Essential Oils

Lily uses a peppermint and sage product for the refreshing smell and to relieve a headache ‘if you have one’, so the use of this product is more for the uplifting emotional effect and is not particularly beneficial to the actual skin and will not contribute much towards the skincare routine. Some peppermint in a diffuser would give you the same uplifting effect whilst applying your skincare routine.

It’s important for any essential oils that are used on the skin be diluted as most essential oils in their neat form are very irritating to the skin and can cause quite bad allergies. Therefore any essential oil product designed to be applied directly to the skin should contain the appropriate concentration. Even then, some essential oil formulas may still be irritating for some people, especially peppermint which is a powerful oil.

For some people, applying a ring of peppermint around the face may result in a red ring of irritation! So test any essential oils on a small area first.

Cleansing Brush

Lily uses a brush with her cleanser, which can facilitate a deeper cleanse, as it will help to exfoliate and slough off dead skin cells. Cleansing brushes have gained popularity over the last several years especially rotating ones, however, I have never been a big fan of using a bristle brush.

This is because, to PROPERLY clean the bristles between uses, quick rinsing under the tap is not enough. The way to properly clean bristles involves using an ultrasound cleansing bath and soaking in antimicrobial agent. I’ve had a lot of feedback from people who have experienced terrible skin breakouts from using a cleansing brush

However, some people like them, and if they are kept very clean and used properly they will result in a smoother exfoliated skin. The amount of time you spend cleansing with a brush will depend on your skin type. If you have thicker oilier skin you may want to go over your face a few times and concentrate on congested areas such as nose and chin. If you have finer skin then I will say, maybe don’t copy Lily, and spend less time on the brush cleansing.

Personally I would recommend a silicone type cleansing device, as the silicone material is very easy to clean and much more hygienic.

Toner

Using a toner is part of the traditional ‘Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise’ routine. So what actually is the purpose of a toner?

Well, in the old days, women would cleanse their faces using either a soap or a milky cleansing lotion and cotton pads, mainly to remove make up. Then, a liquid toner, usually a rosewater and witch hazel mix, that would be needed to remove the residue of the cleansing milk, before moisturising.

However, these days most cleansers are designed to be used with water, so if you have thoroughly rinsed your face there is no real need to use a toner.

Toner formulas have evolved and the ingredients of a toner can vary vastly, from very natural and gentle to very exfoliating or being a mild peel if they contain AHA fruit acids.

Even if they are labelled as something very natural sounding, such as Rosewater and Glycerin, they often also contain a quite unnatural ingredients and can be irritating.

I often recommend AHA toners for helping acne skin types and I feel this type of toner serves a real purpose, so you need to think about what a toner consists of, and what is it actually doing for your skin.

Witch Hazel

For people who have sensitive or dry skin types, witch hazel is not recommended, as it is quite astringent and usually contains a small % of alcohol, so could be too stripping for a dry sensitive skin.

However it can be useful for toning oilier skin types, as Witch hazel has a mild degreasing action. In aesthetic practices it is sometimes used to degrease the skin before some facial procedures.

There are some damning reports of how bad and damaging witch hazel is for the skin and how it could cause more oil production by removing too much oil. But that will depend on how aggressively you use the toner. Over stripping the skin can be done with lots of other products too.

The fact is, old skin oils and dead skin cells need to be removed, especially if your skin produces oil quite easily. So a wipe of witch hazel is fine.

I would say that after Lily’s extensive use of the cleansing brush, a good rinse with water would have completed that cleanse quite thoroughly, so also using witch hazel may be a bit too stripping.

Serum

The best way to apply a serum is to rub or massage it in. Serums are light weight and are designed to be fully absorbed, and often contain active ingredients that are most beneficial in the deeper skin layers. Patting on a serum may not be the best way to encourage the absorption. Patting is best for SPF products that are designed to sit on the skin surface. Lily looks as though she has massaged her serum in very well.

Jade Rollers

Jade rollers are a very pleasant and therapeutic way to massage a product into the skin. As Lily points out, if you massage from the middle to the sides of the face you will also help lymph drainage and gently stimulate blood flow. I always use jade rollers in my facials.

Lip Exfoliation

The skin on the lips is different to facial skin in that it’s much thinner, being of only 3-5 cell layers compared to facial skin that has up to 16 corneum layers. Therefore exfoliating the lips should be done less frequently than facial exfoliation. Also lip skin does not have oil glands so does not produce oil or sweat

People who have a tendency for dry flaky lips may find a lip exfoliator useful, and as Lily has done, just before an important occasion when you want make up to sit well. But if you have sensitive lips and don’t particularly have dry skin on the lips then there is no need for regularly exfoliating the lips, just occasionally will be fine.