Even More Tips From Melanie Simon

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Sometimes the Top Shelf is just not enough. That's certainly the case when it comes to Melanie Simon, electrical aesthetician and skin genius. After she spilled on her secrets here last Spring, it's hard not to want more—so here's more. Because when someone sports skin like this as her business card, you're gonna need to know the whole routine and then some. Keep it coming, Mel...

Eyelids are like lips

Who knew?! Just like lips, your lids can "get dry, red, irritated and can crack and look wrinkled. The tissue in these areas is completely different than the area under the eye, though. I like Egyptian Magic for lids because it doesn’t soak in and absorb, irritating the actual eye—it just protects and hydrates the top layer, so eyelids will not feel chapped or crinkly. I love to put a tiny amount on the tops and the outer corners of the eyelids before I go to sleep." But don't go under the eye. Anything heavy below the lower lid could result in milia or puffiness.

Throw out your scrubs

"Don't scrub your face. Ever!" Spoken like a true P50 evangelist. The reasoning here is that you 100% absolutely can exfoliate, but the best way to do that is with acids that pack a dead-cell-eating punch without ever tearing at your skin. That said, if you just can't do without, Melanie recommends "baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar—equal parts. Leave on for 1-2 minutes." Should have the same effect, if not better, than the abrasive products you may already be using.

Press, don't rub

OK maybe this one isn't new, but worth repeating. Melanie exfoliates with Bioloqigue Recherche P50 nearly every day ("it all depends on whether or not my skin is looking dull and dingy and needs exfoliation"). But she's not swiping across her face with abandon. Instead, she uses about 5-7 drops of P50 on gauze and presses it methodically into her skin. Want a tutorial? Click here.

There's an easy way to drink more water

And that's by drinking more water. No, really. Obviously a facialist like Melanie is wild about hydration, but if you find yourself uninterested in water, suck it up and try properly hydrating ("strive for at least half your body weight in fluid oz.") for three days in a row. "Once you are hydrated, your body lets go of excess water," Melanie says. "When that happens, you will likely start to be thirsty for water more often, and your skin looks firmer, eyes less puffy, and breakouts tend to clear up after the body acclimates to this program." Easy and free enough.

Sensitive? Check your undertones

Less of a tip and more of a diagnostic tool, Melanie says you can tell if you're on the sensitive end of the skin spectrum if you have pink or red undertones. Everyone's different, of course, but if this is you AND you tend to flush easily, tread lightly with new and aggressive products. Oily skin (Melanie's favorite skin type to work with) will take to new things much easier. For sensitive folk looking to get into the heavy skincare hitters, try this routine first: "Test the product on a small area on the side of the face, morning and night, for three days to see if there is a reaction. If there is a tiny reaction on day three, you can try using the product sparsely, and spread out over a week three times—Monday/Wednesday/Friday only at night. If you still cannot tolerate the product after this second test, sadly that product is not for you." Luckily, there's always more fish in the sea.

Photos via ITG and Instagram.