ZEANNA Beaute Line

The Amazing Benefits of Hydrotherapy.

I went to the salon a couple of weeks ago, and skipped the pedicure in favor of a relaxing facial. The aesthetician used a super-soft, micro-bead type scrub, a brisk but not-too alcoholic toner, and a wonderful, silky moisturizer that gave my skin the feel of rose petals clinging to a baby’s bottom. It was that smooth.
But thinking back on the experience, I realized that of all the fruit-oil and nut kernel extracts that were applied to my face that day, the thing that felt like absolute heaven was plain old water. Steam, actually, from a small steamer that directed a soft jet of cool steam against my face for nearly ten minutes. Yes, even cool steam opens your pores and releases impurities: it also keeps your skin moist rather than drying it out, as warm steam does. (Never, ever use hot steam on your face, and never let anyone else do it either).

A Cool Steam Facial Has Beneficial Beauty and Health Benefits

If you get a really good facial, the aesthetician will more than likely spend some time directing a stream of cool "steam" at your face. It feels like a soft ocean breeze, and it does the nearly impossible; opening pores while moisturizing skin. It's usually followed up by a pore treatment and toner and moisturizer. In fact, when you pay for a professional facial, you're really paying for the cooled steam: the other parts of the process—the wrapping, mask, moisturizers and pore treatments can all be had at home.

Now you can have the whole thing, and save scads of money while beautifying your skin. With a humidifier, you can perfect the at-home facial, but you can also do so much more. Humidifiers add moisture to any room so that in the dry room heat of winter, or dusty, hot summers, your skin is soft, smooth and comfortable. Add a drop of essential oil for aromatherapy.

See our favorite cool stream humidifier that will be great for your face and your home.

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But with the tip, that facial cost me $75, and the thing I liked most and wanted to take home with me was the steam. I started thinking about ways I could get more steam into my life without forking out so much money at the salon. Hot water makes hot steam, which is unacceptable, so the bowl and towel-over-the-head routine wouldn’t work. I didn’t want one of those personal steamers because you have to set your face into them and do nothing: I wanted something that would work while I did other things. I pondered, then I remembered the vaporizer that my friend Judy bought for her baby Emily when Ems got croupy. I called Judy, and she turned me on to the fact that vaporizers make warm steam from boiling water, and humidifiers push cool water vapor into the room.
I read a little about humidifiers and finally chose the Vicks Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. I chose it because it has a built-in water filter, you can control the mist speed, and it’s possible to direct the mist too. Even though this humidifier has a water filter, you should use filtered water in your vaporizer because the hard minerals in most tap water can clog it up after you’ve used it awhile, seriously shortening the lifespan of the appliance. If you already have a water filter on your tap, great! If not, just get down to the grocery store and buy a few gallons of the cheapo drinking water, then keep the jugs so you can refill them at one of the water machines most supermarkets have parked outside.
After using it on a hot day, I realized that running the humidifier could be useful for more than just beautifying the skin; it’s a fine way to add moisture to the air, which helps to cool off the room, keeping static electricity down, and indoors ferns fresh. If you happen to grow orchids, a vaporizer can keep your flowers as perfect as your skin. All this, for way less than the cost of a single salon facial. Pretty smart, huh!