Home Facials & Product Picks: Elevate Your Skincare Routine

What is a facial, you ask? To sum it all up in a sentence, facials are a great way to unwind and relax and get glowing and healthy skin simultaneously. There is no better feeling than treating yourself and your tired skin with a facial! This beauty treatment is an hour-long session that gives you and your skin much-deserved love. Facial steps include some common activities like CTM, massage, exfoliating and more, all of which greatly benefit your skin.

A facial packs several skincare steps into one beneficial process:

It starts with cleansing your face with a gentle cleanser to get all the dirt, sweat and oil off your face. Facial cleansing involves getting the makeup off and cleaning grime and dirt from the face to unlock clean and fresh skin.

Once your skin preparation is done, the next step is steaming which helps moisturise and relax your skin and opens pores for better cleansing.

This is followed up with exfoliation with a scrub to remove deep-settled oil and dirt, blackheads and whiteheads.

The next step is the face massage. Usually done with a facial cream, face massage is the most relaxing part of the facial. It helps uplift your skin, tone it and hydrate it from within.

Then you are pampered with 15 to 20 minutes of face masking session to give that extra boost of hydration and relax your skin.

Then, it is toning time. The pores that open during steaming close during toning. It cleans your skin thoroughly and maintains the pH balance.

The last of the long facial steps is a face pack for any targeted concerns.

Finally, a nourishing moisturiser to lock in the moisture and keep skin healthy and hydrated.

Let's take a look at skincare products that can help you create the perfect facial kit and at-home facial routine:

Lakmē Glycolic Illuminate Facewash - first things first, to get a clear canvas, you need to prep and that is why a good and effective face wash is part of the facial essentials. This one is an all-rounder as it uses the magic ingredient, glycolic acid to cleanse your face and also get rid of the dead skin cells, makeup, sweat and grime without irritating even the most sensitive skin.

Pond's Bright Beauty Face Scrub - If you have really oily and acne-prone skin, don't forget to exfoliate! As long as you have large pores, blackheads and whiteheads can easily turn into pimples. For it, we'd suggest this gel scrub which is full of multivitamins that control excess oiliness and unclog your pores. Oh, and it also helps even your complexion and gets rid of sun tan making it a must for your at-home facial kit.

Lakmē Skin Solutions Sheet Mask Revitalizing with Vitamin C - When used correctly, face masks are the holy grail of skincare. Take this one for example, it is infused with vitamin C serum that you would have taken a whole week to use. It instantly preps up your skin and gives you the most of your facial experience by energising your skin and working on erasing dark spots.

Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner - With so much layering of products, we won't fault you for worrying about what goes on your face. But don't fret as they are all safe such as this one as it is free of even parabens and artificial fragrance. Instead, it has a plant-based formula that maintains your skin's pH levels which is needed to keep them from getting too dry or oily.

Pond's Super Light Gel - As the name suggests, this one is super light and comes in a gel form that works for dry as well as oily skin in every single Indian weather. After a relaxing facial, this is just the moisturiser you need to lock in all the goodness and keep your skin hydrated and plump all day long.

Facial customization is very much a thing for all skincare concerns, for every skin type, occasion and age group. With a new one introduced every other day such as LED facial, salt facial and crystal facial, you will never run out of options.

The basic ones include a hydrating fruit facial, brightening facial, cleansing facial and more, while the more advanced ones like paraffin facials, chemical peel facials, de tan facials and collagen facials are specific to skin problems and age.

For example, if you are struggling with breakouts, you can get an anti-acne facial which uses skincare products that help your acne-prone skin. Similarly, an anti-ageing facial will help you curb the visible ageing signs such as wrinkles, fine lines, crow's feet, dark spots, dullness and dark circles.

Also, for special occasions like a wedding or a glamorous affair, some facials give you a natural and healthy glow. You can also opt for a fun and relaxing facial like a chocolate facial or a therapeutic facial to wind down and chill after a hectic week. Just get your BFF to come along and get yourselves pampered.

Although your skin problems start as early as in your teens, it is recommended (by skincare experts) that you wait until you are at least 20 to get a facial at a salon. Until then you can try DIY facial kits at home or just a good skincare routine.

After getting a facial, you might have to wait for a couple of days for the effects to show on your skin. This is probably why a lot of people get a facial 2 to 3 days before any special event.

Apart from doing away with your skin issues, facials leave your skin incredibly soft and plump. You notice a visible glow on your skin and a radiant complexion. Regular facials can keep ageing signs at bay and keep your skin from sagging for much longer as face massages during facials work on making skin firmer and younger.