Since time immemorial, women have been using steaming as an integral part of their beauty routines.


Be it during a facial, clean up or to simply add a beautiful flush to your appearance, steaming your face is irreplaceable. There are a lot of ways in which you can steam your face.

While a simple bowl of hot water is enough to open your pores and unclog them, you could even add a little bit of lemon, salt, dried herbs or an essential oil of your choice to help the process work better.

To ensure that you are steaming your face correctly, here’s a step-by-step guide that you can follow.

Step 01: Start by filling a big bowl with water and then heat it until it comes to a boil.

Step 02: While the water is boiling, thoroughly clean your face to ensure that there is no dirt, makeup or any other residue on your face.

Step 03: Once the water has boiled, put in a bowl and add a few drops of any essential oil of your choice to the water. You could even add a little bit of green tea or mint leaves.

Step 04: Finally, cover your head and the bowl with a thick towel to ensure that the steam doesn’t escape. Carefully bend towards the bowl and steam your face for about 10 minutes.

1. Cleanses your skin

It helps open your pores, pushes out the dirt, oil and sweat clogged within and provides a deep cleansing effect. It also allows all the natural oils to flow freely, preventing any future blockage or build-up. And all of us know that unclogged, clear pores mean lesser acne and breakouts in general, right?

2. Gets rid of blackheads

It is an effective and economical to get rid of blackheads and whiteheads. When you let blackheads and whiteheads stay on the skin for a long time, they eventually start to get painful. But steaming helps open up your pores, loosens the gunk inside and thoroughly cleans your face. This is what helps get rid of those blackheads and gives your face a smooth, clear and glowing appearance.

3. Promotes better blood circulation

Sometimes, despite having a proper skincare routine, your skin still looks dull and dehydrated. The main reason behind this could be poor blood circulation in the area. But this is where face steaming benefits your skin greatly. The steam helps in opening up the pores and increases perspiration. This helps in dilating your blood vessels and helps increase circulation in the area, delivers oxygen and keeps your skin looking healthy and youthful.

4. Eliminates dead skin

It acts as a natural exfoliator that helps to eliminate dead skin cells to reveal fresh and glowing skin underneath. Additionally, a build-up of dead skin cells makes your face look dull, tired and withered and over time leads to fine lines, wrinkles and other signs of ageing. But if you steam your face regularly, then it provides mild exfoliation and the natural anti-ageing properties of this technique make your skin look healthy and youthful.

5. Makes your face mask show better results

Steaming your face after applying a face mask helps open up your pores, unclogs them and makes the face mask penetrate deep into your skin without any obstructions. After you’ve steamed your face with a face mask on, always use cold water to remove the face mask and seal in the pores by rubbing an ice cube all over your face and neck area.

6. Helps heal breakouts and prevents them from coming back

All of us hate how a pimple usually ends up making an inevitable appearance on your face right before a really important event. But an amazing benefit of steaming the face is that it helps you get rid of the breakout safely without leaving behind any infection or scar.

Is it good to steam your face every day?

No, you should not use steam on your face every single day. Although the benefits of steaming face are far too many, steaming everyday can prove to be slightly harsh as the pores will not have enough time to close. Therefore, limit the process to 10 minutes once a week for best results.

What should one do after steaming their face? 

After you’ve steamed your face, always rub a cube of ice all over your face and neck area. Next, use a toner to help balance the pH levels of your skin and close your pores completely. Finally, use a moisturiser to fortify your skin’s natural barrier.

What essential oils are good to use while steaming your face?

Essential oils such as rosemary, tea tree, ylang-ylang are amazing when added to the hot water. This is because they help deliver necessary nutrients to your skin and keep it healthy and glowing, not to mention their soothing scents that will leave you relaxed.