Beauty Reporter: Beauty 101 Card.(Facials)

Beauty Reporter: Beauty 101 Facials

Smoother, clearer skin in just three easy steps. By Catherine Piercy

Facials Smoother, clearer skin in just three easy steps. By Catherine Piercy It happens every time we sink into a coma of bliss in the facialist's chair cue the Jaws music. It's the attack of the killer extraction! We can't help but wonder if it's really necessary. What if you could achieve glowing skin without the angry red marks, the $80 fee, or the aesthetician's lancet? What if you didn't even have to leave home? There is good news. "The thorough cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing that a home facial entails can temporarily improve the skin's clarity and texture," says Katie Rodan, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Stanford University. And, she adds, "any time the skin is warm and wet from steam, it's receptive to moisture." When it comes to extractions, however, the pros insist you skip them. "If a blemish is too deep, squeezing it yourself is just going to push it farther down and increase swelling -- leaving a red spot that will take twice as long to heal," says Renee Tucker, a Washington, D.C., medical aesthetician. Sounds like music to our ears.

apply scrub

Pull hair back and off the face with a ...