up your 7-step home facial with a soothing moisturiser. Cleansing and steam dries out the skin in the process and thus the facial needs to end with moisturising skin. This last step hydrates the skin and helps to retain and sealing in the moisture it lost. Make sure your hands are clean. Get a lightweight moisturiser such as Lakmé Peach Milk Soft Creme Moisturizer and apply it all over your face using your fingertips. Gently massage the cream onto face and neck and let it absorb in the skin. If you’re performing the facial at night, finish with applying eye cream to nourish the under eye area.

Here is a short and quick night time home facial tutorial to get glowing skin in simple steps. Take a look…