Steaming your face is an excellent and most efficient way of deep cleansing your pores. Facial steaming cleans the skin without any difficulty and removes any traces of impurities, makeup, atmospheric dust, dead skin cells, oil and sebum. The vapors that are emitted at the time of steaming will let the pores to open. This paves way for your facial skin to eradicate toxins. Here is a step by step guide to help you arrange facial steaming at home.
Difficulty level
Easy
Time required
15- 20 minutes for normal skin.
10- 15 minutes for sensitive skin.
Resources required
1. Towel to wrap over the head
2. Cleanser to clean the face before steaming
3. A large pot of boiling water
4. Towel to drape over face and head while steaming
5. Lemon slices or any herbs like chamomile or ylang- ylang or peppermint (optional)
Instructions
1. Begin with a clean face. Make sure that you use a mild cleanser to clean the face before starting to steam your face. This process removes all the excess oil and make-up residues from the face.
2. Now, take a big pan full of boiling water.
3. If desired, you can add few lemon slices or even some fresh herbs to make the steaming process more relaxing and soothing. If you have dry or sensitive skin, then you can add ylang-ylang, chamomile or lime to the boiling water. If you have an oily skin, peppermint or lemon slice is an ideal alternative.
4. Now, cover your head with a large towel. Lean forward. Create a tent around the face and the bowl. This is to collect the steam in one area and make the steam to flow only to the face without escaping anywhere.
5. Hold the face over the bowl. Let the steam rise directly on the face. It is vital to stay away from the hot water as it could harm your face or eyes. Boiling water may be dangerous. Hence, you should maintain proper distance between the face and steam. Avoid overexposing your face to prevent scalding.
6. Let the face receive steam for about fifteen to twenty minutes taking occasional breaks, if needed. If you have a sensitive skin, steam your face for ten to fifteen minutes.
7. After steaming, if you wish, you can apply a good fruit face mask to nourish your skin further.
8. Apply a good astringent such as witch hazel to close the facial pores.
9. As the steaming process can sometimes dry out your skin, make sure that you apply a moisturizer after your face is steamed and washed.
10. You can do facial steaming two times a week as it will not damage your skin. Take care not to burn yourself while steaming.
12. If you feel any uneasiness while steaming your face, stop immediately.
13. In case of any injury or wound, seek professional assistance immediately.
Frequently asked questions
1. Question. Do I need to use special equipment for facial steaming?
Answer. You may use an electric steaming pot or vessel. But to keep costs low, you can use only a big pot and boiling water.
2. Question. Can I exfoliate my face after steaming?
Answer. Yes. You can exfoliate your skin mildly after steaming your face. As the steam opens the facial pores, you can easily remove all the impurities by scrubbing the face mildly.
Things to watch out for
1. If you have sensitive skin, do not steam your face more than ten minutes. Avoid any herbs as much as possible.
2. In case of severe acne or other skin ailments, do not perform facial steaming without consulting the doctor.
3. Don’t go close to steam when it is very hot. Let it come in accurate temperature and then you may carry out the process.