Get the Most Out of Skin Icing With These Top Tips

Posted September 4, 2024 by Dr. Alex Sobel

Applying ice to your face as a cosmetic regimen can have some amazing effects. A wide range of beauty experts have been using this technique in spas and skincare treatments, and now you can too! In this post, triple board certified Seattle cosmetic surgeon Dr. Alexander Sobel and his skincare experts share some tips and tricks to get the full benefits of this skincare method.

Why Does Icing Work?

Icing has been shown to reduce the appearance of puffy eyes, improve blemishes and acne, reduce pore size, and even combat the formation of wrinkles.

The reason ice can aid in such a range of common skin problems is that cooling your skin constricts the blood vessels and encourages the body to send more warm blood to the affected area. The increased blood flow reduces swelling and restores uniformity to your skin, which helps to solve many common skin complaints.

Top Five Tips To Get the Most Out of Icing

The best way to see great results is to see a professional skin care expert, but there are ways to ice at home. If you decide to go the home route, be sure to follow these tips for safe, effective icing.

Cleanse your face thoroughly before treating it with ice, as applying the ice on freshly cleaned skin is far more effective.
Wrap the ice cube in a soft cloth before applying it to your skin. Wait until it starts to melt slightly before gently massaging your skin with the cube in a circular motion. Be particularly gentle around the area under the eyes, and make sure not to use ice immediately out of the freezer, as it will be too cold.
Focus on each individual area of your face (chin, jawline, cheeks, forehead, nose) for no more than two minutes, paying careful attention to blemishes and acne.
Icing your skin before applying makeup is a fantastic method—it will reduce the appearance of pores under your foundation. If you ice your face and then apply primer, it acts as a great toner.
Try making ice cubes out of other known beneficial liquids. Pouring lemon juice, green tea, cucumber juice, or chamomile tea into your ice tray can enhance the effect ice cubes have on your skin. It’s like doubling the results with a single effort!

Bonus skin icing hack: Don’t just use water for your ice cubes!

As we mentioned in tip 5, you can make your ice cubes out of more than just water. In fact, customizing your ice cubes to suit your skin type can help you achieve even better results with skin icing.

Here are a few ideas to try:

For Oily or Acne-Prone Skin: Use ice cubes made from green tea or chamomile tea. Green tea contains antioxidants that help reduce inflammation, while chamomile soothes the skin and reduces redness.
For Dry or Sensitive Skin: Try freezing cucumber or aloe vera juice. Cucumber hydrates the skin and offers a cooling effect, and aloe vera provides gentle moisture without irritating sensitive skin.
For Mature Skin: Lemon or rosewater ice cubes can help. Lemon adds a bit of Vitamin C to your routine, helping to brighten skin over time (use sparingly), while rosewater soothes and hydrates, giving skin a youthful glow.

Taking a few moments to match your ice treatment to your skin type can make a big difference in your results.

Things to Watch Out For

If the treatment becomes uncomfortable, stop immediately. Capillaries under your skin can break if they get too cold.
If you already have broken capillaries, avoid icing altogether.
Do not treat the skin for more than 15 minutes. Icing is meant to be a fast treatment, and your skin can be damaged if not carefully monitored.
When in doubt, ask a professional. DIY skincare can be fun, but it’s important to remember that aestheticians are skincare experts with advanced training to protect your skin during all treatments. Don’t get swept up in the skin icing trend without the knowledge to keep your skin safe.

For Best Results, Go to the Pros

No home remedy can achieve the same results as going to a professional. Dr. Alexander Sobel offers a variety of facial treatments that can address skin issues more effectively than at-home skin icing. Our medical grade skin care products address hydration issues, provide blemish control, improve oxygenation, and reduce many other common skin concerns.

Obagi skincare

The Obagi Nu-Derm System is a physician prescribed skin care system that penetrates below the skin’s surface to accelerate cellular turnover. It improves all layers of the skin and and works on the cellular level to reduce age spots, improve acne, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and improve skin elasticity.

Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion is another way to establish smooth, refreshed skin. Microdermabrasion reduces blackheads and whiteheads, improves enlarged pores, and smooths epidermal wrinkles via aluminum oxide crystals that are projected onto the skin to exfoliate the epidermis. These crystals and the accompanying dead skin cells are vacuumed into a closed filter and discarded, leaving skin cleaner and more youthful.

Get the most beautiful skin of your life!

If you’re ready to take your skin care to the next level, contact Anderson Sobel Cosmetic Surgery to find out how we keep your skin looking refreshed and rejuvenated with one of our many skin enhancing treatments.