Skin Care.....Simplified

So after all this lotion making and what not, I have actually narrowed down my skin care products to about 5 or 6 total. While I like lotion, I have found that I hate being cold after a shower, so I now oil up in the shower before I towel off. I don't have to be cold, and the towel takes care of any oil that didn't soak into my skin. I have always had dry skin, and since I have been doing the oil in the shower routine, I haven't had one single patch of dry, itchy skin.

The new routine!

Facial Cleansers:

• Morning: Oatmeal Sugar Scrub (Finely ground oatmeal, dry milk, white sugar)
• Evening: Oil Cleansing Lotion (See previous post)

Moisturizers:

• Wrinkle-fighting/Uplifting Oil (Sweet Almond,Apricot Kernal, and Grapeseed Oils; Carrot Seed, Geranium, and Clary Sage Essential Oils) Carrot Seed and Geranium have wrinkle fighting properties, Geranium and Clary Sage have anti-depressant properties, Clary Sage also helps with controling acne.

Toners:

• Witch Hazel and Rose Water: 1/2 and 1/2 of each. You can also add a few drops of liquid glycerine for softness.

Body Care:

• Liquid Castile Soap: I like the Hemp Almond scent, and I sometimes dilute this since it is a little strong. I use this for my body cleansing, and sometimes for my face.
• Body Oil: Same oil mixture as for face, but I used Orange and Cinnamon Essential Oils for a yummy scent. Orange and Cinnamon can be irritating to very sensitive skin, so be careful.

Ok, so thats it! As you see, it could really be two less, since you could use the Oil Cleansing Lotion for your whole body, or Castile on your face, and you could use the same formula for your face and body oil. You could simplify it even more by using only one type of base oil, say Almond or Apricot. I only use all three so I can have the benifits of the different fats, and to use up the oil I have sitting around. Oil can go rancid, so you do want to use it up.

All of these products were made by me with supplies from Zenith Supplies Inc in the Ravenna area of Seattle. www.zenithsupplies.com. Making your own skin care products is a great way to make sure that your products are personally customized to your skin care needs, and you will save a ton of money.

Newest skin care tricks

So you know how I love to use oatmeal and dry milk to wash my face with. Well, I recently added sugar to the mix. It adds additional exfoliation and as it dissolves gives the paste a nice texture that feels a little more like soap.

Here are two recipes I just tried from Natural Beauty at Home by Janice Cox:

OLIVE OIL CLEANSING LOTION

1 tsp castille soap (I used 1 tbsp)
2 tbsp water (I used rosewater)
2 tbsp glycerin or honey
1/2 cup olive oil (I used almond oil)
Mix all ingredients together in a blender or by hand until smooth and creamy.
To use: put a small amount into your hand and massage into your skin. Rinse well with warm water.

ARROWROOT CLEANSING JELLY

2 tbsp arrowroot powder
2 tbsp glycerin or honey
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients, heat in a double boiler until thick and clear DO NOT BOIL. It will have the consistency of pudding. Let cool completely and put in a jar. If it is too thick thin with a little water.

ALMOND OIL LOTION

1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup almond oil (I used a mix of grape seed, apricot and almond)
1 tbsp beeswax
2 tsp lecithin (optional)
scent

Heat oil and wax (and lecithin) in a glass bowl set over a pan of water until the wax is melted. Stir frequently with a whisk. When wax is melted turn off heat but continue to whisk until lecithin is mostly melted. Place bowl in an ice water bath. Heat water and baking soda in the microwave for 45 seconds and mix to dissolve. Slowly add to oil while mixing. Continue beating as it cools. When it has cooled down quite a bit, add the essential oil scent. You can also add a tsp or so of arrowroot powder at this point to help cut the greasiness. Let it cool completely before you package it. It will thicken as it cools.

My skin care routine

So, here's what has been working great for me. I have mostly dry skin with clogged nose and chin pores and redness around my nose and chin. But from what I have been reading, even those with oily skin or acne will see great benefits from using an oil cleanser as part of a double cleansing routine. The whole point is to not strip your skin of it's natural oils, so it doesn't feel the need to overproduce oil. See previous post and my next post titled Recipes to learn how to make the products I use.

Morning:

I wash my face with ground oatmeal and warm water, massaging it into my skin until it is creamy then rinsing off. Followed by a splash of witch hazel & rosewater toner, and then I moisturize with an oil combination (see Geranium oil cleanser/moisturizer in previous post).

Evening:

I massage the Geranium Oil Cleanser onto my face, then cleanse with the All Purpose Castile Soap Cleanser. Then I use an organic cotton ball with a squirt of witch hazel & rosewater toner to clean off any residue. Moisturize with the Nighttime Coconut Oil Moisturizer or Geranium oil.

Body:

Before every shower I skin brush. Since I have been skin brushing my skin is silky soft and smooth, and as an added bonus my cellulite is going away! It is pretty amazing! I use the All Purpose Castile soap cleanser for my body, face, and hands, and even use it to shave my legs. After my shower I use a little bit of the Yummy Cake Lotion (see next post) or an almond/olive oil combo. It is pretty oily so you only need a little.

And that's it! Pretty simple, and my skin has never looked or felt better. This is all with products that I made myself for very little money.