"When people are too aggressive with their skin, do too much exfoliating and too many peels, that's when skin becomes sensitive," says Zdenka Sutton, a facialist at Le Posh Salon in Los Angeles.
Overdoing it with any scrub can be bad, but the ones with ground-up nutshells in particular are hard on your skin, says esthetician Kate Somerville, founder of Kate Somerville The Clinic in Los Angeles and the Kate Somerville product line. "These nuts are pretty jagged and can actually cause tiny tears on the surface of your skin," she says. "Those tears will then appear as sensitivity or irritation, and may also serve as little reservoirs for bacteria to attach and thrive."
Sutton says your best bet is to use a gentle scrub or peel at home every two to three weeks and to always hydrate your skin after, just like facialists do at the spa.
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No. 2: Trying a new treatment the day before an event
"Don't do it!" Somerville says. Even if it seems safe, trying any new procedure before a big event is just asking for redness, breakouts, and possibly even hives. Her advice: "Test a new product three to four weeks before something important. That way there's time for your skin to calm down." And if you're lying on the facialist's table and she suggests a peel or new treatment, speak up if you've got a special occasion coming so she doesn't take the risk.
Most of us are experts at something, whether official or self-proclaimed. And whatever your skill -- accounting, gardening, choosing the shopping cart with perfectly aligned wheels -- it can get a little annoying when you see someone doing it incorrectly.
Estheticians and facialists definitely know a thing or two about this. They see clients every day and witness the effects of skin care regimens gone wrong. Bad products, outdated advice, lazy habits -- all of it translates to a less-than-perfect complexion that they now have to fix.
While they're not really complaining, there is a problem. Facials, no matter how amazing they are, can only do so much if your at-home skin care routine isn't right. "It's like working out with a trainer and then going to Krispy Kreme after you exercise," says Annet King, head of the International Dermal Institute. "You're just not going to see results."
So save the sanity of your favorite skin care pro and to help your complexion look even better, we asked estheticians for the skin care habits they wish we'd break immediately. And while you're probably not committing all of these skin care sins, there's a good chance you're doing at least one of them. So show your facialist some love and check out the list.
