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A facial is a cosmetic treatment of the face, commonly involving a variety of skin treatments, grooming steps and deep cleansing of the face by various means including: steam, exfoliation, extraction, creams, lotions, masks, peels, and massage. It is a common spa treatment.
Do not use soap to clean the face, as they contain thickening agents that clog the pores.
A cleanser is a facial care product that is used to remove make-up, dead skin cells, oil, dirt and other types of pollutants from the skin of the face. This helps to unclog pores and prevent skin conditions such as acne.
Many people use a cleanser once or more times a day as part of their skin care regime together with a toner and moisturiser.
Using a cleanser to remove dirt is considered to be a better alternative to bar soap or another form of skin cleanser not specifically formulated for the face for the following reasons:
Bar soap has a high pH (in the area of 9 to 10), and skin's natural pH is 5.5. This means that soap can change the balance present in the skin to favor the overgrowth of some types of bacteria, exacerbating acne.
Bar cleansers in general, soap or not, have thickeners that allow them to assume a bar shape can clog pores, leading (once again) to acne.
Using bar soap on the face can remove natural oils from the skin that form a barrier against water loss. This causes the sebaceous glands to subsequently overproduce oil, which may again lead to clogged pores. Conversely, in order to prevent drying out the skin, many cleansers incorporate moisturisers.
Many users would recommend a cleanser that is gentle, non-irritating, thoroughly cleanses skin and allows the eyelids to be washed without hurting. Additionally cleansers that splash away without the use of a washcloth may be preferred as cloths can harbour bacteria.
Different types of cleansers have been developed for people with different skin types. Strong cleansers are more suitable for oily skins to prevent breakouts, but they may over dry and irritate dry skin. Very dry skin may require a creamy lotion-type cleanser, as long as it doesn't make skin feel oily afterward. These are too gentle to be effective on oily (or even normal) skin, but dry skin requires much less cleansing power.
Some cleansers may incorporate fragrance or essential oils. However, for some people these cleansers may irritate the skin and often provoking allergic responses.
A toner is a liquid that is applied after the cleansing process to remove any traces of cleanser, make-up or dirt, and leave the skin feeling refreshed and ready to absorb moisturiser.
Toners can be applied to the skin in different ways:
On damp cotton wool (most frequently used method)
Spraying onto the face using a vaporiser
By applying a tonic gauze mask - a piece of gauze is covered with toner and left on the face for a few minutes.
After toning, blot the face almost dry with a tissue and apply moisturiser.
Skin bracers or fresheners
These are the mildest form of toners; they contain virtually no alcohol (0-10%), water, and a humectant such as glycerine. Humectants help to keep the moisture in the upper layers of the epidermis by preventing it from evaporating. A popular example of this is rose water. These toners are the kindest to skin, and are most suitible for use on dry, dehydrated, sensitive and normal skins.
Skin tonics
These are slightly stronger and contain a small quantity of alcohol (up to 20%), water and a humectant ingrediant. Orange flower water is an example of a skin tonic. Skin tonics are suitible for use on normal, combination, and oily skin.
Astringents
These are the strongest form of toner and contain a high proportion of alcohol (20-60%), antiseptic ingredients, water, and a humectant ingredient. These are commonly recommended for oily skins as they are drying, but note that the removal of oil from the skin can lead to excess oil production as the skin tries to compensate for this and prevent moisture loss. Witch hazel is an example of an astringent. To prevent dehydration, astringent is best applied only to problem areas of skin, such as spots.
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