I changed my mind about using steam after a client in Portland had a bad reaction last Tuesday.

Her skin got really red from my usual 10-minute facial steam, so I looked it up and learned it can worsen rosacea. Has anyone else had a client react like this to steam?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_amy2mo ago

Yeah, I read something similar about steam and sensitive skin.

matthewmartin2mo ago

Was it a sudden flare up right after the steam? I saw a dermatologist talk about this on a video, and @the_amy is right to bring up sensitive skin. They said the heat can really mess with the blood vessels in some people, making redness way worse. It makes total sense that it would set off rosacea. I mean, I've pretty much stopped using steam on anyone who even mentions redness now. It's just not worth the risk of causing that kind of reaction.

phoenixb342mo ago

Remember my friend who had a similar thing happen after a facial, matthewmartin. She has mild rosacea and they used a steamer, said it would 'open her pores.' Her face went bright red and felt like it was on fire for two whole days. She had to call her actual doctor to get a cream to calm it down. It totally lines up with what that dermatologist said about heat messing with blood vessels. Now she tells every esthetician absolutely no steam, ever, and it hasn't happened again.

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