With the increasing popularity of medical aesthetic treatments and invasive beauty options, facials are seen as unnecessary or ineffective. But regularly visiting a facial therapist should be part of a healthy, glowing skin regimen. Let’s put some facial myths to bed and check out some tips in this article.

Facials Are Not Fast Fixes

People, even some aestheticians who are not as well trained, often compare facial treatments to medical aesthetic treatments, but they are not in the same league. Facials are more preventative than curative. Visiting your aesthetician is comparable to visiting your dentist. When you go to the dentist to clean your teeth, he/she check the health of your teeth and gums, as well as removing the buildup of plaque. This is similar to visiting your spa to have your skin checked, cleaned, and blackheads removed. Brushing your teeth at home is similar to your home care maintenance. You should fix regular appointments with your facial therapist to keep your skin healthy and free of toxins.

Leave The Blackheads to The Professionals

Removal of blackheads should be done by professional aestheticians with specific techniques. Extracting blackheads yourself or by someone who is not well trained, can cause skin irritation or worse, scarring. Some professionals do not recommend extractions, instead, they use professional products and massage techniques to loosen blackheads and remove them without pain or injury to your skin. Regular exfoliation at home with the right products can further reduce blackhead buildup.

Facials Are Done by Others is More Effective Than Doing It Yourself
Although there are some facial massages you can carry out on your own, getting a professional facial can surprise your brain and you can get better results. When you massage yourself, your brain knows what you are doing to do and there is no more surprise. The better the massage, the more radiant your skin look, and the better the draining effects on your skin.

Schedule A Facial Once Every Four Weeks

Your skin regenerates every 28 days, and given the amount of time it takes for new cells to generate and rise to the surface, facials that are too often can be detrimental to your skin. By timing your facials with the skin cell renewal, your aesthetician can check on your skin and make sure your skin improvement is on track. That being said, if you have acne skin, or are getting your skin treated for hyperpigmentation, your facials should be scheduled more frequently than once every four weeks.  

Your Skin Goes Through Recovery Stages After Facials

Many facial therapists do not explain a skin's recovery process to their customers, often with the fear of not having their customers return for their next facial. This often leads to customers having unrealistic expectations for their facials and mistakenly perceive symptoms such as pimples as a facial gone bad. In fact, these are the results of a professional facial:

Immediately After

Skin will glow from booster circulation and drained toxins. The skin may look inflamed from vigorous extractions.

48 to 72 hours
The skin feels hydrated. You may have some breakouts as your skin continues to purge impurities. Your skin could still be healing from vigorous extractions (we do not advocate vigorous extractions). New cells continue to regenerate and your skin will reap the long-term benefits of a facial after the third week.

It’s Expensive Doesn’t Mean It’s Good, But If It’s Cheap, It’s Definitely Bad

When choosing an aesthetician, choose one that makes you feel like she is an expert rather than she is in it for the money in your purse. She should never make you feel like she is pushing you products and treatment packages, it should always be a recommendation that is for your best interest. Just because the facial is expensive does not mean it is good. Evaluate her level of professional knowledge and the products the spa uses for professional treatments and sales. Private label products are not better, in fact, they tend to be cheaper formulations set at higher prices to be perceived as ‘better products’. Cheap facials, on the other hand, are definitely bad. By charging low prices, the aesthetician is not able to use good quality, effective products for the facial on you and still maintain a good margin for her spa. In other words, you pay for what you get.