Igor MarcikicI have to say that steaming is not one of my favorite skincare procedures. I try to force myself to steam my face from time to time, but I don’t find it enjoyable or therapeutic as some of you might.
But it does help with my clogged pores and my oily skin!
So, how often should you do it, how often should you steam your face? Studies show you should steam your face once a week; steaming your face too often may damage your skin, lead to breakouts and make your skin dry.
If your skin is overly oily and prone to breakouts, you can do a session of 3-4 days of consecutive steaming, but this session should be followed by a 10-day break to allow your skin to recover.
As for the length of each session, steaming your face for 10-15 minutes at a time should be more than enough.
How Often Should You Steam Your Face?
Though steaming is not my cup of tea, I cannot deny that it does come with its set of benefits. Some of which are:
But here’s the catch! Reading about all these benefits, you probably thought to yourself, “Why don’t I just steam my face every day?” Well, I am here today to tell you that you shouldn’t! Steaming your face every day is a bad idea and it may damage your skin.
So, how often should you steam your face?
Ideally, you should not steam your face more than once a week. And if your skin is oily, rough and prone to acne breakouts, you can get away with two weekly sessions. And should you decide to steam your face more than twice a week, pay close attention to how your skin responds. If you notice irritation, stop immediately!
Why You Should Not Steam Your Face Everyday
The main reason you should not steam your face too often is that it will dry your skin out. So, performing this procedure back to back may make your skin overly dry. This is why you should top off each treatment with a good moisturizer and make sure you leave enough “room” before the next one to allow your skin to recover.
There is one myth I’d like to address here, which is that steam actually opens up your pores. This is not entirely accurate as your pores are always open. We can, however, make our pores relax and stretch a bit more, and allow for a more thorough cleaning.
So, no, if you steam your face back to back, those tiny holes all over your face will not get larger.
How Long Should You Steam Your Face
Steaming duration plays just as important of a role as frequency. So, asking yourself how often should you steam your face should always be accompanied by a follow-up question of how long.
A simple rule of thumb you can use is to steam for as much as you feel comfortable, relaxed and enjoying yourself (in my case about 30 seconds) but no longer than 15 minutes.
This number can vary depending on your skin type:
If your skin is overly dry or sensitive, you should dramatically cut back on the duration of your face steaming session as it may irritate your skin.
Should You Wash Your Face After Steaming?
This is quite an interesting question since most authors are telling us to wash our face before we steam it, but no one’s talking about washing your face after steaming.
As for me, my own common sense says I should wash my face since my pores are opened, now I need something to clean the excess dirt and bacteria out and off of my skin before I apply the next skincare product.
But…
Make sure you don’t use cold water to wash your pores as it will close them back up! My advice is to use a gentle face wash, lukewarm water, or just wipe your face using a cotton towel.
