Facials. Whether done at a spa or during an evening in, they’re undoubtedly a beauty must. Our faces are affected by so many elements daily–from environmental problem causes to hereditary skin issues–that they require a great deal of our attention. That’s because no matter who you are it is hard to deny that you want youthful, healthy skin for years to come. In order to get that skin, a girl has to put in work. Beyond diet and fitness, your next savior is the facial. At-home facials are fabulous for weekly maintenance and rejuvenation, but it’s the spa facials once a month that can revitalize and cleanse your skin like never before. And guess what? You need that!

At-home facials typically involve cleansing, exfoliating and hydrating, and are completed with targeted facial masks, serums and your go-to wash. It’s a skin care routine that will give your face a radiant glow and keep sebum buildup at bay. But key facial steps like extractions, massage and peels are missing, and those are the babies that lead to more long-term results.

Since we live in areas with pollution, we touch our faces way too often, and we have oils and bacteria working its way out of our pores, extractions kick toxins to the curb. Doing them yourself can break the skin and leave scars, but the professionals get the deepest of grime out in a non-abrasive manner, giving you an overall healthier epidermis. Think less puffiness, breakouts and fatigued skin.

You can massage your face yourself, but again, professionals target problem areas and really get the circulation going. Heightened circulation helps skin heal itself, as well as keep skin taut and an outward glow close at hand. It also promotes collagen production, which smoothes out fine lines and decreases the likelihood of sagging. By also promoting lymphatic drainage your skin will retain fluid less often.

And then there is the exfoliation and peel process that banish bad skin and allow your beautifully clean face to shine. Spa facials include a much more effective exfoliation process–it rids of everything your daily face wash can’t. Combined these processes lead to new skin cell growth and allow products to penetrate skin, improving hydration retention.

Simply put, all steps combined offer a deeper clean, heightened hydration, tighter pores, less puffiness and fewer breakouts. The texture of your skin, the evenness of your complexion, it all improves for decades if you treat the rest of your body right. Sounds like a win all around.

If all of that isn’t enough and you’re more interested in keeping your routine at home, one thing that might encourage you to get a facial is the ability to connect with a skin care expert. They can review your skin and give you a better understanding, as well as product recommendations, for what will work best for you. That means saving money long-term on product trial and error that really isn’t suited for your skin care needs.

Do you get facials? What do you enjoy most about them?

<3 Mish