All About Skincare

Note to all: My skincare routine is what works for me and my skin. It may not work for all.

First thing's first. The biggest key to clear, radiant skin: DIET!!! You need to be drinking lotsss of water (you'll see a difference in as little a day if you try to start drinking a lot more water)!!!! Sometimes if i feel like I'm breaking out a bunch I'll just focus on constantly drinking water all day, which makes me have to pee like every hour, but the next day I'll notice my skin glowing and my breakout clearing.

Keep water on you at all times! That is the easiest way to keep yourself hydrated since you won't have to go out of your way to get it.

Also, the foods you eat play a large role in how your skin is. Personally, by cutting dairy out of my diet i was able to achieve clearer skin than i ever have before. The best way to see if you skin is reacting to something you're eating it to cut all the things you think may be having an adverse reaction to out of your diet for at least a 2 weeks, a month if you can make it (dairy, meat, gluten, processed foods, sugary foods). Then incorporate them back into your diet, a new thing every week. (so week 1 start eating diary again, week 2 meat, etc.) If your body is sensitive to any of these things you'll be able to tell after having it out of your system.

How often you exercise, drink alcohol, smoke, touch your face, drink/eat sugary foods, and are in the sun, all play a role as well. So try to exercise more, and do all the rest of those things less! (ALWAYS use sunscreen!! You will still get that tan, except that tan will be more even and cause less wrinkles and less damage with sunscreen)

One more quick warning, when changing your skin care routine, you may notice your face breaking out more than normal. This can mean two things: either its working and bringing all the gunk out of your face OR its not working and just causing you to break out more. How do you tell which one it is? TIME! Try giving it 2 or 3 weeks, if you're still breaking out pretty bad, somethings probably not working well with your skin type. But more often then not, after 2 or 3 weeks you'll notice a more revitalized skin. Just as with any detox, the bad stuff has to come out before you see the results you were initially looking for!

Okay! Now my actual skincare routine! Routine:

1. Wash face with warm water, a gentle cleaner (I used to use a charcoal clay cleanser, now i don't use a cleanser at all), and a washcloth (I personally use a 100% natural agave fiber washcloth because of the rougher texture but whatever kind of washcloth works). Let dry.

2. Put on a hydrating oil and rub it is for a little to help the skin absorb the oil (There's a difference between hydrating and moisturizing!!!) My favorite is Jojoba oil which works great for most people but not all. Some other, non-clogging (a comedogenic rating of 0 to be technical) ones are sunflower oil, hemp seed oil, and argan oil. These will work on all skin types.

3. Apply natural toner with a cotton ball. Let dry. I use Thayers witch hazel, witch hazel works by clearing all the dirt from your pores and then tightening them to prevent any more dirt to get in them (which otherwise would create pimples/blackheads)

4. Moisturize with a light, face lotion. I prefer using Hempz sensitive skin lotion as its very light, water based with no added fragrence or colors or etc. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYDRATING AND MOISTURIZING! When you hydrate with oils, your skin is soaking up the oil hydrating deep into your skin. When you moisturize with lotions and creams its moisturizing the top layer and forming a protective barrier stopping your skin from losing any more moisture.

5. In the morning I skip using a toner as to not dry my skin out too much (mine is on the drier side)

6. Once a week I will exfoliate using some sort of clay mask. I will also try to do a moisturizing mask at least once a week. For each one I clean my face and then take a shower to help open up my pores first so the masks will be able to work better.

If you think you have oily skin, try hydrating/moisturizing a lot more before trying products that dry your skin out, as you might actually just have dry skin thats over producing oils to try and hydrate itself. Jojoba oil mimics the skins natural oils so it is great to use as it helps balance that production of excess oils. (WARNING: If you do decide to try jojoba oil you may notice for the first couple weeks or so your face may look like its getting worse. It is not making your face break out more, it is actually purging your pores, bringing all the bad stuff thats already there out. Within a few weeks it will clear up and you could notice clearer pores and more hydrated skin. Trust the process!)