My Facialist’s Recommendations

Tonight, after a crazier than expected start to my week, I enjoyed a spur of the moment indulgence on a facial, thanks to a birthday gift certificate. I love Equinox for their wonderful personal trainers, quality gym classes, and their spa. I have been especially pleased with the spa at their 54th and 2nd location, managed by Schuyler Manhattan. Now, while I can’t confirm whether that is the spa manager’s birth name, I can confirm that he has taken this spa and turned into an amazing beauty and wellness destination for Midtown Manhattan.

This evening I took advantage of their winter special, the 50 minute facial for $90 versus the usual $110. My facialist, Shelly, was very friendly and more than happy to provide suggestions for my blog readers. Since I realize a facial isn’t something that can fit in everyone’s budget, especially during this time of year, I wanted to provide you with some inexpensive tips and tricks to keep your skin glowing all winter long.

1. Remember that water’s primary purpose and role is to flush toxins out of the body and support organs. While your skin is an organ, it gains very little moisture from the water you drink daily. Therefore, a serum and daily moisturizer routine is crucial during the harsh winter months.

2. A serum will penetrate your skin better than a moisturizer due to the molecule size. I did some research while trying to understand the difference between these two products and it’s pretty interesting.

• Serums give added moisturizer and allows nutrients to penetrate into your skin in a way that moisturizers can’t due to the molecule size. For this same reason, many serums can offer anti-aging and brightening affects that moisturizers can’t. Always apply a serum before a moisturizer!
• Due to moisturizers larger molecule sizes, it can’t penetrate the skin as far as a serum will. While serums deposit nutrients, moisturizers are meant to hydrate your skin and create a barrier from the elements. 3. Serums nor moisturizers need to be expensive in order to be affective. Below are her top recommendations for both drugstore and department store brands.

Serum Pick:

Olay Regenerist Moisturizing Serum

Drug Store Moisturizer Picks:

Normal Skin: Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15

Extremely dry or mature skin: Olay Complete Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15

Department Store or Beauty Boutique Moisturizer Picks:

Philosophy Hope in a Jar

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream

4. Your hands and body require very different hydration than your face due to the difference in skin texture and thickness. Therefore, a glycerin based moisturizer is better for your hands, especially areas which become extremely rough and chapped during the winter months.  My facialist recommends Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion. 

I hope these tips and tricks help you keep your skin glowing all season long! Feel free to leave a comment with questions for Shelly as she’s more than happy to help by answering your questions.