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How Often Should You Get a Facial?
A facial is a soothing and skin-boosting treatment that can be performed either at a spa, in an esthetician’s office, or even at home. Facials are designed to support skin health and rejuvenate the skin, and they often lead to longer-lasting skin benefits that improve your face’s look and feel.
With all these positives, many might wonder if they should get a facial every chance they get. Let’s explore how often you should get a facial and determine what the right frequency is for your skin.
What Does a Facial Do for Your Skin?
The benefits one gets from a facial are quite extensive and can be appreciated by just about anyone, regardless of skin type.
First and foremost, facials can deeply cleanse your skin by removing dirt, debris, and dead skin cells from the deepest parts of your pores. This results in a kind of light exfoliation that can eventually reveal brighter and more radiant looking skin.
Furthermore, facials often involve exposing your skin to steam, which can dislodge impurities in the skin. Facials can make your skin feel a lot better, provide a relaxing feeling to tired pores and muscles, and allow for the infusion of key vitamins, minerals, and hydrating elements to prevent your skin from drying out over time.
All told, a facial appointment or DIY facial routine might include:
- Exfoliation
- Steam massage
- Creams
- Lotions & moisturizers
- Facial masks
- Peels
- And more
Suffice it to say that a skin facial is one of the best treats you can give yourself. It’s an appointment you should schedule regularly. But the real question is: just how regularly, especially since some professional spa facials can be a little pricey.
How Often Should You Get a Facial?
The right facial frequency is a little different for everybody based on skin factors and personal preference. Additionally, what is included in a facial appointment can determine whether it’s best enjoyed as a rare treat for a regular appointment you schedule once per month.
In general, facial treatments that include heavy exfoliation should be scheduled less frequently to avoid overtaxing your skin, especially if you exfoliate your skin every week as a part of your normal skincare routine.
Factors to Think About
Let’s break down what you should consider as you determine what your ideal facial frequency might be.
Your Age
Your age can significantly affect how often you should receive a facial. Young women are among the most enthusiastic about getting a facial as often as they can, but they’re ironically the group that needs facials a little less frequently. That’s because younger skin takes care of itself more easily and frequently than older skin.
On the flip side, older folks should get facials a little more often since their skin usually needs a little extra assistance clearing out dirt and dead skin cells to allow younger, healthier skin cells to surface.
There’s no ironclad frequency for everyone. But in general, your face’s skin will fully rejuvenate or recycle about once every 28 days or so. If you’re younger, your healthy skin cells may last a bit longer. Younger women can, therefore, schedule regular facials every 4-6 weeks on average.
Older women might consider scheduling a facial every 2-4 weeks on average to account for their skin’s greater difficulty in rejuvenation.
Skin Type
Your skin type, of course, can also play a big role in how frequently you should get a facial. Different skin types work better with the benefits that facials offer, while some skin types are a little sensitive and should only be exposed to a facial once every two months or so.
Acne-Prone Skin
Those with acne-prone skin can benefit greatly from the routines included in most facials. Acne-prone skin is often full of oil and dead skin cells, so the exfoliating and cleansing benefits of facials are very useful. Those with lots of acne might consider scheduling a facial every two weeks or so during a big acne breakout.
If you have acne-prone skin but your acne has largely cleared up for the time being, you can wait for longer stretches of time, such as up to a month or so.
Sensitive Skin
If you have sensitive skin, you should carefully investigate what is included in a facial appointment or routine before scheduling it. Sensitive skin can easily be overstimulated or stripped of healthy skin cells during the exfoliation part of a facial routine.
If a facial routine doesn’t use much or any exfoliation, feel free to schedule a facial anytime you like. If it does use exfoliation, we’d only recommend scheduling or performing a facial once per month, or even up to once every six weeks.
Dry Skin
Those with dry skin should schedule facials at least once per month, and possibly every 2-3 weeks depending on the season. Facials are wonderful for their hydrating benefits and can help your skin with the appearance of cracks, wrinkles, and other symptoms of excessive dryness since they provide your skin with healthy vitamins and nutrients for long-term skin health, as well.
Aged Skin
As you might guess, aged skin takes to facials quite well. You can safely schedule facials pretty frequently if you have aged or wrinkly skin. As a plus, a facial will probably help a great deal in terms of making your skin look and feel younger and less wrinkly. Facials can also help with the appearance of aging spots or other blemishes that become more common as we get older.
Skin with Conditions
Those with skin conditions like eczema can seriously benefit from the health boosts that facials can provide. Specifically, individuals with certain skin conditions should look for facial appointments or routines that include lots of nutrients and hydrating elements instead of a focus on exfoliation.
Using a facial to rejuvenate and supercharge your skin can go a long way toward alleviating conditions like eczema and other issues.
The Season
Lastly, you might want to get more frequent facials during the colder winter months since our skin usually becomes drier and more susceptible to damage during this time of year. Consider getting yourself a few extra “holiday facials” during November through February to account for the lack of moisture in the air.
DIY Facials vs. Professional Facials
This is another big question: should you always schedule a facial appointment with an esthetician or spa, or do it yourself? Many people are opting toward the latter since plenty of spas aren’t even open or are minimally open in light of COVID-19.
There are some significant differences between doing a facial yourself and hiring a professional.
A professional will have access to additional tools like steamers, plus some high-quality creams and lotions that you aren’t able to purchase normally. Furthermore, many spas are now accepting in-home appointments. So you may be able to enjoy a professional facial from the comfort of your own home, without exposing yourself to the public.
This being said, you can yourself a decent quasi-facial if you have the right products. For instance, Suki Skincare Resurfacing Enzyme Peel can simulate the same effects and benefits as many professional-level facial peels, lifting away layers of dead skin and eliminating the appearance of dullness.
You can then follow the mask up with an Even-Tone Brightening Serum, or a Balancing Facial Oil to moisturize and rejuvenate your skin after cleaning it.
Many of these products include key vitamins and minerals your skin can use to produce new, healthier skin cells and stay properly hydrated throughout the day.
There are also other products you can use to simulate the massage portions of a professional facial. For instance, stone rollers can help to massage the pores of your skin, and the muscles underneath.
The bottom line is this: a professional facials are definitely good to have once in a while, but with the sophistication and quality of the right products like those from Suki Skincare, at-home facials are accessible, more affordable, and can still provide the same exfoliating, nourishing effects that a spa facial does.
Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Facials?
Actually, yes. Some facials (such as those that incorporate heavy exfoliation portions) can do a little harm to your skin by stripping away healthy, younger skin cells if you receive them too frequently.
Even if a facial doesn’t include heavy exfoliation, there are only so many vitamins and minerals your skin can absorb at a time. If you undergo too many facials in a given period (say, two facials in as many weeks), you're essentially wasting money and skincare products since your skin can't absorb all those vitamins and minerals to maximum effect.
Summary
All in all, facials can provide excellent boosts to your skin and should be scheduled as frequently as you’d like. But, keep in mind that the right facial frequency for someone else may not be perfect for your skincare needs.
Consider all of the above factors carefully before settling into a repeat appointment with your esthetician!
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