A Primer
Most days - especially when out and about on a solo date at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts like in the awkward bathroom selfies below - I will do a midday skin refresh which includes face, neck, and any exposed skin. In these pictures I had just gone into the bathroom, washed my hands, wiped down my face, neck, and arms with my favorite travel wipes and was about to refresh with a hydrating antioxidant mist then follow up with a protective reapplication of moisturizing sunscreen, when a gaggle of gals walked in. I began to feel self-conscious about freshening up and protecting my skin in front of them, so I hopped into the nearest stall, applied hand sanitizer, had that dry down, and then continued with my reapplication sort of in private. That is why I am standing silly and smiling in a series of bathroom stall selfies. The paradox of feeling self-conscious while doing said routine in public but feeling fine telling all about it online is not lost on me.
Looking back at these photos, I know I was doing something right by staying consistent with my July routine (skin cycling, de nada) after having been lax with my habits in June. The routine was giving what it needed to give because even in bathroom lighting, sans editing, filter free, my skin pictured is 10/10. The cherry on top is that these selfies were taken not in the hormonally induced glow of a follicular/ovulatory state but in the hormonal downswing to upswing of my dwindling menstrual phase! A real win if there ever was one.
I open with the above meander to illustrate the importance of facial skincare, and thorough bodily skincare, as part of general daily hygiene. Like washing one’s hands for at least 20 seconds. Like brushing, flossing, and rinsing one’s teeth daily. Not for the glow - though who doesn’t want to live radiantly more often than not - but rather because the skin is literally the human body’s largest organ, and in a strange evolutionary development we have evolved to have our largest organ just sitting there on the outside for all the world to see 🧍🏿♀️🧍🏾♀️🧍🏽♀️🧍🏼♀️🧍🏻♀️.
No fur as an added layer between us and the elements. No scales to protect our fascia, lymph, muscles, guts, blood vessels, and bones. Just our soft animal body encased, interwoven, and threaded through layers of subcutaneous tissue (fat), dermis, and an epidermis that is no match for the wayward edge of a piece of paper. Our bodies are both fragile and fascinating, simultaneously formidable and finite. Why not give a damn about the container that houses the soul? Enter the facial.
The Point
So, why book a facial?
I will begin with what I tell new clients verbatim: in early adulthood the skin renews itself every 28-ish days but over time due to both intrinsic factors and extrinsic environmental influence, that natural process of renewal becomes slower, sluggish, and uneven. Regular facials help to bolster that process, ensuring that you look and feel your best from month-to-month as well as supporting the skin while it seeks homeostasis during times of inflammation, seasonal adjustment, hormonal imbalances and other stressors.
A regularly scheduled facial can be likened to a routine dental cleaning. The same way that in addition to daily oral care, it is a good idea to un-grime your mouth at least twice a year or more depending on your health, it is also a good idea to un-grime your face monthly, in addition to daily skin care.
As a bonus, beyond superficial epidermal care, any licensed esthetician who specializes in facials and is worth going back to will be applying thorough anatomical plus physiological knowledge that can aid in pain relief and tension release around the face, neck, and shoulders. I believe a quality esthetic practitioner is someone who moves beyond the application of topicals in their work and actually values the neuroscience of touch, taking an integrative approach that focuses on catalyzing a host of full-body benefits long after the facial service has ended.
Estheticians like myself and those whose work I admire like Sophie Carbonari and Shani Hillian, understand that focusing on the interstitial matrices our skin houses is the real key to supporting longterm skin health and intelligent aging. Funnily enough, it has been quite entertaining following ongoing coverage around the interstitium when over ten years ago, I was sitting in my little beauty school program learning the foundational basics of manipulating interstitial fluid (which flows through the insterstitium’s pathways) via lymphatic drainage.
At the end of the day, for all the big talk above, the real reason for booking a facial is simple: it feels good. It is not every day that one can retreat to a space exclusively dedicated to individual respite, self-reconnection, and solace. Any opportunity to do so is just as valuable as opportunities for collective action, community care, and collaboration. Personally, I have the privilege of showing up for appointments with clients who live much of their lives intentionally dedicated in service to others. On my end as an esthetic practitioner, when someone rebooks, I see them as having made a commitment to carve out time for themselves so that they can go back out into the world and be in deeper, well resourced communion with it, at their jobs, with their families, friends, and broader networks. In the space we co-create together inside the treatment room, cultivating beauty is neither a frivolity nor a chore, but rather an ethic rooted in equal parts practicality and pleasure.