Facials, how often should you get them, when should you not?

Lisa asks - How often should you have a facial?   Are there any reasons/situations not to have a facial?

How often you should get a facial is going to depend on what you are looking to get out of having a facial.  If you have skin in good shape and are just going for the occasional deep cleaning and relaxation a facial can offer then every 4-6 weeks is a fairly standard schedule.  

If you have severe acne and are looking for help in clearing it up then your skin care professional will likely recommend coming in once a week for a period of time until the problem is resolved.  Then you would want to continue on a 4-6 week cycle for maintenance.

If you are going for a series of enzymatic peels then the schedule will depend on the type of peel you get.  Every day for a week, every three days for 6 sessions, and every week for 6 weeks are all common schedules but there are many brands of peel out there so if you go for a series of peels do not be surprised if they quote you a different schedule.  With peels though, if you want to see optimum results, it is very important that you stick to the schedule you are quoted as closely as possible.

On to the second part of Lisa's question.  When should you not get a facial?

Anytime you have an outbreak of something contagious on  your face such as a herpes outbreak, you should not get a facial.  Not only can you pass it on to your skin care professional which is just rude, the act of getting a facial can actually spread the outbreak to other parts of your face which are not affected.  You should also not get a facial if you have a noncontagious rash such as eczema or psoriasis on your face.  While you can't give it to someone else, the facial could still cause the rash to spread which will be very unpleasant for you.

If you are under the care of a dermatologist be sure to ask them about whether or not getting a facial would be ok.  Depending on what types of products a dermatologist is having you use a facial may or may not help, and in certain cases may hinder the doctors treatment of your condition.

If you have a sunburn, very sensitive skin, or rosacea a gentle facial would be fine but you would want to stay away from a facial that include an enzymatic peel, heavy exfoliation, and possibly steam.

Most of the time however, getting a facial is going to be a fine, relaxing, and educational experience.   Your skin care professional will be able to look at your skin and choose the products that will be best for it.  Feel free to ask them why they chose the products they did, we love to talk skin and will be more than happy to explain what we are doing and why.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  If you have a question you would like me to answer please feel free to ask it via a comment or email me at hhertziger@gmail.com.