Steam Face at Home: Transforming Your Kitchen into a Spa

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If there’s one thing you can do to up your natural skincare regimen game without spending a fortune, right from the comfort of your own home, it’s steaming your face. A DIY face steam treatment is a simple, relaxing way to pamper yourself that doesn’t cost you a fortune or even require much effort at all! 

The bonus is it cleanses and nourishes your skin too, making it a win-win. However, this DIY facial at home doesn’t just stop there. Keep reading for our best tips on how to steam your face at home and to learn about the numerous benefits this treatment provides.

Is Facial Steaming Good for Your Skin?

Why yes in fact, it’s fantastic for your skin! Besides the cleansing aspect, where the steam opens clogged pores, softens blackheads, and loosens debris, other benefits include:

Hydration

Facial steaming is naturally moisturizing, because the steam actually helps to increase the production of oil. So you can skip the heavy layer of moisturizer after a good steam treatment.

Better Circulation

The heat from the steam increases the flow blood in your face, ramping up circulation and dilating your blood vessels. Perspiration increases and your skin gets an extra healthy boost of oxygen. Natural glow, here we come! 

Release of Trapped Sebum

Sebum is an oil that occurs naturally in both your hair and skin. It’s designed to lubricate, via the sebaceous glands. However, sometimes sebum can over-produce and wind up getting trapped beneath the surface of your skin. This is a recipe for disaster, as bacteria can proliferate and blackheads and acne can result. 

Release of Bacteria and Dead Cells

When you use warm steam on your face, you help to open up your pores and make them larger. Not only does this allow for a deeper clean, it also helps to push out and reduce the build up of bacteria, dead skin cells, and other impurities. 

Promotion of Elastin and Collagen

While you might have thought that warm steam was just good for achieving a healthy glow, it also serves another purpose as well. The production of elastin and collagen is increased, helping  make the skin appear younger and firmer.

Better Skin Care Product Absorption 

Steaming your face with warm water is also a great way to improve the efficiency of your beauty care products. The steam helps increase the permeability of your skin, which means that whatever you apply topically absorbs much better than if you were to apply it without steaming your face first. Not only does this benefit your skin, it benefits your wallet too because your products simply work better.

Relief of Sinus Congestion

If you thought that beauty was the only benefit to a DIY home facial steam, think again. It’s also a great way to help with unclogging a stuffy nose and relieving sinus headaches. Bonus points for adding some aromatherapy to your steam blend! Additionally, the bacteria-killing power of steam can help keep your face and sinuses cleared of germs, which is especially important during this Covid pandemic. 

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons to steam your face at home. Besides all that, warm facial steam just feels good! Combine that feeling with soothing scents and you’ve got a recipe for homemade bliss on a shoestring budget.

How Long Should I Steam My Face For?

Recommendations can vary from expert to expert, but generally it’s a good idea to aim for 10 to 12 minutes. Factors like how hot your water is can play a role, the hotter the steam, the less amount of time you may need. Just be careful not to get your steam too hot, as it can burn and even cause more inflammation, which is definitely not the goal. Also, be careful of getting your face too close to the steam source, and if you think your steam might be too hot, let it cool for a minute or so before getting near it. 

Can I Steam My Face Every Day?

Deciding how often you should steam depends on you and your skin type. You definitely don’t want to steam your face too frequently, as this can have negative effects that cancel out the very benefits you’re trying to achieve. Cells can burn out and dry skin can become a problem, opening you up to a host of other skin issues you didn’t have before. 

There is a fine line as to how often you should steam your face and every individual will be different. Our best recommendation is to shoot for no more than once a week for roughly 10 to 12 minutes. Any more than that may prove detrimental, unless your dermatologist gives you specific recommendations. 

What Can I Put in the Steam Water for My Face?

There are different options to choose from. Some like to use just plain old tap water. Others like to use spring or distilled water. Either is fine, neither is better than the other. Many like to use a liquid like tea because of the antioxidants it contains and because of their potential anti-aging benefits. Teas may help your body release toxins as well, which is always a plus! 

Once you’ve decided on your base for your steaming recipe, you can look at adding herbs or essential oils for added benefits. Rosemary is great for oily skin and chamomile is an excellent option for all skin types because of how well it reduces dermatitis and inflammation. You can add both as an essential oil, but there are also a wide variety of other oils to choose from. Some may be more beneficial than others, while some might just smell really good, which is a mood booster all on its own. 

Benefits of Essential Oils

Essential oils help to do many things, including hydrate your skin, draw out impurities, increase circulation, as well as cleanse, rejuvenate, and calm the skin. There are other amazing benefits too, depending on the oils you use.

• Relieve sinus and nasal congestion
• Reduce frequency of earaches and infections
• Improve healing of eye infections (like pink eye)
• Decrease facial puffiness
• Soothe a sore throat
• Relieve cold, flu, and allergy symptoms

Some oils to try in your next facial steam recipe include:

• Orange oil for help boosting your mood, opening up clogged pores, and brightening a dull complexion.
• Eucalyptus oil for congestion and illness, acne, and stress. Did you know that stress can cause acne?
• Jasmine is great for older, more mature skin and so is rose oil.
• Tea tree oil helps with acne as does rosemary.
• Wondering how to get rid of dry skin? Try lavender! It can help with sensitive skin and eczema. Not to mention it’s super relaxing! 
• Geranium is a natural astringent and can help with tightening and toning. 

How to Steam Your Face at Home

First things first, you should make sure to cleanse your face with a gentle gel cleanser. Try one with an exfoliator to help prep your skin to receive all the benefits of steaming. Also make sure to drink some water beforehand and hydrate your body, as steaming will make you sweat. One of the simplest ways to steam your face at home is to use steam you make yourself on a stove top. 

You’ll need:

• A pot, preferably stainless steel
• 4-6 cups of boiling water or tea
• A large bowl that’s heat resistant
• Essential oils
• A large towel

To start your steam facial, just boil your water (or tea) on the stove to create your base. Once it’s reached the desired heat, you can pour some of it into your heat resistant bowl and add 1-3 drops of your essential oils. If the water is too hot, let it cool for 1 minute or so before steaming. With the bowl placed on a firm table, sit in front of it and hold your head over it, so that your face is in the steam. 

Use your large towel to drape over your head and the bowl, to trap the steam inside and increase the effectiveness of your spa treatment. Be sure to keep your eyes closed the entire time. Hot steam, especially with oils and other ingredients can burn your eyes and cause irritation. 

Keep your face a good 6 to 10 inches away from the bowl to reduce any potential burning during your steam facial. If it still feels good to move a little closer, that’s okay too, just listen to what your body is telling you. Once you’ve finished steaming your face, you can rinse it and pat it dry. Try lukewarm water to help cool things down, and then apply your favorite skincare products. 

There are so many benefits when you steam your face at home. Given the current stay-home orders due to Covid, why not try pampering yourself a little today? You deserve it!