My Recent Facial and Skincare at 37

Practicing an eye massage technique taught by Province Apothecary founder, Julie Clark. Photo by Sarah Culver. 

I turned 37 this month and I have been making a point to take extra good care of my skin. I have noticed in the last couple years my skin is more dehydrated and if I fall off my solid skincare routine (even for just a couple days), my skin loses it's glow and gets super dry and flaky. 

I have been investing in skincare classes, skincare products, and facials (so far one facial since my big 37) and I wanted to briefly share my experiences with you. 

You Don't Have to be a Master to Attend a Master Class

DC has been truly blessed with more independent natural based skincare and makeup shops. The Take Care shop in Georgetown offers a variety of master classes. My friend Sarah and I recently attended the Province Apothecary master class with their founder. I love master classes because you get to meet with the creator or artist and learn so many new things. And the beauty of it is, you don't have to be a master in anything to attend these classes. Many of these classes are geared towards all levels of beauty knowledge.

I always try to take two main pieces from a class that I can implement regularly. For the Province Apothecary class, I would say that their facial massage technique and their facial dry brushing is what I want to implement most in my home routine. I am still working on doing facial Gua Sha at least once a week and then I will add in more massage and dry brushing. I always tell my clients to start off slow and do what you can do and then add from there. You will have more success staying on a skincare routine that way. 

One thing founder Julie Clark said that really stuck with me, is that if you just slap on a bunch of products without facial massage you're really missing out on the benefit and purpose of the products. The natural skincare industry is going to be focusing more and more on facial massage in our Botox world so you might be hearing this for the first time, but it will not be the last. 

Skincare Products I've Been Using

I will make this brief because I want to start reviewing more products on my Instagram stories. You can see them under the Product Review section in my Highlights. Here is a quick update on my skincare. 

I went back to my post baby moisturizer, Raaw Plankton Enzyme Cream and I apply it on my damp face after a heavy spritz of Josh Rosebrook hydrating accelerator. This seems to be helping with the my dehydrated skin. I might need to do a heavier night cream so I may use a balm at night. I am also using The Petal mask by Mahalo once a week for a little glow. If I leave it on too long, I notice that my skin gets tight and looks dry so I am going to try shorter duration's with the mask. Overall, The Petal mask is lovely -- it's gentle, soft, and smells delicious. 

My Recent Facial

Now for the main event, I had a facial with my lead makeup artist Allison scheduled for my 37th birthday weekend more than 6 months out because she books up so far in advance. Allison is a senior esthetician at Bespoke Aesthetics. Bespoke is known for their custom facial treatments that they tailor to your skin's ever evolving needs. 

I went in for their DMK facial. You can see all their treatments here. After consulting with Allison, we decided that I should do the signature treatment because I needed more hands-on massage. I was glad for the personalized recommendation. I was swollen from a sinus infection and Allison wanted to make sure to do hands-on and facial tool massage to release some of the tension and swelling. The session was $170 (tip is always included) and facial consists of a double cleanse, enzymatic or chemical exfoliation, hot towel steam, and extractions. Treatment may then include a 2.5% retinol infusion with microchanneling, 1% retinol infusion with microchanneling and current based modality, or enzyme masque.

My favorite part of the facial was the enzymatic exfoliation, the jade rolling -- where Allison worked out so many of my facial knots (yes, we have them), extractions, and facial massage with the Kansa Wand. 

What I Noticed After my Facial

The two most fabulous things I noticed after my facial were that my facial swelling from a sinus infection visibly lessened afterwards. It even felt lighter and I was less congested. Also, another really cool thing was that the pores on my nose were open and excreting sweat for the first time in years! YEARS!! It made me realize how important it is to get regular facials and extractions. Lastly, I noticed that my skin is clearer and less dry looking when I wear makeup (which is key). All reasons to get regular facial treatments. 

Allison's  Recommendations for Dehydrated Skin

Allison's recommendations for dehydrated skin were really interesting. She encouraged me to treat my dehydration internally with essential fatty acids. Fatty Acids help you to absorb water more effectively. She recommended the DMK line of essential fatty acids. They carry the line at Bespoke for around $60. 

She also told me to chill on exfoliating a lot. Exfoliating is fine in moderation. She reminded me that the more you exfoliate the more your skin is going to produce cells and the more it will need to be exfoliated. It can be a vicious cycle so moderation is key. 

For my next facial treatment, I will definitely be doing the DMK Oxygen Therapy treatment. I asked Allison if it was like the Hanacure mask only professional and on steroids and she said, "YES!!" 

I am totally in!