How to Winterize Your Skin

Facials: 101

Guest Blogger: Mina Fatemi

What is a facial?

A facial is one of the best ways to take care of your skin, especially when it’s given by an experienced, knowledgeable Esthetician. Facials clean, exfoliate and nourish the skin, promoting a clear, hydrated complexion, and can help improve and maintain a youthful appearance.

A facial will provide the best results when it is a part of an on-going skincare program, including regular facial treatments as well as at-home care. Facial treatments can include a variety of actions, including cleansing, exfoliation, extractions, facial masks, peels and massage.

Why do people need facials?

• Facials can actually clear your pores. A professional treatment will cleanse your skin in a way that you simply cannot achieve at home.

• If your skin is behaving badly, you’ll find out why. Your skin can and will change over time, this can vary depending on age, weather and even hormones. It is always a good idea to have a licensed Esthetician help you to address those changes, identify the potential reason and to educate you on how to treat those concerns. If you have great skin now, don’t trust that it will last forever. For example, many people suffer from eczema in the winter and will simply blame dryness. Not treating a serious condition such as this can lead to long-term damage!

• You can get extractions done the right way. Don’t lie, we know you do it, but every time you squeeze a pimple you are risking acne scarring and dark marks. Extractions done regularly by an Esthetician will help keep your skin to stay clear. It will also help prevent long-term damage that you might be causing by doing it yourself at home. You may even find that receiving regular facials will eliminate any reason to pop or pick at any blemishes. Facial are an essential step to preventing imperfections.

• Facials are better than a visit to the beauty counter. You know when you go to a department store and someone tells you what to buy based on looking at your skin under fluorescent lights? This is not how you should be purchasing your skincare items. A knowledgeable, licensed Esthetician will provide you with personalized skin recommendations and a regimen that will address your individual concerns. The best way for anyone to make suitable recommendations for your skin is to examine your bare skin after it has been cleansed. Once you’re on the appropriate regimen, your Esthetician should update it seasonally as your skin changes. It’s like having your own skin concierge!

• You’ll find your happy place. Facials are so much more relaxing than any DIY project you try on your skin at home. At Fountains many facials include a mix of high frequency, massage and hot towels, all to maximize the pampering experience. Stress can highly contribute to skin issues; therefore a facial can improve not only breakouts, but it can also give you a reason to take a few deep, cleansing breaths, and relax.

How often should people get facials?

The frequency in which a person receives facials depends on several factors, your skin type, condition, skincare goals, age, even where you live. On average, getting a facial by a professional once a month is ideal for someone who wants to maintain healthy looking skin.

It’s important to remember that the skin is a living organ, and because of that it goes through a type of shedding process. It takes about 30 days for skin cells to move up from the dermis (deeper layers of skin) to the epidermis (surface skin). Once the cells reach the surface, they flatten out, die, and stay right there on the surface of your skin. A facial simulates the exfoliation process, keeping the skin more toned and youthful looking. At a minimum a person should try to have a facial at least four times a year, as the season changes.