skincare

Katina is one of our fantastic Estheticians at our downtown milk + honey spa. She has been working as an Esthetician and natural Nail Therapist for more than 15 years. She explains how and why your skin may benefit from an ultrasonic facial.

Benefits of an Ultrasonic Facial

The Benefits: Professional Estheticians perform ultrasonic facials to thoroughly cleanse the skin. Many doctors highly recommend this treatment because it can be used on people who have sensitive skin, thin skin, blackheads, and whiteheads. People with Rosacea and especially acne can benefit from this treatment because it deeply cleanses the skin.

How it works: An Esthetician attaches a small rectangular metal plate to a hand device that moves 28,000 vibrations per second while sliding across the skin. It is not an unpleasant feeling and the device is grounded so you cannot get shocked from it.

In the process of cleansing your skin, the ultrasonic facial removes the top layer of the dead skin cells that tend to dull the skin. The more you resurface the outer layer of skin, the more skin growth will come up from underneath and be renewed. Your pores will appear smaller and tighter with an all over healthy glow.

Most importantly, another benefit of Ultrasonic facial is to help penetrate product into the skin. There is a big difference when purchasing products. There are those that float on the top layer of your skin and others that absorb into the skin. Always look for products that say, Chirally Correct, deep penetration or quick absorbent, and especially those that use the word Serum. Serums are extremely vital and are considered to be food for the skin as moisturizers are considered to be the water for the skin. After completely covering the face with serums or moisturizers, the machine is used on a low frequency setting while the waves help penetrate deeper than it would on its own. For acne prone skin, treatment medicated creams are used. Once it gets deeper into the skin the more results you see because the product actually gets down into the cellular level and can really work.

Laura M, one of our amazing estheticians, provided the following skin cleaning tips:

“During one of my facials, I can provide in-depth instruction on how to properly cleanse at home. However, here are a couple of tips that will get you started:

You want to spend at least 60 seconds, twice a day, cleansing your skin. Think of it like a rapid micro massage: we flood the tissue with blood flow which brings oxygen and nutrients, all of which begin healing and strengthening from the inside out.

Spread your fingers: this encourages blood to flow between the finger tips, ‘hug your bones’, and move your fingers in circular motions. To give your bones a little hug, you want to place enough pressure on the tissue to find your bone structure. For example, on your cheeks, you are looking to feel your cheekbones, and along your jaw line and chin, you are looking for your jaw and the outline of your teeth. Be sure to hold the tissue taut, especially around the orbital of the eye. A lot of people are afraid to touch their eyes, but they are the part of the face that needs the most stimulation- so hold the tissue tight out and up away from the eye and invigorate the tissue by moving your fingers in small circular motions taking care to place pressure on the orbital bones. Always make sure to work the crevices of the nose and the lips- an especially forgotten area of the face! When you are finished with your invigorating wash, splash with water, grab a dry wash cloth and firmly drag it across your skin. This motion is not rough and irritating, nor is it patting dry. Firm and with purpose, this dragging motion, done to taught skin, ensures that you are removing all the residue of the combined cleanser and everything the cleanser has bound to (oil, dirt etc). Be sure to drag upwards along the cheek to grab everything below the hair follicle (that goes for you ladies too! all that peach fuzz can catch a lot of residue).

Change your wash cloth every few days and use it only on your face. You will quickly find that this simple addition to your routine will keep your skin feeling lighter, you will have less congestion and your cleansing products will be more effective because they will be penetrating deeper into the epidermal tissue.”

Bio: Laura M. is one of milk + honey’s most requested estheticians. She always takes the time to educate her clients on how to better care for their skin so they can continue creating great skin at home. After all, why feed a girl one fish when you can teach her to go fishing. Be sure to schedule your next appointment with Laura where you can experience for yourself her amazing talent and expertise.

When cleaning out a storage closet or a junk drawer it usually gets worse before it gets better. You pull everything out, wipe it down and put back in order. This process is similar to getting a facial. If you have not been getting them regularly, you may bring to the surface all the too-small ice skates, puffy painted t-shirts of the Eiffel Tower and yes, dust bunnies that have been lurking within. Many people do not ever experience a break out but getting a facial purges skin of toxic materials and a break out can indicate that your skin is reacting well to the cleanse.

Regular facials, combined with appropriate skin care products, promise to minimize break outs and keep skin rejuvenated at its deepest levels. The key is to time your facial appropriately as it is better to come in for your service a month prior to a big event rather than a few days before. Nurture your skin and you will feel the same way about gazing in the mirror as you do about admiring stacks of perfectly folded sweaters or color coded rubber bands.

Nobody wants to be pinched in the face but getting extractions during a facial immediately makes your skin smooth and clear. Oils, inferior skin care products and environmental toxins are just a few of the materials that clog pores. By removing blackheads and whiteheads, large pores appear smaller and skin is much healthier.

Note: performing extractions is not a DIY activity. If it is not done properly you can cause inflammation, continued breakouts, divots, and scarring. Leave it to the Estheticians at milk + honey to do it right. During a facial the skin is well-prepared for extractions. A pre-cleanse of Simply Jojoba by Inventive Eco-Organic removes make-up residue and prepares skin for CosMedix’ Pure Enzymes. These hungry enzymes made up of cranberries and lactic acid derived from yogurt, eat up dead skin cells. This product combined with a delicious steam treatment softens and hydrates skin. At this point your pores have been wined and dined and squeezing out their deep toxic secrets only requires gentle pressure. The milk + honey difference is we do our deepest cleanse after extractions, to wash away any residual dirt and oils. By ending with our Perfect Clay Mask, spirulina, aloe, and ocean earth clay work to hydrate and tighten pores.

Pain tolerance varies and the old adage about being thick-skinned holds true. Folks with thicker, more oily skin tend to feel less sensation during extractions while those with thinner, dryer skin tend to be more sensitive. Staying hydrated softens skin and helps your esthetician remove extractions.  milk + honey estheticians are pros at listening to your skin and can prescribe the appropriate products for your individual skin type.  You will leave with the perfect recipe to keep your skin clean and bright.

View milk + honey spa’s different facial options including our Signature Facial.

In a blog post titled: Are Facials Worth the Money? Allure Magazine got the dirt on whether or not facials are just a feel-good experience or truly beneficial to your skin. Some highlights:

STEAMING. “If pores are clogged, steaming lets you clean out dirt without excessive pressure, which can cause inflammation,” says Amy B. Lewis, a New York City dermatologist. It works on all skin types, but the facialist should do it only on clean skin. Bottom line: Do it.

MASKS. Soothing and exfoliating masks tend to have the best results, but doctors are less laudatory of collagen masks: “Topical collagen cannot penetrate the skin,” says Leslie Baumann, a Miami Beach dermatologist. As for antioxidant masks, “the ingredients begin to work on the surface to neutralize environmental damage, so there may be some benefit,” says Day.

In sum, certain aspects of facials (which we tend to emphasize) are very beneficial to your skin, while others are less beneficial. Talk to your esthetician to learn about how to customize your facial to your skin type.

We have a wide range of facials (including our new B-Side “facials”). Click here to learn more about them. If you’re new to milk + honey, click here to learn about a facial promotion we’re running through 12/31/10.