Holiday Glow Essentials: 5 Skincare Must-Haves + 1 Surprising Household Hack
It’s the holiday season again! That means more socializing, family events, and photos 📸 These are skincare items that are proven to give your skin instant visible results plus I have one secret where you can use a basic household item to make your skin GLOW.
Skincare items that give your skin instant results:
An antioxidant-rich sheet mask that rejuvenates your skin in minutes
This is perfect for when your skin is lacking luminosity and you want to look glowy and refreshed, fast. A sheet mask like this that’s packed full of brightening and circulation-boosting antioxidants delivers ingredients to your skin that help it to look brighter and more plump. Antioxidants like ferulic acid and vitamin C also deliver protective benefits to your skin’s cells as well as preventative aging properties. This mask is great because it contains esthetician-trusted ingredients which is honestly hard to find when choosing a sheet mask product.
Cleanse your skin, apply your sheet mask, and let the mask sit for 10 minutes. After you remove your mask, massage any product that is left on your skin’s surface. Bonus points if you go over your face with a stone roller while you mask! Apply your eye cream, moisturizer, or tinted moisturizer, and enjoy your fresh, firm skin.
A textured roller for an instant boost + wrinkle reduction
This is my best tip smoothing and reducing fine lines to make them look instantly less visible. A textured roller is a stone roller that has little ridged bumps all over it. These small bumps aren’t spiky or sharp but as you roll the roller over your face and neck it stimulates your skin’s tissues helping to plump and firm your skin. If you have small fine lines on your forehead, neck, beside your mouth, or around your eyes, stimulating the area with a textured roller can help reduce visibility.
Here is what you’ll do:
First, cleanse your face with your favorite facial cleanser. Then, apply any serums you would like (ideally a peptide or hydrating serum will be applied). After you apply your serum or multiple serums use your textures roller to roll over the areas with fine lines that you would like to treat. First, roll the roller up and down and then roll it side to side. Use medium/firm pressure while you do this. Do this until your skin starts to flush, that should happen fairly quickly. The flushing of the skin will indicate that you got some great tissue stimulation that will result in firmer skin. After that, you can apply your favorite moisturizer.
A gua sha stone + facial oil for a quick lifting massage
This is my best tip for those looking for an instant lift and youthful glow. Giving yourself a quick gua sha facial massage can give amazing results if you use your stone correctly. You can use your gua sha stone to help get a nice lift for your face and neck and also create circulation in your skin that can help you look firm and luminous!
Here is what you’ll do:
Cleanse your face and apply a light amount of facial oil, just enough so the gua sha stone can glide across your face and neck. Take your gua sha stone and rinse it with warm or hot water for about 30 seconds; this will make the stone warm for an extra circulation boost but not too hot to use on your skin. Using a long, flat edge of your gua sha stone or the comb edge of the stone glide in upward lifting motions from your collarbone, up your neck, just over the jawline. Place your hand that isn’t holding the gua sha stone on your collarbone for support. Lift in upward motions across each area of your neck. Then, place your gua sha stone flat on your cheek, with one of the long edges next to your mouth. Gently glide the stone, dragging it from the corner of your mouth, outward to your ear - do this 3-4x. Once you’re finished with both sides of your face, take your gua sha stone and glide allll the way from your neck up to your forehead using medium pressure. When you do this it will feel like you’re smushing your facial skin/tissues upward. Do this a couple of times on each side. You should finish up this massage in about 2 minutes! I always look way more lifted and youthful after I do this massage for myself.
Cooling globes or an ice roller for immediate firming & brightening
This skincare tip is great for anyone who wants to look more awake and have a more even-looking complexion, quickly. A cooling facial tool will constrict blood vessels and pores to make skin look temporarily smoother, less puffy, and more awake. The topical coolness also reduces redness. Eventhough some of these immediate results are only temporary, if you continue to cool roll your face daily it will help with overall redness and dark under eyes. You can use your cool roller or globes over your skincare that you have already applied. And you can use a cold roller or globe at any time of day, very little prep is needed. All you need is a frozen cold facial roller or cooling globes that have been in the freezer for more than 30 minutes.
Here is what you’ll do:
Take your cooling facial tool out of the freezer and wipe away any water droplets from the tool using a clean cloth or paper towel. Roll your cold roller or facial globes over your face. It’s best to roll from the inner portions of your face, outward. For example: roll from the inner corner of your eye out to the temple. You’ll notice a tightening and firming effect.
scrub me secret: Do you want to know something else interesting? Rolling a warm facial roller over your skin also has skincare benefits! you want your tool to be warm, not hot; but at this right temperature of warmth you can promote blood flow and oxygen flow to your skin if it feels dull.
Caffeinated & chilled, under-eye masks for brighter eyes
This is my best tip for when your eyes look puffy and tired, and you need to turn it around quickly 👀 . These green treatment patches have caffeine derived from green tea which also lends antioxidant benefits. White mulberry is another anti-aging antioxidant in these eye masks, perfect for firming delicate skin. And you’ll have to thank me later for the added de-puffing and firming effects you get from chilling these eye masks in your fridge before use. You’ll have an instantly firmer and smoother eye area! I’ve tried many eye treatment masks and these Patchology eye gels give some of the best instant results.
Here is what you’ll do:
Put your eye treatment masks in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. I like to let my package of eye masks live in the refrigerator so they are ready for use when I need them. Eye treatment masks can be used on your skin after you have completed all your skincare or before you apply your serums and moisturizer. Take your eye masks from the refrigerator and apply one underneath each eye. Let them sit for 10-30 minutes. Remove the masks and admire your firm, smooth, and youthful-looking eye area!
scrub me secret: Tea is amazing! its a great topical skincare ingredient and also gives your body such amazing benefits when ingested. I named a couple of my favorite teas for skin health in my blog post “Best Fall Drinks For Skin Health: Delicious and Nourishing”
A household hack! Steam your face at home using a large pot
This tip is best for those who are feeling like their skin is dull, dry, dehydrated, and lacking luminosity. Treating your face to a short steaming session will make it look fresh, dewy, and bright! This works because the water from the steam will infuse your surface skin cells with hydration, making your skin look and feel less dull and have a dewy glow.
Here is what you’ll do:
I like to boil water in a pot and then add a bag of green tea or some loose-leaf green tea. After the water comes to a boil I carefully bring the pot to my countertop and place it on a potholder. From here I hover my face over that antioxidant-enriched steam at a comfortable distance (don’t get too close). For a little bit steamier experience I drape a towel over my head to create a little “tent” I can steam in for a minute or so. I feel instantly hydrated and a new glow! Try this and let me know how you like it.
Always proceed with much caution when handling boiling water and never let your hands, face, or other skin touch the boiled water.
scrub me secret: in my blog post “the best facial steamer you didn’t know you already had” I have a detailed video of how to steam your face in your kitchen at home!
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