An esthetician's guide to getting the best facial.

Think about the results we ideally want from a facial. What are some words that come to mind? Clear skin, healthy skin, glowing face, soft skin? All of these are things that come to mind for me when I think about regular facial visits to your trusted esthetician. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we hope to leave a facial feeling amazing about our renewed skin. Unfortunately, a positive facial experience isn’t something that happens for everyone; sometimes you can leave a facial feeling bummed that your skin didn’t get the care/treatment you had wanted or hoped for. I’m giving you my best tips and esthetician info for getting the best facial possible and finding an esthetician that can be your teammate for achieving better skin!

An estheticians guide to understanding toner.

As an esthetician, I’ll sometimes meet clients who are bypassing the toning step in their skincare routine at home. A few reasons I’ve found why people are skipping a toner at home are that they see it as an unnecessary step, they are not sure when or what kind to use, or they’ve had a bad experience with a toner product. When used correctly, using a daily toner is really beneficial to your skin’s health and also your skincare routine

What is a back facial?

Tips to fighting new congestion from facial masks. (maskne)

PPE like facial coverings and masks are a new part of life! Masks have shown to be essential for our health and to slow the spread of coronavirus so we want to make them a habit now that we are starting to slowly resume social activities and work. For many of us, our skin is being affected by wearing facial masks for long hours every day. With many clients, and even myself I am seeing more impacted congestion and breakouts around the mouth, chin, and nose area. But don’t ditch the facial protection just to save your skin! I have both home skincare tips and facial treatment suggestions that will help clear breakouts and fight future congestion.

Quiz! Test your gua sha knowledge.

Celebrating 10 years as an esthetician with skincare words of wisdom.

Spring 2020 marks ten years of working as an esthetician for me! In January 2010 I graduated from the Aveda Institute in Chicago, took my Illinois state board test shortly after, and scored an “esthetician in training” gig at a local spa. I have to admit, after graduating from esthetics school and passing my big test I thought I was a skincare pro. While I had the knowledge, I would learn over the years that experience with a wide variety of people, skin types, conditions, products, and treatments is what gives the most valuable skincare wisdom.

Relaxation & meditation tools.

Commit fully to your relaxation/meditation exercise and see it through from start to finish. The process may feel challenging or frustrating at times but I’ve always found that just that act of committing to & completing something from start to finish gives me a boost of good energy.

Esthetician recommended facial tools!

Now that you’ve used my previous blog post to optimize your at-home skincare I think you’re ready to amp up your routine even more. I’ve made a list of facial treatment tools you can use at home to increase the results you desire from your home care and make you feel like you’ve really brought the esthetics room into your own house! These items are listed in the order I would use them as an esthetician in the treatment room. For example, I started with the steamer for pore cleansing and ended the list with cooling globes that would finish off the treatment. This should give you a better idea of how to add these tools to your skincare routine at home.

Tips for optimizing your at-home skincare routine.

Current global situations have us all spending a lot more time at home for the month of March. Doing things that are both relaxing and productive seems like the best way to stay sane and contribute to our overall wellness. I think a great way to do that is to dedicate some extra time to make your at-home skincare routine the best it can be! I’m breaking this blog post up into sections depending on skin type so I can really get specific on what types of products are best for you specifically. Let’s get started!

Help your hands: Tips to healing and preventing dry, chapped skin from frequent washing.

Today, with the new COVID-19 pandemic I thought it would be a great time to republish this blog all about how to best take care of the skin on your hands. I focused on why our hands can get off-balance from a lot of washing and my best tips to keep the skin soft and healthy.

Why I'm into buccal facial massage.

I am obsessed with lifting massages so after talking about this different type of facial massage I went straight to investigating more. Buccal massage is the formal name for this type of technique where the inner and outer parts of the face are worked with. Buccal Facial treatments help lift and smooth facial muscles and tissue, I’m all in!

What's Rolfing? Can it make you look & feel younger?

A few months ago this awesome woman named Katy visited my studio for a facial. As we chatted I learned she had recently moved here from Colorado where she received her certification in Rolfing. I was a little familiar with this form of tissue & fascia manipulation but was interested to learn more from a trained professional. The extent of what I knew about this wellness practice is that it’s similar to, but not the same as physical therapy or clinical massage. Of course, I had to inquire about the ways rolfing could benefit our neck & face and if it could help lift and smooth that tissue. Katy had great information for me and invited me to her workspace to experience some head, neck, and face structural integration for myself!

Quiz: Test you toner knowledge!

Katherine M StribakosJanuary 23, 2020skin care blog, quiz, skincare quiz, natural skin care, knowledge, natural, toner, tanning, skin care, skin care knowledge, skin care tips, healthy, chapped lips, wellness, body wellnessComment

Talking All About Toner!

I’m really excited to write this blog post on toners! As an esthetician, I often have clients come to my skincare studio who are bypassing the toning step in their at-home skincare routine. A few reasons I’ve found why people are skipping a toner at home is that they think it is an unnecessary step, they are not sure when or what kind to use, or they’ve had a bad experience with a toner product. When used correctly, using a daily toner is really beneficial to your skin’s health and also your skincare routine.

Skincare Q&A with an Esthetician.

I thought a blog answering some of the questions I get asked most as an esthetician would be a perfect way to wrap up 2019. Getting to answer your skin and product questions is probably one of the favorite parts of my job. You can truly never ask me too many skincare related questions, and if I don’t know the answer I will go do my research and find it for you. Knowing how your skin functions and what treatments & products are best to treat it is a really important part of maintaining healthy, radiant skin.