Facial routines can vary incredibly with the dearth of products on the market. It's hard to know what is above and beyond vs. just plain good maintenance. Steaming, scrubs and masks each have unique benefits but overall they help to detoxify, deep cleanse, tone and increase circulation to your facial area.
Steaming: The steaming portion of my facial routine is above and beyond all else my favorite moments of the week. It's my time to escape into myself, meditate a little, detoxify. I just feel great after a good steam!
Facial steaming is a way to detoxify and cleanse you face while also enjoying the aromatherapy and relaxation benefits a Brown Barn steam provides. The moisture produced from a facial steam treatment softens up dead skin cells, dirt or oil build-ups so they can be whisked away.
Simply heat water to steaming, pour in a bowl. Drape a towel over head and shoulders and lean over the steaming water. Be careful not to scald yourself with too hot of water. A mild steam is best. You should expect to sweat, this is one of those few times when it feels really great to sweat!
Brown Barn sells a beautiful selection of whole herbs for use in facial steams. Brown Barn's Steaming Herbs is an herbal blend chosen for the benefit it brings to a facial steam including improving detoxification and relaxing mood. Simply toss a bit of the herbs in the steaming water and inhale deeply. (If you suffer from asthma or other breathing conditions consult a physician prior to using Steaming Herbs.)
We recommend Steaming once or twice a week as part of your facial routine. Steaming is best performed after washing and before using scrub or a mask to enhance the benefits of these items.
Scrubs: When interviewed regarding her recent 60th birthday, Cindy Crawford said one of her best beauty tricks is daily exfoliation. Why is exfoliation so good? Because it rids your body of the icky invaders of built up toxins, dirt, oils and dead skin cells. If you read our blog about facial washes you will recognize the importance of removing the "icky invaders"!
Facial scrubs run the gamut from foaming scrubs to soothing oil based scrubs. Brown Barn sells scrubs meant to be used a few times a week in conjunction with our other facial products. If you desire daily exfoliation we recommend using our natural facial brush to lightly dry brush your face before morning washing and to follow up a few times a week with Brown Barn facial scrub or a mask.
Scrubs are essentially a type of facial wash that includes an exfoliant. Scrubs can include items like sugar, seeds or plant fiber. Some even use sand or salt. Brown Barn sells a facial sugar scrub that leaves your skin feeling amazing. Scrubs are best used following a steam while the top layer of dead skin cells and debris are soften and easy to remove.
Brown Barn scrub is meant to be used two to three times a week in conjunction with other great facial products.
To use a scrub: Wet face, apply a small amount of scrub with fingertips and "scrub" by massaging skin in a circular motion. Avoid the tender eye area. If you are using Brown Barn's sugar scrub apply until the sugar completely dissolves. Start with a very small amount of sugar scrub so as not to waste scrub. Rinse and pat dry. Brown Barn sugar scrub will leave a rich layer of healthy oils on your skin.
Masks: It is mind-boggling how many masks are on the market! But why? What's so great about a mask? A good mask pull toxins and deeply cleans pores. We like clay based masks because the clay tones and pulls all kinds of icky invaders from our skin as it dries on your face.
When I was young (about 100 years ago) my favorite mask was a peel off mask that I delighted in peeling from my face. What high technology this was! We now know that many such masks are chemical laden and harsh. Brown Barn carries a nice selection of clay based masks to choose from (did I mention we like clay?)
Dry Masks: Brown Barn has two dry masks, one for each skin type of aging and oily skin. These masks are made from dried clay and herbal extracts that are then rehydrated with the addition of a little water or floral water in the palm of your hand. You can get quite a few uses from these jars of goodies. Our dry masks were formulated by us to compliment our Brown Barn all natural facial line.
How do you schedule all of this?! I perform a weekly full facial routine in which I use all of my products. You can find an outline of this on our web-site by clicking here. Or in our blog about the Ideal Skincare Routine.
Chris Untiedt
Founder
The Brown Barn Company llc
