We have shared some fun home-facial routines over the last year, but we wanted this one to be all about relaxation and customization. This is a routine you can do day or night and is ideal when you want some antioxidants, barrier support, and a nice facial massage for a glow-boosting, ‘me time’ skincare session.
Makeup Removal & Pre-Cleanse
What You'll Need: goPure Headband, Micellar Makeup Remover Wipes or Rosehip Oil
It is important to start your home facial off with a clean slate. Removing makeup, excess dirt, oil, and environmental stressors BEFORE your cleanse can help ensure your skin is properly prepped for your relaxing facial. You can opt for an oil like our Rosehip Oil to break down stubborn waterproof makeup and deliver a boost of Vitamin E or reach for the Micellar Makeup Remover Wipes to kick-start your home facial.
Cleanse
What You'll Need: Vitamin C Cleanser & a Clean Towel
Cleansing is important in any skincare routine, but especially that of a routine that includes facial massage and manipulation. Just as the pre-cleanse, this is going to remove any impurities prior to moving forward with the rest of your routine. It is important to choose a mild yet effective cleanser. The Vitamin C Cleanser is free of SLS that can be harsh and impair the skin’s barrier and features antioxidants, and skin-soothing botanicals like rosehip oil.
Once your skin is properly cleansed it will also allow you to be sure you are ready to make a proper skin assessment and be able to identify any potential skin changes or issues.
Want all of the cleansing details? Read our Cleansing 101 Blog here!
Skin Assessment
Having a proper assessment of your skin allows you to better choose the products to include in your relaxing facial. For example, if you are feeling or seeing any inflammation, you might want to skip the scrub or stronger exfoliants this time.
When assessing your skin, there are a few things you should look out for. You will want to focus on the skin's color, temperature, texture, moisture levels, integrity, and keep an eye out for any acute inflammation, breakouts, or lesions. Again, think, do I need more hydration today? Do I have extra breakouts right now? These are the types of questions you will want to ask yourself as you get ready for an enjoyable facial.
When assessing your skin, there are a few things you should look out for. You will want to focus on the skin's color, temperature, texture, moisture levels, integrity, and keep an eye out for any acute inflammation, breakouts, or lesions. Again, think, do I need more hydration today? Do I have extra breakouts right now? These are the types of questions you will want to ask yourself as you get ready for an enjoyable facial.
Steam (optional)
Perhaps one of the most memorable parts of a professional facial is getting your face steamed. While steam is an optional step, it is important to note the steam is not “opening and closing” your pores, rather softening of the skin and its natural oils for easier extraction, increasing circulation, and helping your skin better absorb your skincare products.
Steam increases skin’s permeability, enabling it to better absorb certain topicals. This means you can get more bang for your buck from skin care products applied after a steam. If you decide to add the steaming step to your home facial, try to keep it no longer than 10 minutes. To avoid any irritation, try to keep your eyes closed as well. You can steam over a bowl of hot water, steam with warm towels, or even an at-home facial steamer.
Steam increases skin’s permeability, enabling it to better absorb certain topicals. This means you can get more bang for your buck from skin care products applied after a steam. If you decide to add the steaming step to your home facial, try to keep it no longer than 10 minutes. To avoid any irritation, try to keep your eyes closed as well. You can steam over a bowl of hot water, steam with warm towels, or even an at-home facial steamer.
Esthetician Tip: Be cautious of adding any essential oils to your water when you steam, as they can cause skin irritation.
Exfoliation
What You'll Need: Microdermabrasion Exfoliator
Effleurage: stroking motions that can be linear or circular
Friction: rubbing motions that can be circular, or back and forth
Petrissage: kneading motions
Tapotement: stimulating tapping motions with the fingertips
Start by warming up the product in your hands and begin lightly massaging the lymph areas at your collarbones, move to the neck, under your ears, and back down along the sides of your neck. Use very light pressure to move lymph as you work up the chest, neck, and face and then back down.
Next, move to a more stimulating massage that will engage circulation and relax your facial muscles. Try the different massage techniques above as you work around the face. Try keeping your massage motions in an upward and outward pattern for a lifting effect.
While you can opt for fun facial tools like a quartz roller, ice roller, or gua sha, using your hands works perfectly fine as well here.
Esthetician Tip: You will want to make sure there is no leftover scrub on your skin prior to starting this step, it can get a little gritty if not! You also want to make sure you have a lot of slip for this step so you are not pulling or tugging at your skin too hard (so grab your Rosehip Oil).
Esthetician Tip: If you want to leave the serum from the sheet mask on your skin, tone before applying the sheet mask and massage in the remaining serum from the mask.
Esthetician Tip: You can opt for your serums, boosters, and spot correctors of choice here and fully customize it to the needs of your skin. We recommend this facial routine avoid retinol.
Check out this Beauty Besties blog for more info on which products work better together to amplify your skincare results!
Exfoliation can be more effective after skin has been steamed and softened. It may allow for better product absorption and a smoother overall appearance to the skin. It can boost circulation and instantly brighten a dull-looking complexion. This step is optional. If you noticed your skin feeling more sensitized, noticed any inflammation or irritation during your skin assessment, or you have used exfoliants too recently, you may skip this step.
The Microdermabrasion Exfoliator is gentle enough to add into your routine 1-3x a week, and it is ideal to include when you are hoping to pamper yourself in a longer, more “facial-like” routine. It is formulated with specially grounded pumice powders and bamboo stem to whisk away dull, dead skin cells for a radiance-revealing, fresh-looking glow. There are also powerful fruit enzymes like Grapefruit and Lemon Balm, as well as the natural nourishing exfoliator honey, which works to smooth and soothe the look of skin.
Apply to damp or wet skin and gently massage in circular motions for 30 to 60 seconds.
Apply to damp or wet skin and gently massage in circular motions for 30 to 60 seconds.
Esthetician Tip: For this relaxing facial, we want to make sure we are nourishing the skin and supporting the skin’s barrier. Over-exfoliation can strip the skin’s natural lipid protection, so please exfoliate responsibly.
Massage
Facial massage is the superstar of a relaxing facial. Massage can stimulate lymph drainage, circulation, and invigorate and relax the underlying facial muscles. Even a simple facial massage can improve the look of puffiness and leave an incredible glow. Learning some basic massage motions can make it easy to add a few massage steps into any skincare routine:
Effleurage: stroking motions that can be linear or circular
Friction: rubbing motions that can be circular, or back and forth
Petrissage: kneading motions
Tapotement: stimulating tapping motions with the fingertips
Start by warming up the product in your hands and begin lightly massaging the lymph areas at your collarbones, move to the neck, under your ears, and back down along the sides of your neck. Use very light pressure to move lymph as you work up the chest, neck, and face and then back down.
Next, move to a more stimulating massage that will engage circulation and relax your facial muscles. Try the different massage techniques above as you work around the face. Try keeping your massage motions in an upward and outward pattern for a lifting effect.
While you can opt for fun facial tools like a quartz roller, ice roller, or gua sha, using your hands works perfectly fine as well here.
Esthetician Tip: You will want to make sure there is no leftover scrub on your skin prior to starting this step, it can get a little gritty if not! You also want to make sure you have a lot of slip for this step so you are not pulling or tugging at your skin too hard (so grab your Rosehip Oil).
Choose a Mask – Customize It!
What You'll Need: Enzyme Mask or Brightening Sheet Mask
Choosing a mask can be one of the most fun portions of an at-home facial. This is another reason why the skin assessment portion is so important to ensure your mask treatment delivers ingredients to meet the needs of your skin.
Our Enzyme Mask is one of my personal favorites. It has gentle amounts of glycolic acid and active fruit enzymes such as papaya to help to visibly brighten and even skin tone while being extremely nourishing at the same time. Our sheet masks are also super fun. Our Brightening Sheet Mask is great if you are hoping to reveal a brighter and more hydrated complexion.
Choosing a mask can be one of the most fun portions of an at-home facial. This is another reason why the skin assessment portion is so important to ensure your mask treatment delivers ingredients to meet the needs of your skin.
Our Enzyme Mask is one of my personal favorites. It has gentle amounts of glycolic acid and active fruit enzymes such as papaya to help to visibly brighten and even skin tone while being extremely nourishing at the same time. Our sheet masks are also super fun. Our Brightening Sheet Mask is great if you are hoping to reveal a brighter and more hydrated complexion.
Tone and Balance
What You'll Need: Hydrating Toner & Cotton Rounds
Using a toner post mask is the perfect opportunity to rebalance your pH and rehydrate your skin post exfoliation. It can also help to soothe any irritation post mask, as well as remove any remaining mask prior to moving on to the next step. The Hydrating Toner is free of drying alcohols and is rich in humectants to hydrate the look of skin and give an instant glow. You can apply your toner with a cotton round or with your hands.
Esthetician Tip: If you want to leave the serum from the sheet mask on your skin, tone before applying the sheet mask and massage in the remaining serum from the mask.
Serums
What You'll Need: Brighten & Even Serum & 10% Niacinamide Booster
You may want to include additional targeted skin serums to your relaxing facial. Since we have already done a bit of exfoliation and skin stimulation in our facial, we will want to make sure we only use hydrating and barrier boosting serums, no retinols. Vitamin C and Niacinamide are the perfect serums to consider for your relaxing facial because they will boost the look of hydration, deliver barrier support, even the look of skin tone, reduce visible redness, and give you the ULTIMATE post-facial glow.
Pat 4-5 drops of your serums around the face, neck, and décolleté.
Pat 4-5 drops of your serums around the face, neck, and décolleté.
Esthetician Tip: You can opt for your serums, boosters, and spot correctors of choice here and fully customize it to the needs of your skin. We recommend this facial routine avoid retinol.
Check out this Beauty Besties blog for more info on which products work better together to amplify your skincare results!
Eye Care
What You'll Need: Advanced Repair Eye Cream or Youth Glow Eye Gel
It is not a proper skincare routine without proper eye care. Dab a little of your favorite Advanced Repair Eye Cream or Youth Glow Eye Gel around the orbital bone of your eye. I personally love layering the two, especially if I have the time for a more extensive, luxurious routine such as this one.
Here's your complete guide to under eye skin care!
Here's your complete guide to under eye skin care!
Esthetician Tip: You can include a massage to the eye area as you apply your eye care products if you missed it during your facial massage. Be sure to avoid tugging and pulling around the eye area.
Moisturize
What You'll Need: Vitamin C Day Moisturizer, Glyco-Peptide Anti Wrinkle Moisturizer, or Tighten and Lift Neck Cream
Let’s finish off our relaxing routine by delivering a final dose of skin nourishment, locking in our skincare, and protecting the skin’s natural moisture factor. The Vitamin C Day Moisturizer or Glyco-Peptide Anti Wrinkle Moisturizer can be applied with relaxing strokes and don’t forget your neck and décolleté by using the Tighten and Lift Neck Cream. Again, remember we already did quite a bit of exfoliation, so I wouldn’t recommend using the retinol cream here.
Learn which moisturizer is best for you here.
Learn which moisturizer is best for you here.
Bonus: Protect
What You'll Need: Rosehip Oil
Although we used our facial oil for the facial massage portion of this facial, you can end with a drop or two of oil to seal in all that goodness we just put on our skin. Opt for Rosehip Oil if you are normal to combination skin type or if you are perhaps newer to oils.
And that is it! You just did a relaxing facial from home. - now you can admire that extra goPure glow! Definitely do not feel obligated to have such an extensive routine daily, but when you are feeling like you want to go the extra mile to pamper yourself, try this out. This routine is also fun to do with your girlfriends, sisters, or even see if you can get your spouses to participate!
As estheticians, we think facials are so much fun and we hope you can try this and enjoy it as much as we do. Happy National Relaxation Day!
2 comments
Thank you for putting all of the steps in order! This is really helpful adding a few new steps into my routine properly! I’d also like to send some gratitude for the amazing ingredients in this skincare line!!!
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goPure Beauty replied:
Hi Corinia, thank you so much for your feedback! We will make sure that we will continue to provide quality products and great customer service. We appreciate you and your business! 💚
Thank You for writing down a facial technique to follow and the ease of it makes it so fun and easy for that
Go-Pure Glow……
The Go-Pure products are the best I’ve ever used and very affordable to treat myself to!!
Thank You Go-Pure🌺😄