Mobile steaming for facials

[Nicolew]

Hi

I’m a recently qualified facialist and I want to do mobile facials in peoples homes when we are out of lockdown and some time has passed.

I’m wondering what you do for steam when going to people houses?

Currently I have an upright professional steamer on wheels which is fabulous for use at home or if I’m based in a permanent location.

However, it’s not ideal when I’m having to a) transport a large massage table about b) also carrying a small case/rolling suitcase for Products as well. All of this baring in mind I live in London without a car so have to get public transport with these items.

My initial thoughts for mobile steaming was
A) I wondered if buying a small table top professional steamer would be useful and fit in my suitcase. However, the client is unlikely to have a high transportable side table that will be the height of the table to borrow. Besides I think this would be unprofessional to ask anyway.

B) would I use a towel/cloth steeped in hot water?
But 1) where would I get the hot water? Is it unprofessional to ask for hot boiled water from the client prior to the treatment? 2) even if I time perfectly to allow it to cool somewhat, isn’t it risky of potentially burning them? Also I’ve heard hot towels go cold extremely quickly whereas I’m used to giving a 10 minute steam using a proper steamer.

C) do some mobile facialist simply skip the steaming section when doing ones at other peoples houses? If so what do you replace this step with as I always feel steaming is quite vital.

Would hugely appreciate hearing from any mobile therapists on what they do in this situation.

thanks in advance,

Nicole

 

[Farzana Dehgamia]

Hi steaming is a difficult one when your mobile therapist. Only solution is the table top steamer but if travelling on public transport its still bulky.
However if you ok to purchase it for mobile use. Perhaps check with client if they got a high table or high kitchen stool can use to put on or can hold in your hand perhap if theres a handle area to hold steamer from

 

[Enchanting Beauty]

I use hot towels. Personally I never liked the steamer when learning facials & clients find the towels really relaxing.
I don’t think it’s unprofessional to ask for hot water, you need to use hottish water anyway to remove the cleansers etc. & there’s not really another way around it.
You can either choose to fill a bowl with hot water & soak the towels, or buy a portable towel heater & rinse the towels under hot water & pop in there to heat up as soon as you get to the clients house.

 

[TheDuchess]

You’re going to need hot water for facials. Your clients may not expect/want you to go into their kitchen to use their kettle or hot tap if they haven’t been prewarned. Bathroom sinks may have tiny taps and sinks that you can’t fill a facial bowl from. Not everyone has a bath. You need to think about these issues and decide how you want to handle this.

I used to work in a room without a sink and it was 6 flights of stairs to a tap. So I had a thermos which I filled from a kettle in the morning. I bought a top quality 5L one which was a bit over kill tbh. A kettle holds 1.5L to give you some idea.

How you dispense the water needs some thought. My catering one has a push button and needs a few presses to give me enough water. The noise is a bit intrusive, I wouldn’t like it right by my ear. It is very stable though, and secure even if it’s knocked over. It holds enough hot water to last all day. There are pros and cons. You might a screw top which you could just quietly pour from.

Steaming is a bit old fashioned to be honest. I don’t bother in my salon! I use hot mitts and double cleanse, using hot towel compresses to create luxury and then I use an electric gadget.

if you’re not electric facial trained you can use a beauty pro steamer for about £40 which holds 6 of their facial towels. Look out for online suppliers offering 20% off deals. They have a few events a year and that’s when you want to stock up on the things you’ve had your eye on. You need 3 facial towels to cover the face and Neck. You use 6 in your facial and you can always put them back in the steamer. It works like a veg steamer so you get hot towels within a few minutes and it’s quiet. you can also heat a couple of hot stones in which are a wonderful addition to a facial and can replace the use of a steamer.

 

[CFBS]

Sounds like you have enough to carry as it is!
Perhaps re-think the facials you offer and include one that has a thermal mask? One of those ones you mix up from an individual sachet, apply and then they heat on the skin?
Would impress the clients and very small to carry one sachet.
Places like ellisons sell them.

 

[Farzana Dehgamia]

Ladies who recommended the hot towels. Does that work well to do extraction after? As towels do sound more relaxing

 

[Enchanting Beauty]

Ladies who recommended the hot towels. Does that work well to do extraction after? As towels do sound more relaxing

I don’t really do extractions but I guess you could keep some hot water & keep dipping the towels in & reapplying to the affected area before extracting.

 

[Bella1234]

Jumped on this post as I will be going mobile soon, I think I will be doing the hot towels the steamer is just another thing to haul round with you.
in terms if hot water I may take a big flask with my and insulated 1.... thoughts??I user to have a lil 1 for my baby when heating up bottles...

 

[victoria84]

I bought the Homedics steamer, and I usually recline the client bed when it comes the steamer part so I can place the steamer in a safe base (likea breakfast trays) and they still enjoy the experience. I found the steamer more effective for extraction

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HoMedics-FCS-100-Facial-Sauna-Temperatures/dp/B074GCKBBY

 

[cali-dude]

Sorry, quite late to this post but thought I'd toss my two pennies in. I saw this and it made me think of my experience in the past with limited facilities and how applicable that may be for a mobile therapist.

I've worked in a day spa that did not have a tap in the room, and no space for a hot towel cabinet.

As that was my first job it was quite normal, but I imagine for some that would be a shock to the system.

When arriving we would boil a kettle and set our towels/flannels in a large bowl over the sink, pour the boiling water over, squeeze removing excess water and roll them tightly. Once that was done we would place them in a insulated bag (like the ones people use for homemade lunches).

The nice thing is with the boiled water the mitts will instantly be hot, as opposed to a hot cabinet which can take 20-30 minutes depending on the size and volume of flannels.

I remember this keeping the mitts at a nice temperature for a few hours. I think with Covid, I'd definitely not prep a days worth of mitts and make them up with a disinfected bag per guest. So, in this case I'd buy several of these insulated bags.

Similar to others above, we would fill up a large flask to dispense hot water in a bowl for sponges to remove products from the skin. Our flask had a spigot, which allowed a decent flow of water which was good.

So, a flask and an insulated bag. Hopefully that can help the burden of having to lob a hot cabinet around!