While face massage might be my favorite way to elevate a skincare routine, masking is in a close second. Adding a therapeutic facial mask to your skincare routine once a week is a great way to make your skin even better than it already is! It’s like giving yourself a mini facial at home. Just think of your #1 skincare goal; is it to be more hydrated and have softer skin? To clear pimples? Balance oils and diminish blackheads? Brighten your skin? There’s a mask for every skincare need and I’m listing my favorites below!

Light therapy for skin: what is it? LED light therapy for skin is when a device that holds many little LED bulbs emits light to provide therapeutic benefits for your skin. These devices come in handheld form, masks that you can place onto your face, and flexible panels that you can bend and place over your face, neck, or other body parts. In order for an LED device to be effective in delivering results we’d like to see if 400-500 nanometers of light for blue light devices and 600-700 nanometers of light for red LED….

Some insider info is coming your way! I thought it would be fun to do a little “esthetician behind the scenes” blog post and give a little insight into how I carefully choose what skincare items are used in my skincare studio. I’ve recently reviewed and updated certain skin care products in the studio to give my facial guests the best skincare treatment possible; so this is the perfect timing for this topic. This information is useful for both professional estheticians and self-declared skincare enthusiasts 🧡. I aimed to provide useful tips that estheticians can use and implement in their own practice. I also think this is helpful information so anyone can feel more informed or comfortable going into their next facial.

Gua sha stones can be wonderful tools for ironing out wrinkles, giving your skin a lift, treating puffiness, contouring the face, and creating overall skin radiance. When you get a gua sha massage from an esthetician or trained gua sha therapist the results are like no other (dare I say life-changing?😆). But did you know if you are intentional about the way you use your own gua sha stone at home and follow the correct techniques you can get really similar results at home? Using your gua sha stone/tool correctly is key to getting the best results from your at-home facial massage treatments.

A new skincare trend that seems to be popping up everywhere; you know I had to share my thoughts and skincare tips!⤵️

Jaw muscle tightness can cause pain, discomfort, and lack of mobility in our jaw area. Something else that tight and tense jaw muscles can burden us with is slight sagging in our jowl area and lower face. When the jaw muscles and joints on the sides of our face are locked up or super tight it creates tension in our face that pulls everything downward. Releasing and loosening these tight muscles and joints gives your facial tissues, the jowl lines especially, a bit of a lift!

Speaking as an esthetician, of course, it would be ideal for all of us to be consistent with our morning and night skincare routines where all the correct cleansers, toners, serums, and moisturizers are used. But that’s not totally realistic, is it? I think everyone has one of those moments where you think “oh man I really don’t feel up to doing my skincare right now.” this even happens to the most disciplined people. In these moments I recommend taking a couple of very quick and easy steps to clean and refresh your skin instead of skipping your routine fully.

Have you ever experienced one of those times when you look in the mirror and you’re like…woah my face could use a little boost right now. I know I have! Sometimes our skin is lacking a little moisture, circulation, and/or elasticity and it makes us appear tired and to have dull skin. I have some great tips for giving your skin back that radiant and youthful look.

Facial oil! It’s so funny to me that when I started out as an esthetician this was a product I used solely for facial massages. Facial oils are such diverse products; I use facial oil daily in my own skincare routine and at my skincare studio. They make the perfect makeup remover and an amazing pre-cleanse. I also love making facial oil the last step of my nighttime routine for extra nutrients and skin softening benefits. And of course, we all know a great facial oil is the best thing for gua sha and other facial massage.

Taking what I call a “hot/cold shower” is one of my favorite wellness rituals. Adjusting the temperature of your shower can help boost your immune system, give you shinier hair, and have clearer skin. A hot/cold shower is when you begin showering in warm water, switch to cool/cold water, back to warm water, and then again give yourself a cold rinse. This shower routine might seem a little over the top but it really does have skin, hair, and health benefits!

I’ve blogged about gua sha stones, facial rollers, warm herbal poultice balls, and ice rollers. In this scenario quiz, you’ll choose which one of these facial tools would be the best choice for each situation. Use tips from my blog posts “Perks of using warm and cold tools on your skin”, “Important gua sha tips for beginners”, “Easy to use facial tools”, and “Thai poultice face massage” to help you get all the answers correct!

For the past few years cold facial tools, like ice rollers have been THE thing to incorporate into your skincare routine. And that’s for good reason because ice rollers and cooling facial tools have incredible benefits for your skin. But what about warmth?