at-home facials

I'm not really into "gadgets". But I purchased one last week that's making a big impact on my face.

Meet Conair's Microdermabrasion Facial System.

I enjoy getting facials but don't have room in my budget to have them with any type of frequency. So I decided to try and give myself facials at home.

Facial masks are great and I use one at least once a week. But I felt like something was lacking in my regimen; I decided it was the steam that the professionals use.

After a small amount of research (and reading many amazon.com reviews) the Conair Microdermabrasion Facial System sounded like the ideal facial steamer.

This system comes with two facial sauna cones (wide facial steamer and narrow sinus cone), a microdermabrasion tool with two attachments (gentle exfoliating brush and sponge for applying moisturizer) and a timer that you can set for three to fifteen minutes. For safety, the unit automatically shuts off after 45 minutes.

I've used mine twice already and really like it. The system is very easy to use; just fill, attach your preferred cone, plug-in and wait (only three to five minutes) until the indicator says it's time to steam. It's small enough that you can set it up almost anywhere.

I used the wide facial steamer cone for 10 to 15 minutes and loved the way my skin felt when I was done; soft, moist and clean. The timer is a great feature that I used both times.

My in-home steam use didn't replicate my professional facials, but it was pretty darn close. Considering that I spent the fraction of the cost of one facial on my steamer, I'm more than happy with my at-home facial.

Conair's Microdermabrasion Facial System is available at Bed, Bath and Beyond stores and online at target.com, amazon.com and bedbathandbeyond.com. This facial steamer is also called Conair Complete Facial Sauna.

up next: at-home facials, part 2