Welcome to the March edition of SKIN FIRST! This is a monthly series of interviews with skin professionals (who also love organic beauty) to help you achieve your best skin possible. This month features the beautiful & sweet Antonella Rodriguez, a New York-based medical esthetician and a green beauty Instablogger (@my_minireviews). I’m so excited to share with you all her skincare knowledge & advice!

Tell us a little about yourself and how you started your career in skincare.

 My mother was an esthetician in the Dominican Republic, so I grew up in the esthetics field and always had a passion for skincare.  My mother had her own little spa in the house and a sauna which was pretty cool. I attended esthetics school at New York School Of Esthetics & Day Spa Inc when I was 18 years old and have been in the industry since.

What’s your skincare philosophy?

My skincare philosophy is using safe and non toxic skincare products, whereby you can still achieve great results. And eating a healthy diet.

What are your beauty essentials beyond the product realm that contribute to your skin health?

I love using jade rollers to massage and de-puff the skin. I also love using LED light Therapy to destroy acne bacteria and increase collagen & elastin production.

What are the top three changes you recommend making to your skin care routine for spring?

My top three changes are: 1) wearing spf daily or increasing your spf number.
2) Switching to lighter face lotions/balms. Since the humidity in the air increases, you can get away with using lighter products.
3) increasing your water intake. I love drinking water with fresh mint leaves – it helps with breakouts.

3 favorite skincare products?

This is a very hard question lol but I would say

The -Zatik Beauty Essentials Argan & Yarrow Suncreen Mineral Moisturizer SPF 25+ this sunscreen doesn’t leave a white cast and doesn’t cause breakouts.

•Roccococosmetics Plant Harmonising serum it helps with blackheads, keeping breakouts at bay and evening out pigmentation.

•Secret in-a-Tube Facial Mask – This mask has so many benefits.  you can even use it under your eyes to help tighten and de-puff.

•Sherwood skincare Makeup Remover – it’s so soothing and helps remove my waterproof mascara so well and concealer.

And I have to add one more product! I’m terrible lol  but the • Rutz Naturals Lighten Up Hydrating & Brightening Face Moisturizer  helps even skin tone, gently exfoliates and hydrates so well.

Yay or nay to:

Daily exfoliation – A nay nay, 1-2x a week is enough
LED & microcurrent- yay yay! Amazing for anti-aging
Lasers – yay! Love YAG lasers one of my favs is the Laser Genesis to disminish pore size, improve skin texture and helps diffuse redness and scars.
Layering skincare similar to the Korean 10-step beauty routine – nay! I feel like it’s too much. Too many active ingredients might lead to irritation. And daily exfoliating can cause damage.

Should we be getting facials regularly? For those who can’t afford it, what do you recommend?

I say  Yes, a facial every month or two can help maintain your skin balance and improve skin heath. I love the professionally done extractions, since it’s easier when someone else does it than doing it yourself. For those who can’t afford it, I suggest finding PH balanced skin products, without toxic ingredients, for your skin type. Exfoliating with a light peel or gentle scrub at least once a week, Doing a face mask one or two times a week, and I love doing herbal facial steams and extractions afterwards once a week with a light layer of oil on the skin. I like to use the ISUN Blackhead Solvent Oil  to help soften the clogged pores and it also helps with extractions.

My last suggestion would be to check out Groupon for facial deals and research esthetics schools that provide facial treatments. The prices are much cheaper and the esthetics students get a good amount of practice before working on clients.

For someone looking to anti-age in their 20s what tips would you give her/him?

If you’re in your early 20s a basic skincare routine including SPF, a non irritating eye cream, exfoliating 1-2x a week is good enough. Using a night serum with Glycolic Acid  is also nic, on days you exfoliate or use a mask- Until you build a tolerance, then every one to two nights can be ok (depending on how your skin reacts). The early 20s is the perfect time to build up discipline with your skin care regime, keeping your skin well hydrated is key, because how we take care of our skin now will help tell how it’s going to look, later on in the years.

For those in their mid-late 20s you can focus more on anti-aging treatments and ingredients and should take skincare more seriously since the body’s ability to produce new skin cells  (Cell turnover) decreases almost completely. Upgrading your eye cream for one that has more anti-aging benefits, not skipping on the antioxidants at all (especially for those in their late 20s who are in the “pre-aging” stage) in the morning, make sure you use an antioxidant serum or moisturizer to create a shield of protection on the skin from free radicals that air pollution and UV rays give off. They can also start using light retinol night creams.

Toughest part of being an esthetician?

I would say the toughest part of being an esthetician would be building a clientele at first. Depending on where you work, it can take a little bit of time.

Before we leave you, any last skincare tips? 

Yes! Not letting your clay masks dry completely because it can irritate and leave your skin dry. I like to use rosewater to spritz after a few min of applying the clay mask just to keep it working a little bit longer.

If you want to show some love to your under eye area while wearing a face mask that might be irritating to use near the under eyes, here’s a little recipe for an under-eye mask – Mix a tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel with a drop or two of witch hazel and applying it as an eye mask for a few minutes. Helps to soothe and de-puff. I love a mix of hyaluronic acid and Squalane oil for its hydrating boost and plumping effect on the skin.

My last skincare tip is to get rest! Sleep is so important. Yawning can cause under-eye puffiness. Because when you yawn, your eyes start to water and that leads to swelling and puffiness. It’s like when you cry, your eyes becomes more puffy.