While it’s possible to have healthy skin with home remedies, there are times when you turn to skincare professionals for that extra help. And the one treatment that most people often opt for is basic facial treatment.
Surely, proper skincare routine like regular wash and use of moisturiser and face masks can help with your complexion but if your skin requires more than that, you’ll need a facial treatment that’s tailored to your skin type.
What are the steps involved in facial treatment?
Every facial treatment begins with a consultation that helps the beautician to determine the right product for your skin type and concerns. Once that’s done, you can sit back and enjoy the facial.
Here are the steps involved during a basic facial:
1. Cleansing & Exfoliation
Your beautician will first clean your face to remove traces of your skincare products and dirt. This will help them to determine the type of mask to be applied to your skin during the latter stages of the facial.
2. Extraction
This is done to clean your clogged pores which can cause blackheads and acne. Depends on your beautician, they may perform the extraction either by hand or using a special extraction tool.
3. Massage
It’s common to get a massage on your face and upper body during a facial treatment as it can help to improve blood circulation.
4. Mask
As the final step of every facial, your beautician will apply a mask that’s tailored for your skin. It can be clay-based to treat oiliness or a hydrating one to combat dryness. Your beautician will conclude the facial by applying moisturiser and a serum.
Why is facial treatment essential for city dwellers?
Our body is sensitive to environmental changes and severe pollution may affect our skin condition.
For city dwellers like you, who are living either in the Klang Valley or other cities in Malaysia, daily exposure to poor air quality can severely affect your skin condition. This may cause dryness, oiliness, acne, and blackheads which changes your skin’s complexion.
Oxidative stress may also affect your skin condition and complexion. Prolonged sun exposure may darken your skin and cause fine lines and wrinkles to appear. Going for a facial treatment may minimise environmental effects on your skin.
As we adapt to the newest norms to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, wearing a face mask while outdoors also increases the chances of acne breakout. For those with sensitive skin, treating maskne (mask-induced acne) with only your routine skincare may not be sufficient.
Luckily, you can improve your skin condition and complexion by going for regular facial treatment at any medically-certified skin specialist like LiV Clinic.
How does a facial treatment benefit you?
Facial treatment is the most basic of all skin cleansing procedure as it works to deep clean the skin, treat skin concerns like acne or wrinkles, and rejuvenate the skin. Additionally, getting a proper facial may help lighten your skin tone. The following are some of the benefits of a facial treatment.
Non-invasive
Compared to facial procedures that require the use of surgical tools, a basic facial treatment doesn’t require the use of any surgical methods, making it a safe procedure for all. This means you don’t have to worry about the use of any surgical tools to improve your skin condition and lighten skin tone.
Affordability
Depends on the type of facial treatment you choose, the basic ones are usually more affordable than those that require the use of special chemical or tools like the chemical peel or micro-needling procedures. They can range between RM80 – RM100 for a single session.
Relaxing procedure
Being pampered by someone else can be very relaxing, especially during a facial treatment. Based on the steps mentioned above, your beautician may massage your face or upper body to make you relax and enjoy the treatment.
5 ways to lighten skin tone
Other than a facial treatment, we’ve curated five ways that can help lighten your skin tone at home.
1. Apply face mask
Several types of face masks can help to lighten your skin tone. Look for the ones containing Vitamin C as the ascorbic acid works to restore the elasticity of your skin and lighten your skin tone.
Masks that contain natural ingredients like aloe vera, honey, or green tea may also help to hydrate your skin, thus maintaining the moisture level in your skin.
2. Use a toner
Thanks to the widespread popularity of a Korean skincare regimen, facial toner made its comeback and is often used after cleansing your face but before applying your moisturiser or serum.
It works to balance the pH level of your skin after using an alkaline product during cleansing. Facial toners also help to get rid of excess oil, dirt, and makeup leftover on your face. It’s one way to prep your skin so that it can absorb all the goodness from your moisturiser or serum.
3. Exfoliate your skin
If monthly visits to the facial treatment seem to be time-consuming, you can consider exfoliating your skin at home with the right product.
Regular exfoliation using a chemical, granular substance, or exfoliation tool will help remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. This can enhance the absorption of your skincare products and improve your skin’s appearance. It can also help to prevent clogged pores, resulting in fewer breakouts.
4. Whitening cream
Before facial treatments became a norm, whitening creams are often the go-to solution to achieve a fair skin complexion. It’s cheap and effective, given that you use it regularly.
However, you need to take precaution while buying these whitening creams. Some may contain hydroquinone which damages the skin, resulting in dryness and premature ageing in the long run.
5. Chemical peel
Similar to the exfoliation process, this procedure requires the use of a chemical solution which is applied to the skin to remove the top layers.
The peeling solution may contain alpha hydroxy acid which works to exfoliate pigmentation and dark skin. Chemical peels are also effective in treating blemishes as the solution can make your skin blister and eventually peel off over time.
These home remedies may be effective on some, but if you have severe skin trouble, it may cause allergic reactions and in some cases, darken your skin tone.
Instead, you can opt to get your facial treatment at any beauty salons or aesthetic clinic in Malaysia. However, bear in mind that beauty salons may not provide you with professional advice compared to a medically-certified aesthetic clinic.
When it comes to getting your skin professionally-treated, it’s best to look for skin specialists who can examine your skin and determine the right product for your skin. That way, you can have an idea of which type of product to buy or avoid while saving some of your money on non-effective products or treatments.
At LiV Clinic, our dermatologists will take the time to listen to your skin problems and analyse the suitability of our treatments before recommending them according to your needs.
