Spa Experience: Peppermint Facial Treatment

So every year, around or on my birthday I make a trip to the spa to treat myself and my skin! So this past Tuesday, on my birthday I headed to the Dorit Baxter Day Spa where I received a Classic European Facial!

Me at the Dorit Baxter Spa in NYC on my birthday.

As far as facials go, it was very relaxing. As usual, the specialist asked me about my skin type. I explained to her that I have combination skin-oily/dry. She did some further assessments on my face and began the facial. 

She cleansed  my face and used the steamer to open my pores. Then, during the facial she treated me with a special unclogging peppermint/ menthol face mask and warm towel.  It felt amazing! I could feel my pores opening and unclogging right there and then!

After the facial, my face felt so clean and radiant! My pores looked smaller and my face glowing. 

I thought about my usual skin care regimen and will now add peppermint and a warm towel to my face to unclog and open my pores. 

Here's What You Can Do:

1. Cleanse face with face wash/cleanser.

2. Apply hot towel over face 2x ( let it sit until the towel is no longer warm).

3. In a plastic bowl, add 10 drops of peppermint oil, 1 tbsp of seed oil with 2 cups clean hot water.

4. Dip towel in the hot peppermint, seed oil mixture and apply to your face.

5. Leave the towel on your face until the towel is no longer warm. (Repeat 2x)

6. Get a new clean towel and run cool water over it and apply this to your face to close your pores.

7. Moisturize!

Voila!

Pores unclogged and your face is now clean!

Hope this helps! 

Note: If you have sensitive skin use less drops of peppermint oil.

Xo,

Rebeca 

6 Tips to Reduce the Size of Your Pores

On my Instagram page (@body_scrubs_by_rebeca) I questioned my followers as to what some of their skincare concerns or issues are.  I received a few replies, both via Instagram as well as my personal email.  And so, while working, I got an alert that someone wanted to know how they can reduce the size of their pores.  I thought to myself, "hmm that's a really good question!"  Then, while at my desk, I started looking at my face, examining my skin and taking a closer look at my pores.

Me, au naturale - Owner of Body Scrubs by Rebeca
bodyscrubsbyrebeca.com 

(Pores are tiny little openings (holes) in the skin that help to produce natural oils, sebum is produced.)

I noticed that the size of them varied depending on certain situations.  A while back I noticed my pores were looking rather large and some days they looked pretty small. I payed attention to my habits to see when my pores looked their smallest. Here's what I found -

On days where I drank lots of water my skin looked very radiant. My pores also appeared to be smaller.

On days that I exfoliated (2x per week) using my natural body scrubs my pores were also smaller...

And on days I treated myself to a face mask my pores were looking fab!


I researched some more information about pores and found some really useful tips for those to reduce the size of their pores.

Here are 6 Tips to Reduce the Size of Your Pores

1.Hydrate - (drink water) all of our organs flourish with water. The same goes for your skin, so drink up!

2.Exfoliating - try a gentle sugar or walnut scrub to gently remove dead skin cells from your pores.
Exfoliating leaves your skin smooth and radiant and of course, makes your pores smaller.

3.Using a face mask- try a pharmacy brand face mask to cleanse and remove oils and dirt from your face. You should use a face mask once a week. This too will help reduce the size of your pores.

4. Cleanse - wash your face daily to unclog pores. When your face is dirty the pores expand as they are filled with dirt.

5. Tone - use a toner. It helps to close the pores.  That cool tingle you feel when you rub on the toner is helping to cool your skin so that your pores close. (Remember, warm opens pores and cold closes them).

6. Moisturize - Some people think lotion clogs the pores but its actually not true.  Moisturizing actually helps produce less natural oils that can help clog the pores, ultimately making them bigger.

So, there you have it! Six easy steps to reduce the size of your pores!

Xo,

Rebeca


*Here are some products I like - 

Dickinson's Witch Hazel

Body Scrubs by Rebeca all natural coffee scrub

Clinique cleansing bar soap