Ice Water Facial Baths
Image Courtesy: Instagram
I am often suspicious that a majority of the beauty and skincare hacks I find online are too good to be true. A quality camera and some simple editing can make anything look trustworthy, and an influencer with a good eye and a strong sense of what’s on trend can make a simple, but perhaps unnecessary, beauty hack look aesthetically pleasing. I’ve been susceptible to those kinds of online beauty or skincare hacks a few times. I’ll see a video of a girl explaining some secret trick or extra step in her daily routine and I’m successfully swayed into trying it out myself. In the past I was even persuaded enough to buy a new product that I never ended up consistently using. Social media can be seductive that way. With the right lighting, framing, and song choices, we can easily be sold into the idea that we are seriously lacking something that will make our lives better.
So I’m a little weary of the beauty tips I scroll past online. Sure, a good number have genuinely helped me in the past, but for the most part I’d rather avoid the chance of getting convinced that I should buy a gua sha tool or a forty dollar moisturizing serum. I’m pretty content with my beauty and skincare routines at the moment, and knowing myself I’d rather skip past videos that might test my willpower.
Despite that, the other day an online beauty trend popped into my mind: the ice water facial bath. I was reading the book A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain, and I was on the chapter where he visits Russia. He was describing his trip to a traditional Russian banya, or sauna, where the method is to steam, towel-bound, in the intense heat and humidity trapped in a small sauna hut, and then to step out into the freezing cold air, and plunge into an even colder pool of icy water. Bourdain described the experience as exhilarating. It’s a practice that is said to have several benefits like boosting your immune system, improving blood circulation, helping muscle recovery, detoxing your body, improving your skin and mental health. Reading about the outlandish but intriguing Russian banyas and their numerous benefits immediately reminded me of the ice water facial baths I had seen on social media years before, and it made me reconsider their effectiveness.
I had heard online before that there were benefits to ice-cold water. I had seen videos that emphasized the importance of using cold water in the shower for the health of your hair and suggesting ice water facial baths for clearer and less puffy skin, and I wrote them off as more harmless, but unnecessary, beauty trends. But reading about this traditional Russian practice with a long and successful history made me reconsider their merit.
So I decided to give an ice water facial bath a try. I filled a huge clear baking bowl with ice water and, with my hair pulled back, dunked my face into the water for about five seconds at a time. Of course, it was nowhere near as cold as a fully body polar plunge. But after the first few seconds a prickly, tingly sensation began to set into my skin. After what I felt like was a solid amount of dunks, my face was red, numb, and buzzing with cold. It felt quite nice. For a good while after I felt like something within me had been stirred. My skin felt cool and my body felt awake, yet calm. It wasn’t life-changing, but I enjoyed it. Although I did feel a little silly having to dump an entire bowl of water down the sink that I had made undrinkable from dipping my face into it.
Ultimately, my stance on online beauty trends has, for the most part, remained unchanged. Many online hacks are merely fleeting trends, and it’s important to be aware that not every new trick or product is legitimate or necessary. But on the other hand, a lot of online trends can be harmless fun, and if they might bring some extra whimsy into your life, it can be fun to give them a try.
Strike Out,
Georgia Witt
Saint Augustine
Editor: Kaya O’Rourke
Georgia Witt is a blog writer and poet for Strike Magazine, Saint Augustine. She loves reading, writing, fashion, nature, and collecting CDs. She hopes to work in the publishing or journalism field after college. You can reach her at georgiawitt3000@gmail.com.
