I am so greatful to this forum, and I have learned so much about taking care of my skin, that I thought I'd share some of it in a new post/thread that's... um, a little less intimidating than the really long, older threads. (The OCM and wash your face with honey threads are AWESOME if you take the time to read through them all, but they are just super long.)
I have, at age 30, the best skin of my life, and I owe it all to this forum.
1. Avoid chemical irritants in commercial products, especially in hair products and sunscreens. Regardless of their cancer causing properties (or not, depending on what you read), tons of people are extremely irritated by sodium laurel sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, parabens, propelene glycol, and chemical sunscreens.
Sadly, there are no "mainstream" sunscreens that I know of that don't contain chemical sunscreen. I know that California Baby is a mineral sunblock, if you want/need to buy your sun protection. Even the most "gentle" sunscreens (WaterBabies, Neutrogena) always broke me out and I could never figure out why- they'd give me sties around my eyes, tiny pimples on my neck, horribly mess of a face and lots of redness, even if I wasn't sunburnt. It was the chemicals- my skin finds them *very* irritating.
As for shampoos, they are generally more full of nasties than conditioners, but you should read the labels on all your hair stuff to make sure that they are clean. You can use anything from no-poo, Dr. Bronner's, or a shampoo bar to Aubrey Organics all the way up to stuff that's fairly easy to find (ie, even in Wal Mart) like J/A/S/O/N and Organix.
Shave gels and deoderants can be full of nasties, too. Generally, women don't put this stuff on their faces, but it can result in bumps on legs and armpits. (I use aloe for shave gel and as hair pomade, and Tom's of Maine for deoderant.)
Anything that touches your skin should be scrutinized. Read your labels!
This one thing- being careful about the commercial products I buy and use- has done more for my skin than anything else.
2. Embrace the process of trial and error. Everyone's skin is different. Your own body chemisty and factors like geographic location, age, stress, diet, hormonal events, etc., are going to impact your skin. Something that works beautifully for your friend make just result in a mess for you. That's okay- you'll find something that works for you.
3. Make the switch to mineral makeup. Obviously, if you don't wear makeup, this doesn't apply to you, but if you do, it is well worth doing. I use Everyday Minerals- cheaper than drugstore makeup, their concealer is the best cosmetic product I've ever used, and nothing objectionable in their product list. I love it. The only thing they don't make is mascara. I have solved this problem by making my own mascara using an old, clean mascara tube, aloe vera gel, and EM black powdered eyeshadow, but there are also more natural commercial mascaras out there- Ecco Bella is one.
4. Be not afraid of oil. Even if you have oily, sensitive, acne prone skin- OIL DOES NOT CAUSE ACNE. This is a lie, perpetuated by the skincare industry. Old sebum (that is, naturally produced skin oil) in combination with dirt and/or bacteria can cause some types of acne, but that does not make all oils, or really any oils, bad. Healthy skin has oil, period. And if you have old oil plugging up your face, remember this fact of chemistry: "Like dissolves like." Really.
5. Be not afraid of making your own.
This almost always cheaper, is easier than you think, and, at least in my case, is less time consuming than searching high and low for quality commerical products. In my case, this is what we use:
To Wash: Body: Hand milled bar soaps, dilluted Dr. Bronner's
Face: A mixture of raw honey and green tea (the green tea has antioxidents and makes it easier to wash off), a hot wet washcloth.
To Moisturize: Coconut Oil, Vegetable Shortening (really, it works wonderfully), Olive Oil.
Sun Protection: Coconut Oil or Vegetable Shortening blended with Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide (white powders, I purchased mine on eBay). Mix two heaping heaping TBS of each powder into a cup of coconut oil or shortening. You can make this a waterproof sunblock by melting beeswax in a double boiler and slowly whisking in oil/shortening and zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. (You can also make H2O proof sunblock with insect protection by whisking in insect repelling essential oils- a wonderful blend can be found on eBay, or you can assemble several of the individual oils that repel insects.)
To Tone: 2 parts filtered water, 1 part witch hazel, 1 part apple cider vinegar, and one dissolved aspirin per 1/2 cup of mixture. This is full of AHAs and BHA, which are the main wrinkle fighters in over the counter products.
For Crow's Feet/Laugh Lines: Rose hip oil.
To Exfoliate: Baking Soda, Sea Salt and Olive Oil, a hot wet washcloth, a pumice stone (do not use stone on face, though).
As a Facial: OCM (Oil Cleansing Method)- olive and castor oils, blended. Apply to a hot, wet face. Allow to sit. Then, using a hot wet washcloth (and baking soda or salt, optional), gently exfoliate off. This does wonders for DH's oily, sensitive skin. It literally removes blackheads and pimples. Everytime I do this to him, he says he feels like a baked potato, but he puts up with it for they payoff, which is happy, non inflamed skin.
People use lots of other stuff on their skin- eggs, oatmeal, lemons, avocado, mashed bananas (or maybe that's just on hair...), so this is intended only as a jumping off place.
The advantages that these recipes have is that they don't readily go bad, so you don't have to take them from the fridge into the bathroom.
I have, at age 30, the best skin of my life, and I owe it all to this forum.
1. Avoid chemical irritants in commercial products, especially in hair products and sunscreens. Regardless of their cancer causing properties (or not, depending on what you read), tons of people are extremely irritated by sodium laurel sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, parabens, propelene glycol, and chemical sunscreens.
Sadly, there are no "mainstream" sunscreens that I know of that don't contain chemical sunscreen. I know that California Baby is a mineral sunblock, if you want/need to buy your sun protection. Even the most "gentle" sunscreens (WaterBabies, Neutrogena) always broke me out and I could never figure out why- they'd give me sties around my eyes, tiny pimples on my neck, horribly mess of a face and lots of redness, even if I wasn't sunburnt. It was the chemicals- my skin finds them *very* irritating.
As for shampoos, they are generally more full of nasties than conditioners, but you should read the labels on all your hair stuff to make sure that they are clean. You can use anything from no-poo, Dr. Bronner's, or a shampoo bar to Aubrey Organics all the way up to stuff that's fairly easy to find (ie, even in Wal Mart) like J/A/S/O/N and Organix.
Shave gels and deoderants can be full of nasties, too. Generally, women don't put this stuff on their faces, but it can result in bumps on legs and armpits. (I use aloe for shave gel and as hair pomade, and Tom's of Maine for deoderant.)
Anything that touches your skin should be scrutinized. Read your labels!
This one thing- being careful about the commercial products I buy and use- has done more for my skin than anything else.
2. Embrace the process of trial and error. Everyone's skin is different. Your own body chemisty and factors like geographic location, age, stress, diet, hormonal events, etc., are going to impact your skin. Something that works beautifully for your friend make just result in a mess for you. That's okay- you'll find something that works for you.
3. Make the switch to mineral makeup. Obviously, if you don't wear makeup, this doesn't apply to you, but if you do, it is well worth doing. I use Everyday Minerals- cheaper than drugstore makeup, their concealer is the best cosmetic product I've ever used, and nothing objectionable in their product list. I love it. The only thing they don't make is mascara. I have solved this problem by making my own mascara using an old, clean mascara tube, aloe vera gel, and EM black powdered eyeshadow, but there are also more natural commercial mascaras out there- Ecco Bella is one.
4. Be not afraid of oil. Even if you have oily, sensitive, acne prone skin- OIL DOES NOT CAUSE ACNE. This is a lie, perpetuated by the skincare industry. Old sebum (that is, naturally produced skin oil) in combination with dirt and/or bacteria can cause some types of acne, but that does not make all oils, or really any oils, bad. Healthy skin has oil, period. And if you have old oil plugging up your face, remember this fact of chemistry: "Like dissolves like." Really.
5. Be not afraid of making your own.
This almost always cheaper, is easier than you think, and, at least in my case, is less time consuming than searching high and low for quality commerical products. In my case, this is what we use:
To Wash: Body: Hand milled bar soaps, dilluted Dr. Bronner's
Face: A mixture of raw honey and green tea (the green tea has antioxidents and makes it easier to wash off), a hot wet washcloth.
To Moisturize: Coconut Oil, Vegetable Shortening (really, it works wonderfully), Olive Oil.
Sun Protection: Coconut Oil or Vegetable Shortening blended with Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide (white powders, I purchased mine on eBay). Mix two heaping heaping TBS of each powder into a cup of coconut oil or shortening. You can make this a waterproof sunblock by melting beeswax in a double boiler and slowly whisking in oil/shortening and zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. (You can also make H2O proof sunblock with insect protection by whisking in insect repelling essential oils- a wonderful blend can be found on eBay, or you can assemble several of the individual oils that repel insects.)
To Tone: 2 parts filtered water, 1 part witch hazel, 1 part apple cider vinegar, and one dissolved aspirin per 1/2 cup of mixture. This is full of AHAs and BHA, which are the main wrinkle fighters in over the counter products.
For Crow's Feet/Laugh Lines: Rose hip oil.
To Exfoliate: Baking Soda, Sea Salt and Olive Oil, a hot wet washcloth, a pumice stone (do not use stone on face, though).
As a Facial: OCM (Oil Cleansing Method)- olive and castor oils, blended. Apply to a hot, wet face. Allow to sit. Then, using a hot wet washcloth (and baking soda or salt, optional), gently exfoliate off. This does wonders for DH's oily, sensitive skin. It literally removes blackheads and pimples. Everytime I do this to him, he says he feels like a baked potato, but he puts up with it for they payoff, which is happy, non inflamed skin.
People use lots of other stuff on their skin- eggs, oatmeal, lemons, avocado, mashed bananas (or maybe that's just on hair...), so this is intended only as a jumping off place.
The advantages that these recipes have is that they don't readily go bad, so you don't have to take them from the fridge into the bathroom.
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