Cherry's Green Tea Facial Steaming

My Skin has been feeling quite dull, flaky, dry, lifeless and tired lately and most of all I've been breaking out due to my chaotic hormones - damn being a girl!

I've been wonderful why this is and then I realised I’ve been neglecting a once regular routine of mine and now I’m going to kick back my old habit – facial steaming

Facial steaming is the process of allowing steam to open up your pores and deep cleanse all the built up dirt and oil. It also encourages circulation and can therefore improve your complexion, detoxify your skin and begin the healing process of any cuts or blemishes.

If done in the correct way it also hydrates the skin and can leave once flaky and scaly skin feeling like a babys bottom.

Firstly you will need a facial steamer. Steamers do not have to be at all fancy, as long as it does the basic job you're good to go. Alternatively you can use a big bowl of hot water and a hot towel over your head - this is perfectly fine but just be careful. The advantages of a facial steamer is the heat regulating features so it won't go cold before the 15 minutes are up! Steamers come very cheap nowdays and can be purchased from many regular stores. Mine is from Argos and only cost £10!

Besides Green tea there are many other alternatives; you can use anything such as chamomile, peppermint or even lavender.

Green tea is packed with anti-oxidants and really helps to detoxify and cleanse the skin, not only this it is great for toning and keeping skin supple and firm. You can

use either loose green tea or if using a big bowl of water you could even pop in a tea bag.

I like to add rose buds to add a therapeutic note to the experience but this is totally optional.

Step 1:

Start up your steamer by adding water and also your extra ingredients, again this is optional. if you're using a bowl, put the kettle on.

Step 2:

Whilst the steamer is heating up you can begin prepping your face. Apply a thin layer of moisturiser to your t-zone area and a nourishing oil or product in your dry area, for me this would be my cheeks. (For some reason lately they've become very dry and scaly - honestly I swear when this was over the scalyness HAD GONE! For a while I thought it was a reaction from that Henna Hair Dye - but no...Just needed to steam)! Now apply an eye gel or cream and also a lip balm. This prepping keeps the steam from being too harsh on your skin as if you have dry skin it can make it worse. So if you have dry skin it is SO SO important to prep your face. Also the steam will allow the products to absorb into your skin therefore its a win win situation.

Step 3:

Now your steamer is ready to go and place your face above the steam and just relax. Try to rotate your face from time to time if the steam is not reaching your entire face. You can steam from as long as 5 mins to 15 but 15 should really be the maximum. You don't want to overdo it and reverse the effects and totally dehydrate your skin. it's a simple matter of osmosis. If you find its beginning to get too much you can take a breather.

step 4:

Now that you've finished steaming its time to take advantage of the open pores. Dab your face with a towel or muslin cloth. Now I like to apply a moisturising face mask. Use which ever mask you want but i recommend something nourishing and cleansing. I'm also apply an undereye mask. Now go relax for another 15 minutes until dry.

Step 5:

Prior to all this I had popped my facial toner in the fridge to keep it cool. Apply the cold toner to cotton pads to swipe off the face mask. It feels so amazing - I'm looking to get a mini fridge for my vanity room to put my nail polishes and toners in! The reason why I would not recommend running your face under water is because tap water can actually dry out the face, especially the water in Britain.

Once the fask mask has been cleared off you should reveal glowing skin. It will feel so soft!

Step 6:

That's not the last thing. The vital part is to drink a glass of water after this routine; I've mentioned that steaming can cause skin to dehydrate; to be on the safe side drink a refreshing glass of water just to top up your system.

Now lets go to bed

Enjoy x

Products used in the video:

• Visiq Facial Steam
• Loose green tea leaves
• Dr Organics Tea Tree Lotion
• Botanics Ultimate Eye Lifting Gel
• Nivea SOS lip salve
• Montagne Jeusse Mask
• Botanics Rose water toner
• Jojoba Oil