First and foremost, when you go and see any skin care professional (this isn't from experience, it's just what I have heard) they will tell you to find a detailed and specific skin care routine that works for you. However, Grigore advises otherwise. She was explaining how when she finished nutrition school, her skin was terrible. Broken out, itchy, bumpy, her skin was just freaking out. She tried every method in the book until one day she was so unhappy and frustrated she just gave up on all of her products. And when I say all, I mean all. She stopped wearing makeup, using face washes, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, you name it, she dropped it. Miraculously, that completely cleared her skin. All of those products you are slathering on your face every single night, may actually be hurting your skin rather than helping. Now of course this is not the case for every individual, but it really doesn't hurt to try if you are so angry at your skin. "Since then, I've put every client I've ever had on a version of this routine-even if it's only for a few days-and it has made a huge difference every time" (Grigore, 129). Now, there is so much I can tell you to fully achieve a true skin cleanse. Some of the main things I would suggest are, 1: making a product journal. Write down everything that goes on your skin, any cleanser, scrub, cream, write it down. Notice a new breakout or blackhead? Write it down! Noting new things that are added to our skin care routine can definitely help in narrowing down causes of skin irritations. 2: Think about your makeup. Know what you are putting on your skin, for how long, and what it does. Always ditch products that make you more oily, dry, cause breakouts, etc. Just get rid of them. That way you don't have to deal with all those skin complications due to some concealer. 3: Take supplements. To my surprise, I used to take the hair, skin, and nail vitamins, which ended up working wonders. It never hurts to test out different vitamins and supplements to see which benefit you the most.
Now onto the fun stuff. I decided for this post I would show you a DIY face mask. I actually tried this twice over winter break and it made my skin so soft and oil free without feeling overly dry or patchy. I love it as well because it only involves three ingredients! These three are definitely things everyone has.
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
(who knew these three would work so well together!)
Directions:
Add coca powder and sea salt to a small bowl or jar, stir together until they have fully combined. Next, add the olive oil and stir. It should come out to a dark brown, very thick, paste. With your fingers, spread it all over your face and leave it on for as long as you like! Careful when rinsing off however, it has a tendency to stain washcloths.
(Before adding the olive oil)
(After adding olive oil)
I highly recommend this face mask to anyone who has been struggling with problematic skin or just want to take a nice bath and give their skin a little love. As I mentioned before, I used this when I was just sitting around and it made my skin feel amazing! And it takes about 5 minutes to make.
I have a couple other DIY skin care products that I am very excited to try here in the next few blog posts. So I would like to ask, what is your skin care routine? Would you ever go cold turkey and drop all of your products? Personally, I'm not sure I would be able to do it. But it never hurts to try!
Grigore, Adina. Skin Cleanse: The Simple, All Natural Program for Clean, Calm, Happy Skin. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2015. Print
Hello again Jollie! I'm a huge fan of your blog posts, cheers! I've personally tried not using any products and it worked for a while but I found my skin getting really dry or oily really fast so I went back and because of the weather my acne is getting better. I like to use a Japanese cleanser every night, facemask 2-4 times a week and a clay mask two times a week on sunday's and friday's. This has really been working for my skin but can be a bit pricey and I always go to bed and wake up with moisturizer.
ReplyDeleteAlenz, I am so glad you like my posts! I understand when it comes to weather, my skin always acts up when the seasons change. It just doesn't understand how to react to the switch. However, winter is always a nice break, considering my skin is so oily, the lack of moisture helps calm it down. I use many lush products which I have found to be very beneficial. Their products are all natural, you can find cruelty free, vegan products if you enjoy buying those products. I use their scrubs and moisturizers which are very light on my skin. I would love to try not using any products for a couple days just to see how it works. Again, I am very thrilled you like my posts, thank you for commenting!
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