Skin Care

I really am against putting a lot of unnecessary crap on my skin.  Even some of the "natural" skin care stuff out there isn't very natural or good for your skin.  Your skin absorbs everything you put on it, so I try to be careful.  I wish I had been more prudent when I was younger, but better late than never I guess.  My routine for my face is pretty simple - my skin looks better than it used to, or at least I think it does.  I had started getting breakouts in my 30's after never really dealing with any of that, and that has cleared up. Small wrinkles are a little less, and a couple of dark spots I was getting are fading as well.  My skin looks and feels better.

I don't always wash my face at night.  I probably should, but I just don't.  I do take my eye makeup off usually though.  For this, I just rub a little coconut oil right on my eyes and wipe off the extra.  Easy and good for your delicate eye skin.  I also sometimes put a little shea butter around my eyes before I go to bed at night.  It's nice and thick and is a good moisturizer for the eye area.

I wash my face with a combination of liquid castile soap, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, castor oil and apricot kernel oil.  I mix it up and keep it in a small quirt bottle.  Doesn't dry my skin and all the oils are super good for your skin.

Sometimes I exfoliate using brown sugar and a little of one of the oils from my facewash above.  Just mix it in my  hand and circular rub it on my face, rinse and done.  Just don't use the toner after you do that.  You'll have face burn for like 3 hours...

If I use a toner at all, which isn't very often, I dilute a little Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar and use a cotton ball to dab a little on my face.

For moisturizer, the only thing I use is a little jojoba oil.  It mimics your skins own natural sebum, so it's really good for you.

Apparently pomegranate is also good for wrinkles and your skin in general, so I may start incorporating a little juice into my cleanser and see if I notice any difference.

and that's about it.  Pretty easy.  I buy the oils from a health food store in town, a little more expensive on the front end, but the supply lasts me quite a while as I mix up enough for a 4oz bottle at a time.

I am also trying to switch the makeup I use over to an all natural.  I really like what I read about Miessence.  Still need to do more research... another post for another day.

The body butter I use is here and it is seriously the best stuff ever.  It's not a traditional lotion - it's creamier, thicker, oilier - but so good for your skin.  I slather it all on right out of the shower head to toe.

Enjoy - do some research and tweak according to what you might want or need.  Would love to hear if you try any of these out.

-M