With professional facials costing anywhere from fifty to thousands of dollars, most of us cannot indulge in a weekly jaunt to the spa.

Luckily, there are ways to moisturize, hydrate, and restore your skin without spending a fortune. The better ingredients you buy, the more effective your at-home facial will be; and it will cost considerably less than a spa. We recommend setting up all of the ingredients beforehand, and then playing some relaxing music and dimming the lights to create a relaxing atmosphere. The goal is to make the experience feel as luxurious and relaxing as possible.

Cleanse the Skin

For this part, you can use your normal face wash. Apply it to a loofah sponge or lather it up in your hands before applying it to your face. Make sure to thoroughly, but gently, remove all dirt and oil from your face. Remove any make-up with a make-up removing solution that will leave your skin refreshed and completely clean.

Exfoliate

Remove excessive water from your face, but keep the skin moist. Then, using your fingertips, rub a gentle exfoliating scrub in a circular motion onto your face. If you don’t own an exfoliating product, you can make your own using coconut oil and sugar.

The mixture should be relatively viscous, using more sugar and less oil. As you are massaging your skin, focus on the areas that need the most attention; based on your skin type. For example: if you have oily skin, make sure to exfoliate the areas on your face that are prone to breakouts.

Steam

This opens up your pores and brings oil to the surface, which will make the mask (the next step) more effective. There are many ways to do this. You can just run some hot water in the bathroom sink and then use a warm, wet rag to apply the water to your face.

Another effective way open your pores is to boil water on the stove. Lean over the pot and drape a towel over your head to trap the heat. Be very careful not to burn yourself!

The Mask

The type of mask you should make and use depends on your skin type. If you are prone to oily skin, we would recommend a mask made from combining 1 banana, preferably ripe, 1 tbsp. honey, and a few drops from an orange or a lemon.
If you are prone to dry skin, we would recommend a mask made from combining half an avocado with a ¼ cup honey.

If you have fairly normal skin, a good recipe for most people is made from mixing together 2 egg whites and 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt.
Once you have your mask made, apply it to your face and leave it there for at least 10 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly with a cool washcloth.

Moisturize

Apply a soothing, basic moisturizer evenly to your face and neck. Also, make sure that your moisturizer is non-comedogenic. This means that it will not clog your pores. After all the exfoliating and cleansing you have done, you don’t want to reverse that will a low-quality cosmetic.