Stop to think about your last facial treatment, and see if you agree with me or not.

So first the therapist cleansed and exfoliated your face and décolleté, did the treatment stage and now it is time for your massage. You are all there relaxed and the therapist starts massaging. Unfortunately, a lot of therapists begin massaging your shoulders and upper back, then they might move to your upper arms, and lastly to your face. The idea behind this is excellent, because we tend to hold a lot of tension in our shoulders, and it is important to relax those muscles to let the blood and oxygen flow to your face, resulting in a more beneficial facial massage and a vibrant look.

However, this is where I do not agree – in the beginning the therapist only cleansed your face and décolleté, so technically at the moment, your shoulders, upper back and upper arms are not at their cleanest. Consequently the ‘dirt’ from your shoulders is brought up to your face!!!

The solution to this I found is to do the shoulders and arms separately from the face, washing my hands in between each step. So, when the steamer is on, I massage the arms making sure that I go up under the upper arm and dig into those tensed muscles in the shoulder, to melt any tension. Then after removing any blackheads and waxing if required, I start the face and neck massage. While the mask is on and working, I then go on to massage the décolleté, shoulders and upper back, and on to a dry, relaxing, deep- pressure-point scalp massage.

So my advice is, when you go for your next facial, discuss the above with your therapist before the treatment starts, so the therapist can adjust her steps accordingly.