Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Skincare Tip: Steam Your Face!





Hi! So this post is going to be a bit different - usually my blog is generally more for talking about fashion and beauty rather than giving advice, as I don't claim to be an expert in either.

If you're wondering what I'm on about with 'steam your face' I simply mean using the steam from boiling water to really open up your pores and do a deep clean. You may have heard of this before but I haven't heard very much about it in blogs or on youtube so I thought I'd share it just in case it helps any of you!

I use either Coconut Oil or No 7's Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser for this, the latter being a well known dupe for the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser which everyone raves about. The Liz Earle cleanser is £14 for 100ml and no cloth, whilst the No7 cleanser is £9.95 for 200ml and comes with a muslin cloth.

I have never tried Liz Earle's Cleanser to compare them but I quite like the No7 one, it's lasted me a long time and actually seems to have been discontinued. The one available now is called Beautiful Skin and is probably not much different to mine. It's probably best to use a Hot Cloth Cleanser rather than your usual 'foamy' cleansers as I don't think the consistency of the foamy ones will work for this as it's staying on your skin while you steam it and then you wash it off. 

I used to use the cloth provided and follow the instructions but I've found that I prefer the steaming your face method. As for Coconut Oil, it's amazing stuff and much lighter on the skin than the Hot Cloth Cleanser.



You can use any brand as long as it's virgin and there are a million more things you can do with it - read here for more detail! The brand I have is Real Food Source and was the cheapest one I could find on Amazon in terms of the amount of product you get for your money.

With both methods you're using heat for your deep clean and hot water can damage your skin so please be careful.

All you do is boil some water (I like to make a cup of tea to have when I'm done cleansing) and pour it into the sink - unless of course your hot water tap can go as hot as boiling. Next apply your cleanser to dry skin, get a towel and drape it over your head to trap the steam in so that it focuses on your face. Then just place your face close to the steaming water - but obviously not so close that your skin feels like it's burning!

You should be able to feel it working without it being uncomfortable. Try and steam your face for at least 10 minutes - I know it's a bit dull just standing there for that long, but it's worth it! (Like in the shower, it's a time for deep thoughts - like how I can't wait to have a chocolate biscuit with my tea when I'm done.)

After 10 minutes I add cold water to get the hot water to the right temperature and then wash off my cleanser, which by this point is quite melted. You can use a wash cloth along with the water if you prefer, but just make sure that all of your cleanser is gone.

Next I just splash my face with cold water to close my pores, which is always nice and refreshing after feeling a little hot whilst steaming my face! Then gently pat dry your face.

Your skin will now most likely feel extremely soft and squeaky clean, but try to resist the urge to keep touching it! Finally just follow with your normal moisturiser.

To be honest I don't do this every day - more like twice a week or so (mainly because it makes cleansing take much longer and sometimes you just don't have time) but when I do I love the results, it makes me feel less likely to get the breakouts that are caused by clogged pores/unremoved makeup.

If I do this after already cleansing my face to remove makeup (I use the Garnier Micellar Water for Oily Skin) it feels like I've got rid of every last trace of makeup, and keeping your skin as clean as possible is obviously a great idea for preventing spots. Even if you don't suffer from breakouts it's a great way to give your skin a bit of a boost and make it a bit more radiant.

I hope you found this helpful and if you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to comment!

Sabrina xx

1 comment:

  1. face is very much important part of our body.for face stemming need to choose best facial steamer. very helpful post about best facial steamer any one can get clear knowledge from it.thanks for your information

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