At Beauty & Mess we know that the steam room is a place that offers many benefits to the skin. It helps with weight loss, detoxification, and can even help improve your complexion or acne!
As such, it's important to know how to take care of your skin to reap these rewards.
A vapour emits from the heated water, filling up the cabin and surrounding you with steam. The hot steam produces a natural cleansing action that deeply penetrates pores, opens them slightly to release sebum from trapped hair follicles, and loosens hardened keratinized skin cells in order to facilitate their removal one by one.
The steam breaks the bonds that hold the cells together, helping them to detach easily. These cells are then excreted through pores, which prevents blocked pores and blackheads common in modern times. A steam room stimulates the activity of sweat and sebaceous glands. The pores allow the skin to breathe better when toxins are removed through them, resulting in clear, blemish-free skin.
Here are ways through which steam room benefits to skin:
1) Cleanses the Skin
As mentioned, hot steam vapours open pores to release sebum from hair follicles. Sebum is a natural conditioner for the skin and coats it to keep itself hydrated.
However, if not properly rinsed off, the result will be clogged pores. The pores are then unable to breathe or function properly, and as such produce excess sebum.
This leads to breakouts and blackheads, which aren't only unsightly but also painful. By opening pores through steam or heat, dirt and grime trapped within the pores will be flushed out of the skin.
2) Detoxifies the Body
Steam is a great way for the body to rid itself of harmful toxins that are known to promote the formation of acne. Toxins are absorbed into the bloodstream, which can then travel throughout the body and cause breakouts in places such as the face, back, arms, etc.
A steam room will help detoxify your blood through perspiration or sweating out the impurities. Because of this, you're at a reduced risk of developing acne from the toxins that cause it.
3) Reduces Skin Irritation
Steam can also help reduce skin irritation due to its anti-inflammatory effects. Inflamed skin is red and/or swollen and feels irritated when touched or otherwise aggravated. It makes sense that steam would help reduce this type of skin irritation since the steam itself is cooling to the touch on your skin.
This gives you a healthy dose of moisture while calming inflamed or irritated skin. The steam also offers gentle exfoliation and loosens the keratinized cells so they can be removed more easily.
4) Soothes Sunburns or Other Types of Burns
Sunburns are no joke, and it's, for this reason, that skincare specialists always recommend always keeping aloe vera gel on hand.
Aloe vera gel offers a cooling effect to the skin, which helps soothe any type of burn such as sunburns or otherwise. This can be likened to the use of ice cubes on the skin to alleviate pain and swelling from bruises, etc.
5) Prevents Wrinkles
Wrinkles usually occur due to a loss of collagen or elastin in the skin. Wearing sunscreen and drinking lots of water helps increase collagen, whereas regular exercise (such as lifting weights) helps increase elastin.
A steam room is also good for increasing collagen through the release of endorphins that give you a natural boost of collagen.
6) Exfoliates the Skin
If you don't like using harsh exfoliators to remove dead layers of skin cells on your face, then steam can be used as an effective alternative. Steaming the face for just 10 minutes will loosen keratinized cells on skin surfaces.
These are then removed by gently scrubbing or passing a wet towel over your skin. The process provides similar results as those achieved by exfoliators.
7) Opens Your Skin's Pores
Steam helps open your skin's pores, which is necessary if you use any products for removing blackheads. Removing blackheads on the face can be difficult at times but will be made easier with the use of steam.
Just make sure to not overdo it on the steam or leave your skin in there for too long, because this will dry out the skin. Leaving your face in a steam room for just five minutes or so should do the trick.
8) Relaxes Muscles
Steam is also great for soothing aches and pains on muscles after exercise or strenuous activity. You can also use steam to relax your muscles before bedtime, which will help you fall asleep faster.
Steam will also relax your muscles so they're more flexible, which allows the joints to move about more easily with less pain or stiffness.
9) Promotes Hair Growth
Steam is great for opening skin pores, so it only makes sense that steam would have a similar effect on hair follicles. The application of steam will help hair to grow by opening the pores and allowing for improved nutrient absorption.
Steaming hair before shampooing will also allow for a deeper cleansing experience, which helps get rid of product build-up in your hair follicles. This reduces greasiness and oiliness on the scalp, which is great for promoting healthy hair growth.
10) Detoxifies Hair
Steam is also great for removing product build-up on hair. This allows for the removal of excess oil and dirt, which can be too much for regular shampoo to handle on its own. If you have a problem with dandruff or other types of scalp conditions.
Then steam treatments offer a natural solution for regular detoxification of damanged hair. The process also helps with the reduction of itchiness and irritation on the scalp, so it will provide a therapeutic effect to both your skin and hair all in one go.
So, there you have it, 10 different ways how a steam room benefits the skin. Not only does it offer relaxing health benefits but it's also great for at-home pampering.
Although these benefits are good, steam rooms should not be used by individuals with certain health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and seizure disorders.
Also, it is best to consult your doctor before if you have any chronic skin conditions or suffer from psoriasis.
