I love DIY facials. The ritual of it, the products, the “me” time, it’s all a wonderful way to unwind.
Before you start, make sure you’re organised. Here is what I use.
You’ll need:
- Make up remover. I use a plant based sorboline and a face washer.
- Cleanser. I use Palmers Gentle Daily Cleanser.
- Scrub. I’ll be using a sample of Ocean Salt from Lush.
- A bowl and hand towel to steam you face. You can’t see it in the picture but I will also be using a Lush toner tablet (it is actually in the little dish). Try to get your hands on these, they’re the shiz.
- A face mask. I’ll be using Lush’s Sacred Truth fresh face mask.
- A mask fan brush. Completely optional but highly recommended.
- Cellulose sponges. Also optional but these are cheap and fantastic for removing masks.
- An eye cream. I use Palmer’s Line Smoothing Eye Cream.
- A serum. I use Aesop’s Damascan Rose Facial Treatment Oil.
- A moisturiser. I use Palmer’s Night Renewal Cream.
First step is to remove your make up. The most effective and gentle method for this is either a plant based sorbolene or vegetable oil such as sweet almond, apricot kernel or your own blend. Jojoba is also a great option, though, a little more expensive.
Once you’ve massaged it all over, having concentrated on lips and eyes, you then use a face cloth soaked in hot water and then wrung out to wipe your face clean. I have a stash of these and I use a fresh one daily to prevent pimples.
Follow this by cleansing. I stinker upon Palmer’s Face range early last year when looking for a daily moisturiser with an SPF. I was so impressed with the daily facial moisturiser that I slowly ended up using the whole range. I’m on to my second tube of this cleanser and I really enjoy using it. It’s a cream cleanser with a slight lather that doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight or itchy but clean fresh and plump. Winner. Because we have done a pre-cleanse with the sorbolene, we only need one cleanse. You never want to over cleanse or use a cleanser that is too astringent for your skin type. You’ll end up with more problems than those you were trying to fix. In most cases, women who have very oily skin can curb the problem significantly by using a gentler cleanser. True story.
The next step is exfoliation. There are two kinds of exfoliators that you can use – mechanical, the scrubby ones or chemical, the ones that contain acids that loosen the bonds in your skin and allow the dead cells to slough off. I generally prefer a chemical exfoliant because they are gentler and work better but today I have a sample from Lush of their Ocean Salt exfoliant, one of the scrubby ones but this one also contains lemon juice which or citric acid so it’s the best of both I guess you could say. I also love this scrub for DIY manis but more on that another day!
Now that our face is clean and polished it’s time to steam so that we can get the most out of the ingredients in our mask. I stumbled across an amazingly lovely little product from Lush a few months back…Toner Tablets. These are like bath ballistics for your face and are vitamin enriched. Today I’ve use the “Q” tablet which contains vitamin Q10 which is fantastic for skin, especially mature skin. All you do is drop one in a bowl with a few cups of freshly boiled water, drape a towel over your head and relax while you breathe through your nose slowly and deeply. This is not only a face steam but also an inhalation, excellent for stuffed up sinuses and allergies. Steam for about 5 minutes then pat your face dry and put the bowl aside and reserve the water, we’ll be using this again later.
Now apply your mask. I’m using a Lush fresh mask called the Sacred Truth. This one is designed for mature skin so it’s a lovely, indulgent mask. Here’s what Lush says:
“We all get older and if we’re sensible about it we will appreciate the wisdom we acquire and not look back with regret. However, there’s no point in rushing the process is there? The Sacred Truth is for people facing the facts and accepting the beginnings of their wrinkles, whilst still wanting to make the best of themselves without resorting to extreme (and expensive) measures. Our refreshing, revitalising mask contains massive amounts of fresh food for the face to soften, moisturise and give your skin a boost. It is packed with fresh antioxidant wheatgrass, ginseng and green tea to protect against free radicals while softening rose absolute, moisturising coconut butter and evening primrose oil keep your skin flexible. We recommend that you use it regularly for long term, natural protection. ”
Unfortunately Lush discontinued my favorite fresh mask but this comes in second for me. It’s a great mask for plinking and freshening tired skin.
Now that we have our masks on it’s time to relax. Grab a book, put on a record or do as I do and run yourself a hot bath with something delicious (I’m using a Mrs Whippy bath bomb – strawberry milkshake scented), and soak that day away.
Once you are relaxed and you can feel the mask starting to dry its time to remove it. This is where we use out toner tablet infused water and our cellulose sponges. I love double duty products! By using your infused water you’ve also toned your skin at the same time so now it’s on to serum.
I’m using 3 drops of Aesop Damascan Rose Facial Treatment oil which I also find to be a great boost to tired and dull skin. When I use this I wake up with smooth, soft and plump skin. It’s rather indulgent.
Next is eye cream, a small amount the size of the plastic end of a pin is plenty for both eyes. This is also part of the Palmer’s face range. A very good, basic eye cream that absorbs well and is great under make up.
Finally we apply moisturiser to face and neck. Nothing much to say about this one, only item in the Palmer’s face range that I’m not overly keen on.
Time for bed!
Kisses,
