Having beautiful and radiant skin is always on my mind. Well, maybe not always, but it is one of those important areas of personal care I strive towards achieving. I wish I could tumble out of bed, knowing I have just the right amount of natural glow, and effortlessly stroll out the door. Sometimes it does happen (stars being aligned?) and I am able to showcase my ‘best face’ without any effort; other times, I grudgingly need to be mindful of its required care.
Caring for your skin at home can be both exciting and cumbersome. With the plethora of services available, it is easy to resort to someone else to care for it. Especially when we think that the products we have at home are not living up to expectations. “I can not do this” and “How long will this take?” are comments I have screeched when trying to give myself a quick beauty mask before a special occasion. Or what about the “I knew I should have gone to the spa!” when applying a so-called miracle product and not getting, oh so-miracle results.
Finally, stumped and discussing it with any of my friends who would listen, I realized that spa treatment results could be achieved at home with the use of proper tools. Ah-ha!
I had overlooked tools: the devices and aids to help prepare my face for the products I wished to use! I didn’t realize you needed to truly prepare your skin before using products! I thought my less than perfect skin was by default preparation 
I found that there are only 5 simple tools you need to have when giving yourself an at-home facial or a quick skincare routine.
- Cotton Cosmetic Pads: These are the bare minimum essentials of any woman’s skin care kit used for cleansing the skin. Always use a premium grade facial cotton pad with 2 textured sides. They are soft and absorbent and don’t leave strands of fibre on the face. Do not use pads that are a cotton blend. They will irritate and cause inflammation to sensitive skin.
- Facial Sauna System: A facial sauna system is a great way to deeply cleanse your skin (by rinsing out your pores); as opposed to just washing the skin on the surface. You can enhance the experience by adding essential oils to the water. Facial saunas are also a great way for treating acne and clearing clogged sinuses. (Which has been known to take away from your rosy glow!)
- Skincare Brush: A skincare brush takes cleansing a step further; by exfoliating as well. It cleans deeply, evens skin tone and gets rid of blackheads and blemishes. Pores appear smaller, and the skin more vibrant after only a few weeks. This will allow your skin to easily absorb your product ingredients for maximum effectiveness.
- Magnification Mirror: Magnifying mirrors help you see, in great detail (up to 10 times), all the annoying things you would have otherwise missed on your skin. Most also come with inbuilt lighting, which is also useful when applying makeup.
- Facial Towels: Small towels are needed to blot out excess moisture from your face. Some people favour the plush thickness of a top quality Egyptian cotton towel, whereas some prefer a thinner terry cotton towel that almost exfoliates your skin as you dry. Either way, both should be purchased in top quality fabrics rather than their cost cutter versions.
Voila! That’s all you need for your do-it-yourself-facial kit to help you put your best face forward. Stay tuned for my post on simple home facials..