How to Give Yourself a Spa-Quality Facial at Home

While many of us are stuck indoors again for the foreseeable future, treating yourself to a facial may seem impossible at the moment. Not so fast! It’s more important than ever to take care of our physical and mental health, and carving out time for regular relaxation and self-care is one of the best ways to do just that. Try spending a few extra minutes on your skincare routine, and give yourself this esthetician-approved at home facial with a relaxing facial massage:

Setting the Scene

We all know that when we rush through something, we never enjoy the full benefits. Whether you choose to give your skin a little extra love in the morning or afternoon, ‘setting the mood’ can make it more relaxing and enjoyable. I think that’s where the old adage, “if you’re going to do something, do it right” comes into play.  When making the time to give yourself a facial, take the time to have your products out and ready for application; maybe light a favorite scented candle and make sure to have some ‘alone time’ – that is, if you have kids at home, have your significant other take over so you can enjoy the benefits of your relaxing facial.

Cleanse and Steam

Now that you have set the mood and have everything ready, begin your DIY facial by cleansing your skin. Cleansing your skin is an important step that has many benefits. If you're not cleansing your skin regularly, you may notice clogged and enlarged pores, redness and inflammation, or even that your skincare products aren't working as well as you'd like. Here's how to properly cleanse your skin before in a DIY facial:

If you are wearing eye make-up, gently remove it with make-up remover on a cotton pad, or a cleansing balm and warm, clean wash cloth. Next, steam your face to open your pores. You can perform this at home in a couple of different ways, outlined below:

• Option 1: Fill your sink with hot water, drape a clean towel over your head, and lean over the basin, allowing steam to rise onto your face. For added relaxation, add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the hot water and take a few deep breaths while steaming your face.

• Option 2: Add few drops of lavender essential oil to a sink full of warm to very warm water, then soak a clean wash cloth in the water. Wring out the wash cloth and use it as a compress over your face, while applying gentle pressure. Make sure the water is a comfortable temperature before applying the cloth to face!

• Option 3: If you have an at-home facial steamer, feel free to use this.

Using high priority CANNABIS (hemp) CLEANSING FOAM, cleanse your face concentrating on T-zone, any troublesome areas or areas that still have make-up residue. Rinse with warm water, and repeat. This second cleanse is an important step, as the first cleanse will remove make-up and impurities while the second cleanse will allow the ingredients to penetrate your pores. Finish by rinsing with warm water.

Exfoliate Your Skin

Now it is time to exfoliate! Just like the second cleanse, exfoliation is an essential step in everyone’s skin care routine – especially if you deal with clogged pores and acne. Exfoliating your skin each week has countless benefits including allowing bacteria-killing oxygen to enter your pores, lifting away dead skin cells to allow the ingredients in your skincare products to reach living skin cells, and more.

All skin types will benefit from using our high maintenance CANNABIS (hemp seed oil) PEELING MASK. This gommage-style peel exfoliates, stimulating cellular renewal without causing damage or trauma to the skin or its protective barrier.
Apply it to damp skin and gently massage with a circular motion for several minutes to remove impurities and dull skin. You'll begin to notice the product 'balling up' along with your dead skin cells, though if this doesn't happen rest assured your skin is still being exfoliated. When it feels like no more is coming off, rinse off the excess product with warm water and a wash cloth to reveal beautiful, baby-soft skin!

Facial Massage

Can you think of anything better than a facial massage? Not only is it relaxing, giving yourself a facial massage has several benefits including:

1. Relaxing the facial muscles
2. Moving excess fluid out through your lymph nodes
3. Promoting circulation and blood flow for healthy skin
4. Helping to relieve jaw tension and pain
5. Relieving sinus pressure which can cause facial pain and puffy eyes.

Before starting your facial massage, add several drops of a nourishing and repairing facial oil onto the palms of one hand. Since you just exfoliated, these nutrients will absorb into the deeper layers of your skin. We recommend high expectations CANNABIS (hemp seed oil) FACIAL OIL.

Cup both hands together to warm the oil, then apply the oil to your face, neck and décolleté. Using both hands and a medium-to-firm pressure, begin your facial massage at your neck and décolleté, working your way up to your forehead. Make sure to use upward strokes, taking your time to address facial muscles and areas of your face that hold extra tension, like the jaw, as shown in the image below. Complete this 3 to 4 times for best results.

Don’t forget your eye area! This delicate area holds tension from long hours at the computer, scrolling through social media or squinting because we left our sunglasses at home! Using either a little extra facial oil or high eye-Q CANNABIS (hemp seed oil) EYE GEL, circle around the eye area starting at the brow bone.  Circle the eyes 3-4 times. When completed, move back to the brow and starting with the inner brow, pinch along the brow from the inner corner to outer corner.  Do this several times. Remember, this is a delicate area. Use firm pressure, but do not tug the skin. If need be, add a little extra oil or eye gel to give you the proper gliding motion. End your eye massage by cupping your hands over your eyes and taking a few deep breaths. If you have used a facial oil to massage your eye area, remove any extra product, and apply your eye cream to the eye area, patting the area lightly with your ring fingers. 

Moisturize

Last, but definitely not least, it is time to moisturize! Using about a nickel-sized amount of a nutrient-rich moisturizer (we recommend high five CANNABIS (hemp seed oil) FACIAL MOISTURIZER for all skin types) apply to face, neck and decollete. This nutrient-dense moisturizer has many benefits for all skin types, including calming inflammation and replenishing the skin’s protective barrier to seal in all the powerful ingredients you just applied to your skin!

There you have it – your esthetician-approved at-home facial! I hope you take a little time for yourself this holiday season, and enjoy this relaxing treat. If you have any skin-related questions, visit our FAQs or learn about The Science behind High. Additionally, feel free to send me an email directly at joanne@highbeauty.com.