I have blogged about DIY masks and scrubs and warned about the damage they can do to the skin. Now, my amazing skin care line, Skin Script, has written something about it too. I love that they support Estheticians as much as they do! There really is a difference in what you can do at home vs what we can do in the treatment room. Although I do recommend home masks and scrubs from time to time, they in now way replace a good facial or a professional product.
Here is what Skin Script had to say…
The DIY (do-it-yourself) craze has taken the internet by storm, thanks to popular blogs and websites such as Pinterest. With many at homemade concoctions for everything from nail polish remover to peel-away face masks, we decided to compare these at home treatments to professional treatments:
1) Quality Ingredients: DIY home recipes call for easily accessible ingredients that can be found around your home or at a grocery store. For example, fruit acids (such those found in lemons) can actually burn your skin if used incorrectly. Table sugar, salt and even oatmeal can scratch the skin due to sharp edges, causing skin irritation and redness. Professional ingredients are pH balanced and modified so your skin cells will accept the ingredients. Skin Script products are “chirally correct” meaning they are accepted by the skin without irritation and will penetrate further than a DIY avocado/mayonnaise mask would.
2) Tools: Extractions with straight pins, “steaming” your face with a pot of boiling water, or using kitty litter as an at-home microdermabrasion treatment (yikes!) can cause serious harm to your skin. Your Esthetician is trained to use tools (such as extractors, steamers and modalities) in a safe, sanitary and effective way.
3) Experience: Attempting to correct skin issues such as acne, pigmentation, rosacea or wrinkles with at home “kitchen ingredients” is not as effective as the combination of an appropriate homecare regimen and regular treatments with a licensed Esthetician. Your Esthetician is trained to properly recommend treatments and homecare to help you achieve your skin care goals.