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But thinking back on the experience, I realized
that
of all the fruit-oil and nut kernel extracts that
were applied to my face that day, the thing that
felt like absolute heaven was plain old water.
Steam, actually, from a small steamer that
directed a soft jet of cool steam against my face
for nearly ten minutes. Yes, even cool steam opens
your pores and releases impurities: it also keeps
your skin moist rather than drying it out, as warm
steam does. (Never, ever use hot steam on your
face, and never let anyone else do it either).
--Editors Tip ----------------------------------------------------------------------
A Cool Steam Facial Has Beneficial Beauty and
Health Benefits
If
you get a really good facial, the aesthetician
will more than likely spend some time directing a
stream of cool "steam" at your face. It feels like
a soft ocean breeze, and it does the nearly
impossible; opening pores while moisturizing skin.
It's usually followed up by a pore treatment and
toner and moisturizer. In fact, when you pay for a
professional facial, you're really paying for the
cooled steam: the other parts of the process—the
wrapping, mask, moisturizers and pore treatments
can all be had at home.
Now you can have the whole thing, and save scads
of money while beautifying your skin. With a
humidifier, you can perfect the at-home facial,
but you can also do so much more. Humidifiers add
moisture to any room so that in the dry room heat
of winter, or dusty, hot summers, your skin is
soft, smooth and comfortable. Add a drop of
essential oil for aromatherapy.
See our favorite cool stream humidifier that will
be great for your face and your home.
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But with the tip, that facial cost me $75, and the
thing I liked most and wanted to take home with me
was the steam. I started thinking about ways I
could get more steam into my life without forking
out so much money at the salon. Hot water makes
hot steam, which is unacceptable, so the bowl and
towel-over-the-head routine wouldn’t work. I
didn’t want one of those personal steamers because
you have to set your face into them and do
nothing: I wanted something that would work while
I did other things. I pondered, then I remembered
the vaporizer that my friend Judy bought for her
baby Emily when Ems got croupy. I called Judy, and
she turned me on to the fact that vaporizers make
warm steam from boiling water, and humidifiers
push cool water vapor into the room.
I read a little about humidifiers and finally
chose the Vicks Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. I
chose it because it has a built-in water filter,
you can control the mist speed, and it’s possible
to direct the mist too. Even though this
humidifier has a water filter, you should use
filtered water in your vaporizer because the hard
minerals in most tap water can clog it up after
you’ve used it awhile, seriously shortening the
lifespan of the appliance. If you already have a
water filter on your tap, great! If not, just get
down to the grocery store and buy a few gallons of
the cheapo drinking water, then keep the jugs so
you can refill them at one of the water machines
most supermarkets have parked outside.
After using it on a hot day, I realized that
running the humidifier could be useful for more
than just beautifying the skin; it’s a fine way to
add moisture to the air, which helps to cool off
the room, keeping static electricity down, and
indoors ferns fresh. If you happen to grow
orchids, a vaporizer can keep your flowers as
perfect as your skin. All this, for way less than
the cost of a single salon facial. Pretty smart,
huh!
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