11 Amazing Herbs for Facial Steaming

Facial steaming is beneficial for your skin in many ways. It improves the absorption of your skincare products, enhances circulation, helps remove toxins, makes it easier to remove debris inside the pores, and is also very relaxing. You can experience all those benefits by using pure clean water alone. 

But why stick to plain water? You can level up your facial steaming sessions by experiencing botanical facial steaming sessions. Yes, you can use herbs for facial steaming to further improve your results. You just have to pick the right herbs to use, depending on what you need.

With so many herbs available, you might be wondering which one is best for your skin or for your objective. Well, we’re here to help you figure that out.

Below we will discuss the herbs you can use for the type of skin you have.

We will also be talking about an alternative to using herbs for your face steaming sessions. 

---

How To Use Herbs For Facial Steaming

Using herbs for your facial steaming session is very easy. If you are using a bowl of boiling water for steaming, you can simply add the dried herbs to the bowl. The hot water heats up the herbs causing them to release their volatile compounds.

An herbal facial steam can help rejuvenate your skin, especially when combined with exfoliation. Put a towel over your head and soak up the steam.

Just be careful about using this DIY steaming technique. Steam from boiling water could be too hot, and you could accidentally burn your face with it.

Home Facial steamers are also a great option to use.

There are some facial steamers like the Newbealer Face Steamer that are built with an herb basket so you can place any dried flowers or herbs that you’d like to include in your steaming session. Then you just have to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use the facial steamer. 

Using facial steamers is a better option than boiling water because it is much safer. Some come with timers, hot and cold mist, and nano ionic technology that helps your skin better absorb the steam.

However, if you are using spa-grade facial steamers, make sure that they are compatible with herbs before using them. You could end up clogging your machine. 

---

Best Herbs for Facial Steam

There are many different herbs that can be helpful. Although it’s unlikely for you to go wrong by adding specific herbs to your facial steamer, knowing what a specific herb does will help you better achieve the results.

Here is a list of herbs, and what they can do to your skin. You can just use one of them or blend them for your facial steaming session. 

For the most part, dried herbs are better, but you can generally use fresh or dried herbs, whatever you can get your hands on.

You can also add many of these to a home humidifier, though these are different from steamers.

Alfalfa

Provide your skin with added nutrients by using alfalfa in your facial steaming session. Some of the nutrients it contains include potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, sulfur, and phosphorus. These all help improve the appearance of your skin. 

Calendula

If you have irritated skin or are suffering from eczema or psoriasis, this is a great herb to use. It has astringent, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties. Calendula helps soothe the skin and promotes healing.

Chamomile

For dry and irritated skin, chamomile is another go-to herb. It has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Like calendula, it is also helpful in soothing the skin and helping it to rejuvenate. 

Eucalyptus

Aside from helping you breathe easier, eucalyptus is great at helping in cleansing the skin. With antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, it is good for those with oily or congested skin. 

Geranium

Another herb that you can use for aging skin is geranium. It helps tighten skin to prevent sagging. Geranium makes the skin look clearer and healthier. 

Lavender 

This is one of the best herbs to use in your face steamer. It is soothing and calming to the skin, and it’s extremely relaxing. Lavender has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cooling properties. It can be used by all skin types, even for those who have sensitive as well as congested skin. 

Lemon

Lemon is a great source of vitamin C. You can use the peels of lemons to lighten dark spots. It is also amazing at detoxifying the pores and making the skin feel softer. 

Peppermint

Peppermint has powerful abilities to refresh the skin during a facial steaming session. Apart from that, it can also help those who have dull, irritated, or oily skin. Peppermint is packed with astringent, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that can help invigorate the skin. 

Rose

Rose is a great addition because of its anti-aging properties. It doesn’t only help deal with wrinkles but is also great for redness. Toss a few rose petals in your steamer! It’s a great moisturizer and has toning properties to further help reduce skin imperfections. 

Rosemary

You can use either dried or fresh rosemary to help with your oily skin. Due to the presence of camphor in rosemary, it’s not ideal to use during pregnancy. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and astringent properties. It also helps improve blood circulation. 

White Willow Bark

Those who have acne or those who experience skin redness can use the white willow bark. This is an herb that helps calm down redness and is also good for its anti-inflammatory effects. Salicin is found in this herb and that ingredient is usually used in acne washes. 

---

Essential Oils For Face Steaming

A botanical steaming session isn’t limited to using dried herbs and flowers. If your facial steamer isn’t compatible with the use of herbs, or if you just can’t find the herbs for your skin condition, you can choose essential oils instead. 

Essential oils are concentrated extracts from plants. As they are concentrated, you’d only need to add couple of drops to the solution. Many might find a bottle of essential oil expensive, but that bottle will last you multiple sessions of botanical facial steaming. 

And they’re generally easier to work with than herbs themselves.

Note that not all steamers are compatible with essential oils. Due to their concentrated nature, essential oils may degrade some parts, (mostly plastic parts) of some facial steamers. Check your manual to make sure your steamer is built to work with essential oils.

---

Final Thoughts

Using herbs for facial steaming is a great way to enjoy steaming at home. Choose a single herb or a combination of herbs to use. Just make sure your facial steamer is compatible with them. And you can combine them with a face mask after steaming for more cleansing.

Essential oils will work as well as dried herbs. Once again, make sure that your facial steamer is compatible with them.

See here for information on what to do after steaming your face.