Don’t get me wrong here, I absolutely love making frequent trips to the parlour and pampering my skin. In fact, I get a clean up done once every month. However, I will never get a facial again – it’s probably after I had a bad experience with one.
Two years ago I visited a well-known parlour in Mumbai. I usually get my eyebrows and manicure done from there. The staff is experienced and I loved visiting them because they use good quality beauty products on my skin and hair. However, there was a new lady who joined them and she suggested that I give their new pomegranate facial a shot.
Since the offer sounded too tempting to turn down, I went ahead with it. All was going well until she started massaging my face. Nope, it wasn’t relaxing one bit. By the end of it, my skin felt stretched and looked tired.
I was told that facials were supposed to clear your skin up and make it look healthy and supple. This session did the exact opposite to my skin. I don’t know if it was the pomegranate mask or the massage, but as soon as I got home, my skin began to itch.
Something even worse happened the next morning, I woke up to face full of breakouts! I used a mild moisturizer to sooth the pain. Luckily, it got better the day after. I even visited the parlour and gave that lady a piece of my mind.
For the longest time I thought she was at fault. I decided to visit another parlour a month after. Got a regular facial done and the same thing happened – itchy and dull skin. I wanted to get to the root of this problem and paid my dermatologist a visit. She pointed out that facials are great for mature skin, and since I have sensitive skin and was under the age of 25, a cleanup would work best for my skin type. The duration of the massage and choice of cleansing packs plays a huge role when choosing between a regular clean up and a facial.
What she said made sense to me. Within 30 minutes of the regular clean up, my skin was free from blackheads, oil and dirt. No fancy masks used, but only mild creams and scrubs to do the trick. My skin was finally able to breathe again!
My skin’s texture felt smooth and my complexion actually improved. I didn’t have to deal with breakouts and haggard looking skin. Apart from getting a clean up done once every month, I also use a cleansing milk product every night before I go to bed. Why you ask? Simply because it keeps my skin nourished, moisturised and healthy *Wink*
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