The Affordable Cleansing Products Zendaya’s Makeup Artist Swears By

When it comes to red carpet events or photo shoots, Zendaya doesn’t do things by halves. She’s always the best-dressed, and her hair and makeup garner superlatives to that effect too.

But despite the amount of makeup products she wears on her face for work, her skin always looks flawless, fresh and radiant, and according to her makeup artist and her aesthetician, her cleansing routine has a lot to do with it.

These are the duo’s top tips for achieving that red carpet glow without having to pay the same monthly invoices Zendaya’s inevitably receiving from these two.

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A post shared by Ernesto Casillas🦻🏽 (@ernestocasillas)

1/ Be gentle

“Cleansing is the most important step in your regimen, and many people start off by overdoing it,” Zendaya’s aesthetician Joomee Song told Net-A-Porter.

“My top tip is to choose the most gentle cleanser you can possibly use to break down both oil and makeup, which, for most skin types, is an oil cleanser,” she explained. “Stay away from makeup removers that become milky because, while they tend to grab oil from your skin, they can’t differentiate what’s natural oil and what’s synthetic — so, ultimately, this causes skin dehydration and damage.”

“After your oil cleanser, use a cream, or a light balmy cleanser if you have oilier skin,” she continued. “Overnight, our skin creates a healthy oil barrier that you want to retain to keep skin healthy, so, in the morning, you really don’t have to cleanse your skin unless you have a skin concern like acne.”

“Having spent time training in aesthetics in Japan, I realize that a lot of the things we do to our skin in the US cause inflammation,” explained Joomee. “What I see over and over again in my clinic is that skin reacts to stress and trauma — often self-inflicted by overdoing treatments or using the wrong products — with inflammation.”

“Vitamin K and centella asiatica are two of my favorite anti-inflammatory ingredients, as is vitamin C, but you don’t need to use it every day,” she advised. “Our skin can’t take more than 20 per cent vitamin C and, once it’s applied to your skin, it stays there for 72 hours, so it’s not something you need to use daily.”

Try: SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil ($30.43 from Amazon Australia) or INNISFREE Green Tea Amino Acid Cleansing Foam ($15.20 from Priceline)

2/ You don’t need to spend a lot

Zendaya’s makeup artist Ernesto Casillas feels the exact same way, but despite his A-list clientele he actually prefers to use affordable products to remove his client’s makeup. According to Ernesto it’s all you need to get your skin feeling fresh, clean, and ready for bed.

“As a celebrity and Emmy Award-winning makeup artist, skincare is a must — especially after long days on set,” he shared recently via Instagram. “I start with Cerave’s Makeup Removing Balm ($33.18 from Amazon Australia) to melt off makeup without irritation, then follow with the Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser ($19.99 from Priceline) for a deep, hydrating cleanse.”

3/ Incorporate massage

Joomee’s client list includes celebrities like Zendaya and Lady Gaga because she has created her own massage technique, so when the expert gives you tips to do the same, you listen.

“Facial massage isn’t really about the technique or how perfectly you press a certain area — it’s the connection time that you have with yourself that’s so important,” she explained.

“Working on my clients, I’ve found that everybody has a dominant side of the face that is bulkier and tighter, and that creates more water retention — allowing toxins to stay longer on that side — which leads to breakouts, redness and, eventually, lax skin,” said Joomee. “So, taking more time to massage your dominant side is extremely beneficial to balance out not only the alignment of your facial structure, but also to ensure that you have fewer breakouts or puffiness on that side.”

If there’s one key place to massage on your face, it’s along your jawline — especially along your masseter muscles, which run along both sides of your jaw, the aesthetician explained.

“The masseter is the strongest muscle in the body [in proportion to its weight], and we constantly use it to chew, talk, clench and so on, so of course it gets tight. It’s also a pathway for the lymphatic drainage system, facial nerves and capillaries, so you need to make sure the muscle is flexible in order to keep these systems moving easily underneath it,” she shared. “When it’s relaxed, it truly changes everything about your face, and not just facial tension — it can relieve headaches and neck pain, too.”

“In my studio, I start with a Japanese microcurrent while I massage. At home, you can use whatever tool you want — Gua Sha, a face roller, you name it — but it’s so important that you always finish your massage using your hands, since our fingers have a sensory memory that none of these gadgets have,” she continued. “By touching your skin, you’ll understand how your face carries tension and how the texture of your skin is different on a daily basis, so you can manipulate your muscles to relieve the tension and create a healthy connection at the same time.”

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4/ Sweat it out

“Moving a blocked flow underneath the skin is everything when it comes to anti-aging — and, besides massage, the best way to do this at home is by taking a warm bath (or a long shower),” shared Joomee. “It will really make a difference and give your skin a good glow from within.”

“Make sure your bath water is a bit warmer than body temperature and sit in it for about 10 minutes — it’s important that you sweat a little bit because perspiration makes your skin create an oil barrier on the surface,” she explained. “Water that is too hot, however, isn’t helpful, because it will ‘melt’ down that healthy shield you’re trying to bring about.”

Sounds like the perfect excuse to head to our local bath house or sauna, if you ask us…

Try: The Skin Bar’s The Bath House (from $40 at The Skin Bar), Aurora Spa & Bathhouse (5 visits from $440 at Aurora), Slowhouse Bath House (from $39 at Slowhouse) or Capybara Bathing Bath House (from $65 at Capybara)

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Main image credit: Getty Images

What are your favourite cleansing products and tips?