Despite being 25 I’ve never found a full skin care routine that worked well enough that I stuck with it. This will probably be to my detriment later in life (ahh wrinkles!) but I’ve found the majority of products I bought to help my skin either didn’t work or majorly irritated my sensitive skin. I’ve gone through a lot of products and these days mostly use either kids products or things for sensitive skin.
This is currently just some of what I put on my skin and leave on most days. Not even counting cleansers and stuff that goes on and comes off quickly.
I recently decided to try switching to an all or mostly all natural skin care remedies. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Jillian Michaels podcast during my workouts and she is always going on about chemicals and cancer and going organic. I can’t really afford to eat all organic (I can barely afford to eat the cheap stuff here) but I can stop slathering on hundreds of chemicals onto my skin.
Plus, “33 percent [of] Personal care products that contain at least one chemical linked to cancer, according to the Skin Deep report by the Environmental Working Group, a partner of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.” (source) I figure the less I use on my skin, the better.
For this reason I’m slowly switching over and trying to find the best possible solutions. I’m not throwing everything I have away and starting from scratch so I’m just turning to natural skin care options when my current bottles of “stuff” run out. I’ve only tried two things so far but I have to say that both were very nice!
Natural Skin Care Solutions I’ve Tried So Far
- Egg white face mask. I was hesitant about putting egg white on my face because of the yuck factor, but it worked incredibly well! All you do is beat an egg white then put it on your face and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. It gets tight and then you wash it off with lukewarm water. Your skin feels really good afterwards!
- Extra virgin olive oil as moisturizer. My skin can get dry rather quickly (especially in winter) and start getting flaky so I like to moisturize at night most nights. I previously used oil of olay products for this but just switched over to olive oil. I used a hot wet rag over my face (like a steamer) twice then rub gentle circles to get off dead skin. Then I use a cotton ball which I wet with water first then add a couple drops of EVOO. Rub that across my face and leave it on overnight and wash in morning. Voila, super moisturized and soft skin the next morning. I might actually start to just do it for 30 minutes or so before bed though since I have a tendency to not sleep on my back…ooops! This is one I need to experiment with more but the first results are promising!
Natural Skin Care Solutions I Want To Try
- Apple Cider Vinegar as a toner
- Homemade facial scrub with sugar to exfoliate
- Extra virgin olive oil to remove makeup (especially eye makeup)
- Some type of natural acne treatment
I also want to look into products from organic brands that don’t use a lot of chemicals since I can’t make everything or just use normal kitchen products as they are for all things. I’d love recommendations for good brands for this.
I have a lot to learn in this area but I’m very open to suggestions and comments from anyone who uses natural products for skin care. Even if you use regular products for sensitive skin I’m open to recommendations for that too!
Let me know what I should do or try in the comments!
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Josie Maran http://josiemarancosmetics.com/ has an amazing Argan oil moisturizer . It’s less greasy than the olive oil, so it works better for me. It’s super expensive but a little goes a long way. I have her day cream as well and I like it, but I don’t think I’ll buy it again since I like the oil so much and I don’t need to wear sunscreen everyday since I’m not outside for very long.
I’ve heard good things about Korres as well, and if you can get Burt’s Bees down there, they have THE BEST lip balm and moisturizers.
Thanks for the recommendation! I will check that out!
Hey – I have just started using the Kiehls range. Its expensive but you can get free shipping to NZ on Strawberry Net.
I also listen to all Jillian’s podcasts – I will just agree to disagree with her on some things I think – I love her and her podcasts but there is a certain amount of what she talks about that doesnt fit with my lifestyle/budget/what I want to do :)
What’s Strawberry Net? I’ll have to check that out.
I disagree with some stuff Jillian says too but overall it’s nice to listen to. I agree that a lot of stuff she says to do doesn’t fit with my budget, haha.
p.s. – in terms of makeup, I use Australis – not organic/chemical free but it is cruelty free and cheap at Farmers, pharmacies, or K Mart. :)
I use the egg white thing – learnt it from my Mum who has amaaaazing skin. Sometimes I add a bit of lemon juice too if I have it.
Also, baking soda is a good face scrub. You just use about a teaspoon and add a few drops of water, rub on and then rub off!
Olive oil can also be used as a make up remover.
For a pore cleanser I use baking soda. I put a tsp in my hands and massage into my face, wash off in shower….. my skin loves it!
Baking soda is amazing. For those who have flat hair and need a little body, try washing your hair with bs.
I have found that Palmer’s Cocoa butter is the best. I get kind of rough skin and my girlfriend put me onto this – a true lifesaver
Strawberrynet is a cheap way to get brand name cosmetics and free NZ shipping!
The things I rate for everyday are:
Dermalogica pre-cleansing oil (Strawberry net)
Cetaphil facial wash (Farmers – perfect for sensitive skin!)
Thin Lizzy mineral foundation (I was SO against even trying this, but it is great for my skin – Pharmacy)
Rosken Skin Repair moisturiser (The Warehouse and some New World Supermarkets sell this)
MD Vit A Plus Clearing Complex – for breakouts (Strawberry net – $50NZ but lasts for months)
And I sometimes suffer from eczema and Jojoba Oil is the best for clearing any dry scabby skin – and is an awesome facial moisturiser. I buy it by the litre at GoNative.co.nz or LotusOils.co.nz. I think you can buy the oil at Farmers too. I put it in a little spritz bottle and use it when I get out of the shower, a little goes a long way. And it is great as a hair treatment.
I am also not a loyal cosmetic user – I think it is because I have pretty good skin so nothing is going to do an amazing job when I am lucky to begin with.
Cool. I will definitely check that out.
I use Cetaphil facial wash! I brought over several from the US because I didn’t know if it existed here. It does but it costs more so I’m glad I brought extra. :)
Yeah Cetaphil is expensive here – get your family and friends to send some over!
I’d love to see you try any of the ones you listed! Got me poking around and found this article if you want to give any of them a go
http://shine.yahoo.com/green/10-kitchen-pantry-beauty-ingredients-1299338.html
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh´s last [type] ..Empty guest nest and being domestic
Apple cider vinegar smells like death, but really does great things. I used it diluted with a 1:1 ratio of water and vinegar; that seemed to work well. I also poured some (diluted) apple cider vinegar over my already shampooed-and-conditioned hair in the shower, let it hang out for about a minute, and rinsed out. It made my hair shinier and less frizzy.
I’ve been thinking along the same lines and over the last couple of years have been using more natural haircare and skincare products. I live in the UK now, so some of my favourites you can’t get in NZ, but you can get…
Organic Surge (top tip is their organic rose geranium oil facewash). Quite resonably priced and available at Chemists like Unichem
Trilogy – believe this is a Kiwi brand. More expensive, but I signed up to their newsletter and have twice won free products to use – score!
Jergens – you’ll know Jergen’s from the US, but I think you can get it online in NZ
L’Occitane – This is another more expensive brand, but it’s soooo lovely. They do have some good bargains in their sales in the UK, but I don’t know what their NZ stores are like. I really rate their Immortelle line.
And randomly – I recently read an article (I use the term loosely!) about the actress Emma Stone who apparently said she uses grapeseed oil bought from the supermarket on her face – never tried it though!
Happy hunting and I hope you let us know how you get on cause I love natural products.
Hey Mary
I’ve worked in the beauty biz for over 10 years and I could recommend you some organic products but if you want to go purely natural ingredients then here’s some caution that you should use:
- the steaming face cloth technique may be drying you out, hot water is very drying to the skin
- careful using sugar as a scrub on the face, it’s a great natural scrub but it is fairly aggressive, since you have dry skin you may want to try rolled oats instead
- remember that just because an ingredient works for one skin (like if you read about other people’s success stories) doesn’t mean it will work for yours, all skin types are different
This was super helpful! I’ve only done the steaming face cloth thing once (read it on another site so I figured it was worth a shot) so that’s helpful to know. I definitely know that everything people recommend doesn’t work for my face… been there done that with lots of products! Haha.
What organic products would you recommend? I’m not necessarily completely 100% sold on all natural but would love to move toward products with less chemicals and more natural ingredients. Thanks!
I’ve been meaning to try the egg mask for months, for some reason whenever I go to do it, we don’t have enough eggs, and when we do, I forget. The olive oil doesn’t make your face oily? Ive used it on really chapped lips before. Please report back on your other findings because I’m always up for trying easy skin care things. I’ve already switched to using only products that don’t test on animals, something I wasn’t thinking about till my sister set a good example for me. I use yes to carrots brand a lot for skincare, it’s in the drugstores or online, natural and cruelty free. However, one of their products did give my sister a rash. I also use burt’s bees because of same reasons. And two other brands I cant think of, but they’re more expensive and at sephora, but also natural and cruelty free. I’ll look at home and let you know.
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I found out that the simpler the routine, the better it is for the skin. I only clean my face with a gentle, soap-free gel and try to moisturize with oils. As Megan said above, Argan oil is an amazing moisturizer. When I don’t have it around the house though, I use sweet almond oil. A few drops on my face/neck, before bed and preferably after the shower, make my skin smooth and soft the next morning.
For a cheap and easy scrub: Mix about 4 tablespoons of freshly brewed coffee grounds, with a tsp of cinnamon, and a tbsp of honey. The coffee is full of antioxidants and firms the skin. Cinnamon stimulates the blood flow and honey has strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Plus it smells amazing!! It has def become a weekly-routine favorite.
You can use it on your face and body. You can also add other ingredients if you like : essential oil, lemon (for oilier skin though)…
Good luck on your quest ;)
Yeah, I found sweet almond oil to be an amazing moisturizer and not at all greasy. I used it more when I lived in drier climates – lately standard unscented moisturizers have been doing the trick for me.
Using olive oil to take off eye make-up is wonderful! You only need a tiny amount and it’s very moisturizing.
Natural skin care? Yeah, I pretty much do it all natural. As in, I wash my face with water.
No moisturizer, no face wash, no toner. My skin is a hundred times better than it used to be! I wear a little make up but not too much.
..right to maintain healthy skin? One that shows different snacks to eat and how to prepare them…http://www.allaboutskinjzb.blogspot.com/