6 Ways to Love Your Skin by Valentine’s Day

Posted on: January 27th, 2022 by Kristen Chang

Valentine’s Day is traditionally for lovers. But it’s also a prime opportunity to embrace what you love about you. Show yourself some appreciation by taking some time to practice self care. Bonus if it happens to enhance what you love about the face in the mirror by Valentine’s Day — whether you’re planning a Galentine’s Day fest, a date with a special someone, or a night in with Ben and Jerry and a bubble bath.

Gift yourself quick, effective treatments that require no downtime to achieve more kissable lips, smoother skin, an even lovelier complexion and vivacious glow. If you show your face some love soon, you can love the results in time for February 14.

1 – Gain glow with a nourishing facial.

Create instant radiance with a rich face mask treatment. It nourishes and hydrates your skin with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, peptides, stem cells and omegas. An aesthetician works the mask into your skin by giving you a facial massage, which promotes better circulation, brings invigorating blood and oxygen to the skin’s surface, and helps flush out toxins. And it feels wonderful! Just allowing yourself to be pampered can help reduce the skin-destroying stress hormone, cortisol.

A hydrating facial is the ultimate treat, and you can see more beautiful skin in time for Valentine’s Day. You’ll radiate like you’re in love.

Offices that offer aesthetician services: Brea, Castro Valley, Encinitas, Los Altos, Monterey, Mountain View, Salinas, San Jose-Los Gatos, San Mateo, Santa Rosa, Saratoga, Sunnyvale

2 – Refine and refresh with expert exfoliation.

As we head towards the final stretch of winter, it’s natural for skin to need some revitalization. Exfoliating treatments are an excellent way to shed dead, dull skin, clear your pores, and stimulate fresh, new cell production. The result is smoother, brighter, more even skin with diminished fine lines and wrinkles.

Glycolic acid peels are always popular this time of year. They star an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) from sugar that penetrates into the skin’s outer layers to remove dead cells and spur generation of new cells and collagen. There’s no downtime and you’ll start to see improvement immediately. Just note that, for a few days after treatment, you may experience light peeling. For more dramatic results, people in the know schedule regular ongoing glycolic acid peels.

You can also reinvigorate skin quickly and beautifully through mechanical methods of exfoliation. Microdermabrasion is the best known, and has been freshening faces since the 1980s. The hand-held device employs fine crystals to loosen dead cells and then suctions them up. DermaSweep works similarly, but uses tiny, adjustable steel brushes. One advantage is that your aesthetician can better tailor treatment to your goals and for each zone of your skin.

Tip: for the most smooth and dewy results, follow exfoliation with a nourishing face mask.

3 – Plump your pout with fillers.

Nothing says “kiss me” like juicy, full lips. Facial filler injections are an easy, surefire way to plump them up for Valentine’s Day and many months beyond. The most widely celebrated modern fillers feature hyaluronic acid, a gel substance found naturally in the body. Not only do you increase lip volume from the filler itself, but the injections boost your natural collagen production for longer-term gains. You can also beautify your mouth area by using hyaluronic fillers to diminish vertical lip lines, marionette lines, nasolabial folds and drooping at the corners of your mouth. 

There are numerous filler formulas that work wonders on lips, including Belotero Balance, Juvederm Vollure or Volbella, Restylane and Restylane Kysse. They vary in viscosity and structure, and last anywhere from an estimated 6 to 18 months or more. Bruising or swelling is unusual, but allow for a few days of concealer just in case. 

Consult a local cosmetic dermatology expert about your goals so you plump up with the right filler, amount and placement for you… and for your Valentine’s plans!

4 – Smooth wrinkles away with Botox.

Americans collectively receive between four and five million Botox procedures every year. Why? It works! Many of the deeper wrinkles in the face — like crow’s feet (smile lines), worry lines, vertical lip lines and chin dimpling — form due to frequent tensing of certain muscles. These repeat contractions over time eventually cause overlying skin to stay bunched up, dented and creased. 

Injections of Botox or other brands of cosmetic neurotoxin, like Xeomin, Dysport or Jeuveau, force muscles to relax so that skin can lie flat. Your face looks more smooth and youthful for two to six months, and you also curtail the formation of new wrinkles! The full effects usually show in several days or more. Schedule your appointment now and on Valentine’s Day you’ll be looking serene like a queen.

5 – Go against gravity with a thread lift.

A thread lift is great for undoing some of the downward effects of gravity without the downtime of surgery. It can tighten your facial skin, helping reverse jowling, nasolabial folds, eyebrow sagging and more. As seen all over social media, it’s also a fun and easy way to play with raising and elongating your brows and eyes. 

In a simple 30- to 45-minute outpatient procedure, the thread lift uses thin, dissolving surgical sutures with tiny barbs to pull muscle and skin tissue up and back. Schedule it for at least a couple days before any special plans, in case you experience minor swelling. Then enjoy a candlelit evening with your lightened-up look. 

6 – Erase blemishes, fine lines with Clear+Brilliant. 

Want to give yourself a significant, rejuvenating boost without downtime? The aptly named Clear+Brilliant Laser is your ticket to skin that’s smoother and more even. A favorite of celebrities including Drew Barrymore, it’s known by some aficionados as “baby Fraxel.” It offers  a great alternative if you aren’t ready for deeper laser resurfacing.

Clear+Brilliant is a fractional laser, which permeates the skin using thousands of microscopic pinpoint laser beams to stimulate your body’s own regenerative processes. It’s excellent for addressing dullness, acne scarring, dark spots and early wrinkling, normally with no more than a day or two of mild swelling or redness. Treatment is gentle, but one session can help your complexion look clearer and glossier on Valentine’s Day — without foundation. 

For results similar to those from more powerful fractional lasers, set up a series of Clear+Brilliant treatments. 

Offices that offer Clear+Brilliant: Castro Valley, Daly City, Encinitas, Monterey, Redwood City, Salinas, San Francisco, San Francisco-Nob Hill, San Jose-Los Gatos, San Mateo, Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale

Love yourself, love your skin.

Valentine’s Day provides a good excuse to devote the entire month of February to showing yourself some love. Take time out to appreciate your uniquely beautiful face. What are all the things you love about it? Pamper yourself with treatments to enhance what you love and address what you don’t.

Book an expert to assess your skin and start you on a plan for the 14th and beyond. Conveniently, giving yourself the gift of cosmetic skincare services will also help you look your healthy, gorgeous best.