Skin Care Routine
My routines like with skin care are simple for multiple reasons; one being I don’t want to buy a bunch of different products and second the simpler it is the easier it is to stick to the routine and I have really dove into and am loving Minimalist living. As I dove into removing chemicals from my life I realized that there was a lot of chemicals in lotions, soaps and makeup and people don’t really think about it but what goes on your skin is absorbed quickly and these toxins affect your endocrine system.
Some of these toxins I have mentioned in the household cleaners post and that makes you stop and think that why would I want this on my skin if its in cleaners!
*Parabens
*Fragrances
*Phthalates
*Butylated Hydroxytoluene
*Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
*Formaldehyde
*Lead
I made the process of eliminating products easier by using this great app called “Think Dirty” or EWG.org to look up products and see their rating from 0-!0 on how clean the ingredients are and to also find products that are cleaner to use so you don’t have to search around for things to use.
Step 1 of my skin care routine starts with the shower; I used to use body washes that had lots of fragrances and exfoliators (I found out those little beads are plastic!) and I used a separate face wash that for a time was an acne treatment. I now use simple ingredient bars of soap from The Yellow Bird Co. and I use it to clean my body and my face. But soap dries out my skin a lot of people will say but its the chemicals in your soaps that dry out your skin, using this soap on my face doesn’t dry it out.
Step 2 is Dry Brushing after I shower and dry off, what is this you say? Its a rough looking brush that you use to brush along your skin towards your heart. This removes dead skin, increases circulation and helps with lymphatic drainage. I use it from my toes up my whole body towards my heart than along the back of legs up. From my fingertips up my arms and than on my face in a circular motion.
Step 3 after dry brushing I use my Alaffia Neem and Turmeric Face cream. I have a night cream and day cream. The Neem and Turmeric helps with firming the skin, protecting from free radicals (which oxidize and damage cells) and skin inflammation.
Step 4 is Alaffia body lotion with Lavender which I use for the rest of my body. I like the lavender because it feels calming on my skin. Its important to moisturize after you shower because your pores are open and ready to absorb what you put on your skin, this is also why its important to make sure your products do not have chemicals in them.
This is my skin care routine minus my makeup but I will leave that for another post because that is a whole subject on its own and from selling makeup and having a lot of different things down to 5 things is a big jump not just for me but for a lot of people.
I hope this helped you with your own journey. Please leave a comment and share with your friends and family. Thank you for coming along on my journey with me.
