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Are you in search of a cost-effective approach to improve your skincare routine? Well, face steaming might be the thing you need! Keep reading to find out the surprising benefits of steaming face!1
What is Facial Steaming?
Since the dawn of time, steaming has been a common form of self-care.2 The first instances of this activity may be seen in Hammans, which were Turkish bathhouses. These steamy rooms were used both as social locations and as well as areas for therapeutic well-being.
Today, facial steaming has become extremely convenient. You can give yourself a good facial steaming at home by using easy-to-find elements such as a bowl of hot water and a cloth to drape around your head to form a tent-like atmosphere in which the steam may be retained and absorbed by your skin.
If you have the desire for a more professional steam facial, you can visit any salon near you. You can also purchase a facial steamer or visit a sauna for a luxurious experience!
However, facial steaming, irrespective of whether it is performed by professionals or done by yourself at home, is a pleasing sensation that may greatly help your skin. But keep in mind that the benefits of steaming the face come about only when the steaming is done correctly.
Here are 11 Surprising Benefits of Steaming Face!
The fact is that most of the benefits of steaming face revolve around a particular aspect, which is giving you healthy, glowing skin! But this, however, is achieved through various means, making a long list of benefits!
But for the sake of convenience, we have here the 11 most useful benefits of steaming face!
1. It Provides a Deeper Cleanse
One of the benefits of steaming the face is that it helps in deep cleansing. It is quite normal for people to find their skin cleaner and healthier after facial steaming, which is also quite true!
The steam unclogs your pores and helps loosen any debris accumulation for a more thorough cleansing. Facial steaming primes the skin tissues for exfoliations and extractions as well. For example, it softens blackheads, and it gets easier to get rid of them.
Furthermore, there are various other benefits of steaming the face that are linked with a deeper cleanse of your skin, particularly your face, such as increased circulation, a plump face, etc., which are mentioned further below.
2. Acne-Causing Bacteria and Dead Skin Cells are Exfoliated
Exfoliation is another special benefit among the list of benefits of steaming face. As mentioned in the previous point, face steaming also helps in exfoliation. 3It releases acne-causing bacteria, dead skin cells, and other impurities clogging pores.
This exfoliation aspect is one of the most valuable benefits of steaming face as such impurities give your face a dull look and can even lead to acne.
But remember that everything in excess can be harmful, so don’t over-exfoliate because it will have the exact opposite effect. Over-exfoliating might cause irritation or roughness, so you should gently exfoliate your face with a dry cloth to eliminate any dead skin cells, oil, or bacteria after steaming.
3. It Promotes Circulation
Did you know that facial steaming increases circulation? Just steaming your face for 10 minutes can give you a healthy glow!
Warm steam coupled with a rise in sweating dilates blood vessels and improves circulation. The increased blood flow nourishes and delivers oxygen to your skin, giving you a rosy look!
Furthermore, an increase in blood flow not only promotes smooth, radiant, and firm skin but also aids the eradication of pimples and cysts by bringing them to a head!
Because of the impact of the steam, the skin barrier has been loosened; this would be the ideal opportunity for you to apply some topical antioxidant serum to provide that antioxidant surge straight to your pores!
4. It Hydrates and Moisturises the Skin
Another one of the many benefits of steaming face is that it hydrates and moisturizes your skin!
But first, it is important to understand the difference between moisturizing and hydrating your skin.
Any skin type might suffer from dehydration and so benefit from additional hydration. Moisturising your skin is required when it lacks sebum and essential oils4. Hydrating, on the other hand, helps when your skin is devoid of water.
This hydration can easily be done through facial steaming as the steam helps feed your skin cells with the water required to stay healthy and hydrated. Facial steam also moisturizes your skin simultaneously by assisting in oil production, which naturally moisturizes your skin.
5. Collagen and Elastin Production are Increased
An increase in the production of collagen and elastin is another one of the benefits of steaming the face.
Collagen and elastin are beneficial to the skin. Both of these help with flexibility and are present in our tendons and ligaments.
They’re both necessary for your skin’s fundamental health and vitality. They protect the skin while also allowing it to expand and bounce back into place.
Collagen strengthens the skin and aids in healing, particularly if a superficial injury occurs. Elastin, on the other hand, is the substance that helps the skin to rebound and is more stretchy in comparison to collagen.
The increased blood flow experienced by your skin when you steam your face encourages collagen and elastin synthesis.
This is also why face steaming is believed to have anti-ageing benefits, as collagen and elastin are attributed to firm and younger-looking skin!
6. It Releases Trapped Sebum
Sebum is an important part of having good skin. It is what moisturizes the skin, protecting it from friction and making it more water-resistant.
Your sebaceous glands create this naturally produced oil to moisturize your skin and hair. Moreover, the sebaceous gland delivers antioxidants into and onto the skin and acts as a natural light shield.
However, when sebum becomes buried beneath the surface of your skin, it serves as a breeding place for bacteria, resulting in acne and blackheads. Steaming can solve this problem as it helps release the sebum trapped beneath.
Also, as important as sebum is to your skin, you might have too much sebum, especially if you have oily skin. Steaming helps in this case, as the heat from facial steam causes extra sebum to be released.
7. It Helps Absorb Skin Care Products
Adding to the list of benefits of steaming the face, steaming increases the permeability of the skin, allowing it to absorb products more effectively. This happens because the steam softens the stratum corneum, the topmost layer of the skin.
Active substances such as vitamin C or retinol can permeate more deeply and become more efficient.
Start by applying serums containing humectants, such as glycerin or hyaluronic acid, which help attract moisture from the skin’s surface. Afterwards, put a heavier moisturizer with elements that help reinforce the skin barrier and minimize moisture loss.
8. It Helps Relieve Sinus Congestion
Dating back to around 3500 years, steaming is one of the most common home remedies for alleviating the symptoms of a sinus infection by soothing and opening the nasal passages.
The steam aids in the relief of nasal congestion as the mucus in the nasal cavity, lungs, and throat is supposed to be loosened by the warm air. This may help to alleviate the symptoms of enlarged and irritated blood vessels in your respiratory system.
You can also add a few drops of essential oil to the boiling water to help enhance the effect.
Please note that steaming does not kill any bacteria or viruses and may only aid your body’s immune system in fighting the infection.
9. A Soothing and Pleasurable Experience
After reading the above-listed benefits of face steaming, it is obvious that face steaming ought to soothe your skin! Also, the whole process is extremely relaxing and pleasurable!
The soothing sensation of warm steam on your skin is almost luxurious. To take your steam session to a whole new level of quiet, you can add some calming aromas using dried herbs or essential oils for aromatherapy.
Steaming is also a great way to get rid of stress and anxiety as warming up your body relaxes your muscles and improves your attitude. Indulging in a steam facial will quickly wash your troubles away!
10. Aromatherapy Benefits
Aromatherapy5 has many known benefits, such as helping improve sleep quality, reducing stress and anxiety, helping with headaches and joint pains, etc.
Combining steaming with aromatherapy has even more benefits! Steam allows essential oils to penetrate the skin deeper than they would otherwise, allowing you to enjoy its benefits to the core and have the pleasure of a wide range of soothing scents on your skin!
11. It is an Easy and Affordable Way to Improve your Skin Care Game
Last but not least on the list of benefits of steaming your face, steaming is the most convenient and affordable way of improving your skincare routine6!
You can easily perform face steaming from the comfort of your home by using readily available ingredients such as a bowl, tap water, and a towel! Buying facial steamers also won’t break the bank!
And the best part, it is a completely natural beauty treatment, with various health benefits, suitable for most skin types!
Are There any Side Effects of Facial Steaming?
Facial steaming can make your skin dry, irritated, and swollen, based on your skin type. These side effects also depend on certain skin conditions you might be suffering from.
Several skin-related disorders, such as rosacea, eczema, and melasma, are proven to be triggered by heat and steam. Thus, people with such skin conditions, or even persistent acne for that matter, should avoid facial steaming, especially an at-home facial.
Also, for those particularly suffering from rosacea, it would be best if you skip facial steaming altogether as the heat from the steam dilates the blood vessels, contributing to the appearance of redness.
Furthermore, although steaming naturally moisturizes the skin, those with extremely dry skin or eczema should proceed cautiously. Additionally, people with excessively oily skin should also be careful as the heat emitted can cause breakouts.
Precautions to be Taken
Firstly, because steam can inflict serious burns, it’s important to remain a considerable distance from the origin of the steam. The ideal distance between your face and the steamer should be about six to ten inches to avoid getting a steam burn.
Also, it would help if you did not do it for an extended period. A maximum of 5-10 minutes should be enough to reap the benefits of steaming without facing any harm.
It would also be best to make it a habit to do it twice or thrice a month. If you steam your face more often, it might lead to very dry skin.
Secondly, ensure that the water is not scorchingly hot but rather heated enough to release steam. And even if you use a towel on your face, make sure that it is not a burning hot towel but rather a warm one.
Finally, if you already have acne, avoid facial steaming since it can aggravate it. Allow time for the acne to clear up.
And that is all you need to know!
Key Takeaways
To sum it up, we would like to say that steaming is indeed a convenient and affordable way to relish your natural beauty, and there are many benefits of steaming face!
We hope you liked this easy trick of ours to upgrade your skincare game! Let us know your views in the comments below!
- Khanna, Neena, and Siddhartha Datta Gupta. “Rejuvenating facial massage–a bane or boon?.” International journal of dermatology 41.7 (2002): 407-410. ↩︎
- Greaves, Colin J., and John L. Campbell. “Supporting self-care in general practice.” British Journal of General Practice 57.543 (2007): 814-821. ↩︎
- Nicolosi, Valeria, et al. “Liquid exfoliation of layered materials.” Science 340.6139 (2013): 1226419. ↩︎
- Abelan, Ursulandréa Sanches, et al. “Potential use of essential oils in cosmetic and dermatological hair products: A review.” Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 21.4 (2022): 1407-1418. ↩︎
- Cooke, Brian, and Edzard Ernst. “Aromatherapy: a systematic review.” British journal of general practice 50.455 (2000): 493-496. ↩︎
- Ścieszko, Emilia, et al. “How has the pandemic lockdown changed our daily facial skincare habits?.” Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 20.12 (2021): 3722-3726. ↩︎
Last Updated on by ayeshayusuf
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