How 3 top facialists deal with a bad face day

“Depending on what the issue is, I have different ways of sorting out a bad face day. If I wake up looking tired, I use my Facial Massager immediately after cleansing and toning – it wakes up the face and gets the blood flowing. I’ll follow this up with the 111Skin Sub-Zero De-puffing Energizing Mask, while I have my morning espresso. If my skin is looking puffy, I drink a large glass of warm water with lemon and, straight after that, I use hydrating or de-puffing eye patches and do some drainage movements around my eyes with my Joanna Czech Facial Massager, my fingers or an ice cube. If there is any sign of a breakout, I apply hydrogen peroxide with a touch of Neosporin antibiotic ointment, then run an ice cube over it. And I’ll do this several times throughout the day. If I need to, I will lance the spot, too, but please leave this to the professionals – if you don’t know what you are doing, you can cause damage. When the spot has calmed down, I use Protective Nourishment’s Pumpkin Peel, Biologique Recherche’s Complexe Iribiol or 111Skin’s 3 Phase Anti Blemish Booster to help clear it faster.”

“When I wake up puffy, I always start with a facial sculpting wand session, to help tone and tighten my skin. It uses acoustic sound waves to stimulate the muscles and boost my circulation, so it’s always my first line of defense on days when I’m not feeling great about my skin. I also use it for puffy eyes, followed by a chilled eye mask – the coolness helps to instantly de-puff the under-eye area. If I wake up with signs of a breakout, I do a quick blue LED light session, which helps to kill bacteria, speeds up healing and prevents new breakouts. I also love to treat pimples with a sulphur mask – it’s amazing for calming inflammation, drawing out impurities and reducing redness. If my skin is looking dull, I’ll do a quick chemical peel on myself. I have a professional lactic-acid peel that I created and it’s always one of my go-tos because it really brightens skin and helps to add a little hydration back – perfect for perking up a dull complexion in the morning.”

“When I travel, and I travel a lot, I do the same quick little regimen for when my skin looks dull and puffy – it can show on my face even on short-haul flight. First, I use hyaluronic-acid microneedling patches; they prick the skin a little bit when you press them on, but I use them right under the eyes so that the ‘needles’ dissolve to plump up the skin. This helps to open up my eyes and stops me looking tired and tightens the skin. While the eye patches are on, I use my Oxyjet machine to help push my serums into my skin – it’s amazing on lines as it delivers that just-done facial look. Or you can use chilled rollers – RéVive’s Révole Contouring Massage Roller is fantastic. I keep my face rollers in my mini beauty fridge in the bathroom, along with my vitamin C and hyaluronic-acid serums. If you press the chilled serums into your skin with a cold roller, you’re increasing the skin’s ability to absorb the products – a massage gives skin that smooth, polished, almost-frozen Botox or ‘frotox’ effect. Then I’ll finish with a hydrogel mask and, again, use the roller over the mask. If I wake up and can feel a spot coming, the ZitSticka Killa Spot Clarifying Patch Kits are excellent – I stick one patch on and use makeup over the top. Salicylic acid also helps to diffuse pimples throughout the day.”

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