I had an interesting exchange recently with a mid-twenty year old woman. She said to me, “I tried this foundation” as she twirled it in her fingers. “I took pictures in it and my skin looked sooooooooo great.”After a slight pause, she added, “I have to think though that my new cleanse, tone, moisturising routine played a role.” Fair enough comment to make, but I was curious whether the cleansing routine was entirely new or newly revamped.

“So…you weren’t cleansing, toning and moisturising before this point?” I asked.

“No,” she offered simply.

I noted—not judgmentally—that her skin was not in the best shape. On the one hand, I was happy to hear that she had “discovered” a beneficial facial care routine. But, I wondered how many years she had wasted before getting to this point. It’s no secret that I was not blessed with the supple, pore-less and blemish-free skin that my mother has. I got stuck with the Pow/Somani genes on that one. Boo. However, with a bit of nurture you CAN overcome the nature of your skin. Two words: frequent facials. Even those with great skin can benefit from regular, intensive treatments.

At the most basic level, a facial is an opportunity to do a deep cleanse and extraction of impurities from beneath the skin’s surface. But there are lots of different kinds of facial treatments out there for every skin type and every skin challenge. With the prevalence of great, cheap spa days on Wahanda, facials don’t have to be an expensive indulgence anymore. Some time ago, I bought a massage and facial deal on Wahanda at a local Birmingham spa. It was a birthday present for G. It would be her first facial. The beauty therapists used quality products (Dermalogica); were thorough in their skin analysis, and gentle in their treatment of our skin. Though lovely and smooth, G learned how dehydrated her skin was. She has an all-day coffee habit and an aversion to drinking water. I felt proud because I got complimented on my efforts to take care of my skin (heee!). What a far cry from the very first facial I had eight years ago. Back then I was punishing my skin for not being what I wanted it to be. Now, I kill it with kindness.

As you can imagine, it was pure heaven to lie back for 30 minutes, and have someone gently massage my skin for the better. Oh, the afterglow for my skin! It looked like I had been feasting on fresh vegetables and water for weeks. (FYI: eat your veggies. They really do make your skin look better). My skin continued to look amazing for two weeks after that point. In a perfect world, I would get a professional facial every month, but I’ll settle for every two months or quarterly. As I get older, my mother’s words ring in my ears: take care of your face. It’s the only one you have. She’s nearing 50 and looking fabulous, so I’m definitely heeding her advice. You should too.