For the love of good, old-fashioned water

As I work on my skincare book, I thought I should share a little of what I’m doing and make a case for myself about how much I need your help! (Was that a little too much? I’ve never been much good as sales, but I’m great at begging!)

Today, I wanted to talk about water. Poor, plain water that gets so terribly ignored these days.

When I was a teenager, there were really only two ways to hydrate: Crystal Light and Evian. I remember everyone putting Crystal Light in their water. God forbid we drink it by itself! And the marketing geniuses at Kraft had every adult woman I knew thinking that you could actually lose weight just by adding Crystal Light to your water.

As for those who fell into the plain old water camp (myself, included), Evian seemed to be the only decent way to make hydration trendy. I remember reading an article in Teen Magazine that models had taken to carrying bottled water with them wherever they went to keep their bodies hydrated. I’m ashamed to admit that I pretty much did anything Teen Magazine told me to do – especially if it was something that models do. So I ran out and bought a bottle of Evian. This was long before the BPA scare and Klean Kanteens. And I shamefully admit that I looked at all those brands of bottled water and the only one that “looked” like a model would carry it around was Evian. So that’s what I chose.

A month later, my mother clipped an article for me from People Magazine about how popular Evian water had become and that all the coolest celebs were carrying it around. There was a picture of Cindy Crawford getting off an escalator at an airport with a bottle in her hand. Needless to say, I was hooked. (Though, I only bought one Evian water bottle and proceeded to clean it every night and use it for seven months! I thought it was ridiculous to pay for a new bottle of water every day, even when I was only 14! I’ll just take it from the tap, thank you very much!)

Fast forward twenty years and we’re back in the water trends. Crystal Light is enjoying a resurgence of popularity thanks to their individual powder packs (great for the environment, too, with all the single-use packaging!) and their liquid flavorings. These “water enhancers” are all full of chemicals (artificial flavors, mold inhibitors, fake sweeteners and dyes), but marketed as a fun, hip, sexy way to be healthy and gorgeous. And check out their website blurb:

Create a delicious refreshment with our mixes – whether you and your 4-inch heels are turning sidewalks into catwalks or you’re meeting the ladies for an after-work gossip session. So let that hair down, put on that mini skirt and enjoy low calorie, zero guilt Crystal Light.

Is it just me, or does it make women sound like flaky, artificial, Barbie dolls with nothing better to do in life but worry about our looks? For that alone, I say, “Crystal Light: Shame on you!” (And I’m oddly offended by the mention of 4-inch heels as if that’s a reasonable, healthy and/or popular fashion standard for the average woman. Please!)

And what else does dear Kraft have up its sleeve? If Crystal Light is too retro for you, then luckily, you can try MiO! It’s basically the same thing, but marketed to a younger, hipper crowd, and to both women and men. You think you should drink water for your health? Umm, no way! Water is all about what you want, when you want it, according to MiO:

“MiO is the way to help turn water into the drink you need. And it truly is all about you. It’s your flavor and your squeeze…it’s never been easier to help water work for you, at your command.”

I’m so relieved that we, as a society, don’t have to rely on crappy, disgusting water in order to stay healthy. Thank god we are spared the torture of ingesting that horrible liquid, and that now we can “enhance” it with dyes, mold inhibitors, fake sweeteners, fake flavors and caffeine. What a damn relief!

And if you do consider yourself a purist and try to keep your water au naturel, then thankfully, we have Evian reminding us that water keeps us young. Because we can’t be healthy or beautiful if we aren’t youthful! And we can’t be any of those things without paying several dollars to drink tap water packaged in environmentally-destructive plastic bottles.

Okay, I know, I pretty much never get sarcastic around here, but honestly – this nonsense surrounding water has got me all riled up. Water is one of the most basic necessities of life. It’s simple, pure and doesn’t have or need any frills, bells, whistles or bling. Nothing is more satisfying when you are hot and thirsty. And it’s so, so good for your body and your skin.

If you have troubled skin, adding a tablespoon of chemicals isn’t going to help. Instead of having water flush out the toxins in your system, your just adding more toxins. And I think we all know by now that we don’t need a bottle of $5 tap water from the grocery with a fancy, French label. (If you haven’t seen Tapped yet, please watch it! It’s amazing.)

So folks, please – if you want glorious, glowing, healthy skin, stick to good, old fashioned water. Skip all the “enhancements” – they enhance nothing and just cause your body a lot more problems in the long run.

And if you feel so moved to help me fund my skincare e-book, please contribute and/or share my page. I only have about 6 weeks left to reach my goal! Thank you so much!

You Create Your Complexion

Last summer, I decided to write an e-book about my skincare journey, revealing all the tips about how I healed from 15+ years of severely bad skin. I was cranking it out as fast as I could, totally high on inspiration and then life struck, so to speak. I had to stop in order to attend a week-long seminar in Portland, and when I completed the last of the online assignments two weeks later, I was in the midst of dealing with Etsy’s new policies. As you can imagine, the excitement I had felt about my book got buried in the anxiety, stress and disappointment I was experiencing at the time.

Thankfully, important projects never let you give up – they just patiently wait until you decide to get your butt back in gear. And I have. I started working on the book again last week and I can’t wait for spring break, when I can really put in some serious writing time. I’m reluctant to set a date of completion, with all that I have on my plate right now, but I sure would like to finish it by the end of the summer. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I want to remind you of the power you have when it comes to skincare. Don’t walk around talking about your “problem skin,” and stop referring to your skin as “acne prone.” You might as well order yourself a set of pimples next time you buy something from Amazon.

I realize that this probably sounds really New Age-y and possibly totally ridiculous. But bear with me. What happens when you feel badly about your appearance, perhaps thinking you aren’t so pretty? You feel bad every time you look in the mirror. Your feelings affect how you carry yourself and how you interact with people. Your insecurity becomes part of how other people see you and instead of describing you as that gorgeous, glowing woman in the accounting department, you’re the dowdy, shy girl. Why? Because you are actually unattractive? Or because your own perception of yourself becomes what other people see?

If you are the dowdy, shy girl, that’s because you decided to be her. You fed yourself certain ideas and those thoughts became a reality.

See where I’m going with this?

Stop labeling yourself as acne-prone and problem-skinned. Uh-uh. No more. No more feeling anxiety every time you look in the mirror, or piling on the pimple cream, in anticipation of breakouts that haven’t happened yet.

Let’s practice a few new thoughts to introduce into your world:

1. I have beautiful, healthy, glowing skin because I’m a beautiful, healthy, glowing human being.

2. Perfect health is my skin’s natural state.

3. Zit cream? What’s that for?

This may seem like a silly and simplistic idea, but it’s incredibly important for all of you out there fighting with your skin. Just give it a try for 6 weeks and expect it to work. You might be surprised by the results you get!

My Skincare Project

As many of you may have noticed, I’ve been posting about my latest project on my Facebook page: an e-book about how I healed my skin from severe acne that persisted for over 15 years. I’m very excited to share what I have learned, especially since many methods I tried were oppositional to all I had been taught by the advertising industry and my many dermatologists. But it worked, and knowing the suffering such a condition can cause, I wanted to share my story in the hopes that it will help others.

Please stay tuned on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I’ll be posting tips as I go, like the one below. (I have to thank Melanie and Mark Rummel for this amazing idea – thank you, both!) Let me know if you have any questions you would like me to address, as well – I’d love to hear them! I will share your questions here on the blog, on FB and/or in the e-book.

I hope to have the e-book ready by late August or early September. Yay!

On another note, I’m off to Portland for a week-long seminar and will have the shop on vacation mode while I’m gone, as of Saturday. I’ve pre-written next week’s blog posts – let’s see if I can get them posted while I’m away from my computer! See you in August!

My Face on Honey

I’m so happy to have a guest post today by one of my favorite bloggers, EcoYogini! Here, she talks about using honey as a facial cleanser – something I have done many times in the past and find very effective! Enjoy!

I have always been a face product junkie. From those acne wipe circle thingys to using face wash, exfoliant, toner and moisturizer. I’ve never really had much face issues, until my twenties. All of a sudden my face hated me, so I spent a ridiculous amount of money on Aveda face products and more recently Eminence. I now have acne and very sensitive skin that flames bright red after even the most ‘sensitive skin’ proclaiming products.

Copyright: EcoYogini. (Photo used with permission.)

About six weeks ago my Eminence face wash ran out. Serendipitously, I had just read Yancy’s blog post about alternative face washes where she mentioned honey. I thought, what the eff, why not? I have local honey- if my face explodes I’ll stop using it. Six weeks later and it now has replaced almost exclusively my face washing routine. I thought I might be a little crazy, I mean how is this actually cleaning my face?

Copyright: EcoYogini (Photo used with permission.)

Then I read Crunchy Betty’s ‘Honey Face Wash’ challenge series. Hah!! I KNEW it!

Why would you want to wash your face with honey:

1. It’s CHEAP. No seriously, this was a deciding factor for me. I’m so tired of spending a jabillion dollars on my face wash that is usually filled with chemicals.

2. Honey is naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial. Lots of people use it as a preserving agent. This means that it naturally cleans out those acne creating nasties!

3. According to Crunchy Betty, it’s *slightly* drying so it will get rid of extra oil on your face. I have found differently- see my observations below.

4. It’s beautifully moisturizing, not too much and not too little.

5. Honey has beneficial enzymes, especially raw honey.

6. According to Crunchy Betty, Honey is good for all skin types!

7. Honey has healing properties which is great for acne or scarring.

8. It’s completely natural, no icky chemicals soaking in your skin!

Copyright: EcoYogini (Photo used with permission.)

You can find fabulous tips, advice and step by steps on Crunchy Betty’s Honey Challenge series- I highly suggest you take a little peak. I found her posts helpful, but I’ve kept it pretty darn simple. Here’s what I discovered as being the best routine for my face.

Feeling a bit like a huge crunchy granola, I cleaned out one of my small glass jars that used to contain locally made moisturizing lotion and poured in a whole bunch of local honey. Unfortunately, I’ve had some difficulty finding raw honey locally, although I will admit that I haven’t searched that hard.

I stuck the jar in the shower, since that’s where I wash my face. Every morning I unscrew the jar cap, and pour about a tablespoon of honey in my palm. I rub both hands together to spread the honey and in circular motions I massage the honey into my cheeks, nose, temple- just as I would my regular face wash. With the face cloth I wipe away the honey gently and… voila! That’s it!

What I was pleasantly surprised to notice:

1. My acne actually didn’t get worse. I haven’t noticed a magical improvement, I still get acne, but it definitely has not gotten worse and I may even go as far to say that it’s improving slightly.

2. My skin feels SO much better after using honey than when I periodically use my John Master’s Organics face wash that I purchased on a whim in Montréal. I use this face wash about once a week, just so it won’t go to waste, after which my face feels tight, dry and looks red. Honey NEVER does this. My skin on honey is soft, clean and not inflamed. It’s magical.

I’ll admit, I don’t just use honey in my face washing routine. I still use moisturizer, although I use much less and about once a week I use a fabulous gentle face scrub made from oatmeal and lavender. As soon as it runs out I’m going to try to make my own- the oatmeal is amazing for softening my skin. I would have never guessed.

As someone who has *never* in a million years used makeup remover, I used to just rub away with the face cloth (yes I know, so harsh on that delicate skin!), I wondered what to do about that pesky mascara and concealer on my eyes. About a week ago I found some jojoba oil I had lying around. Just to see, I put one drop on a Q-tip (you could use a felted square ), and it worked perfectly! Why in the world would anyone buy chemical laden makeup remover when jojoba oil works so well? Added bonus? Jojoba oil is gentle and light enough to moisturize that delicate skin around your eye.

I am so happy with my honey face wash, I can’t believe I didn’t know about it before. That said, I can’t speak for your skin. All I can say is that for this makeup wearing, combination and sensitive skin Yogini, honey has been THE solution.

Five natural, eco-friendly skin cleansers

Go natural with your face washing routine. Instead of chemical-laden commercial soaps and cleansers, try one of the following:

Baking Soda
Sprinkle a little baking soda into the palm of your hand, add a few drops of water, and gently rub over the face. This is a wonderful way to exfoliate the skin, and to really get a deep clean. However, it is recommended that you only use baking soda once a week. Daily use can cause dryness or irritation. This is a good choice for oily skin types.

Castile Soap
Dr. Bronner’s castile soaps are effective and eco-friendly. They are made from fair trade, organic oils, and are so highly concentrated that one bottle will last a very long time. Use the bar, or the liquid for a gentle and earth-friendly wash. All skin types would benefit from this product.
Honey
This is another item that all skin types can use. It may sound like a sticky disaster, but honey is one of the best facial cleansers you can use. Simply squeeze a little onto your hand, work into moistened skin, then rinse. It comes off cleanly, and gets the job done. You can use honey as a mask, as well – just leave it on the face for 10 minutes, then rinse. Add a bit of brown sugar for a great an exfoliating paste.

Oatmeal
Soak about a tablespoon of oatmeal in warm water, then massage onto the face, and rinse. This is also great for exfoliation, and is excellent for oily skin. (You can find this in the bulk bins in most grocery stores and avoid the needless packaging.)
Oil
Oil?! Yes, oil! This is the method I use. Some people just spread a light coating of oil (like jojoba) over their skin and then rub off with a warm washcloth. I use jojoba with a touch of castor oil to really cleanse the pores, and I let it steam into my face with the hot washcloth before wiping it off.
The best way to wash your face? Just splash with water. If you wear makeup, gently rub it off with a wet washcloth. Nothing is more natural, eco-friendly, or inexpensive than that!

Updated and reprinted from my article at Examiner.

Summer Self Care

I think a lot of people push themselves too hard in the summer without realizing it. The sun is out so early and so late – who wants to stay in bed when it’s sunny and warm outside? There are sports to play, family to visit, barbeques to plan, gardens to weed… It’s such a pleasant time of year that I don’t think we realize how hard it can be on our bodies. Heat, sun exposure, long hours of physical activity and allergies can all conspire to wear us out.

Copyright: Five Seed

Are you taking care of yourself? Here are a few things to try to keep yourself healthy this summer.

::Carry a spray bottle of hydrosol with you when you go out. It is a great way to refresh yourself and hydrate your skin. I like lavender and rose. (This is especially great for those of you who bicycle a lot, like me. A little spritz of hydrosol after a hot ride is incredibly refreshing!)

::Practice yin yoga. Many people are much more active during the summer doing all the things we don’t always get to do in colder temperatures – including biking, walking, hiking, jogging, rafting, etc. These are all great for our health, but you may start to feel certain muscle groups getting tense from all the repetitive movements. Yin yoga really helps stretch the large muscles in your body, counter joint stress and it can help “reset” everything so that you feel fresh and rejuvenated.

::Use a clay facial mask once or twice a month. This will help draw out the excess oil, sweat and dirt that can accumulate on your face during active summer months. It feels so great on the skin, as well. I highly recommend using rhassoul or french green clay, as neither dry out the skin. Just be careful not to overuse clay masks, or you will cause your sebaceous glands to overcompensate by creating more oil.

::Wash the pollen out. If you suffer from major allergies, wash your hair more often, use a neti pot and change your pillowcase frequently. These are all common pollen traps (it gets into our sinuses, and into our hair, which is rubbed all over our pillows each night), so keeping your hair and sinuses clean can help to alleviate some allergy symptoms. Again, though, just be careful not to wash your hair too much, as it will become oilier if you strip it of its natural oils!

::Get some rest. This is a hard one for me. When it’s so sunny and nice outside, I don’t want to go to bed and I sure don’t want to linger in bed in the mornings! But we still need a good 6-8 hours each day, so try to keep yourself on a consistent sleep schedule.

::Stay hydrated. This is an obvious one, but it bears repeating. It never fails, every year, that I let myself get dehydrated without realizing it until my body forces me to stop and get some water. I think this is because I just want to be out and about, doing, doing, doing. I don’t want to stop for a glass of water unless I’m riding my bike (which makes me super thirsty). Big mistake, though! Water keeps us going.

::Let your skin breathe. I cannot emphasize this one enough. You don’t need a lot of heavy moisturizers or makeup during the summer. The less you wear, the more your skin can breathe and maintain its natural balance. Further, if you wear less makeup, you can splash your face with cool water during the day – which feels GREAT – and not have to worry about your makeup running!

::When you have time off – whether it’s a vacation or just downtime – take the time to relax! This is a time to stroll, not walk. To read out on the patio, not spend all day on your computer. To laugh with family and friends, not sit alone texting everyone on your iPhone. There’s nothing to get done. Just relax and have fun.

::Indulge your skin. With the heat and sun exposure, our skin can take a beating during summer months. It is a great time to make infusions with plants from your herb garden and take some time out every single day to massage it into your skin. And don’t forget to exfoliate! Use scrubs, skin brushes, coarse washcloths, or whatever else you have around.

Hope you’re enjoying the warm weather!

Skinful Thoughts

I am so pleased to present this wonderful guest post on using the power of your thoughts to create beautiful and healthy skin. You’ve heard me talk about this before – I’m a strong, strong believer that our thoughts and beliefs play a part in our health. As yogini Rainbeau Mars said in a recent interview, everything we do or think in one area affects all the other areas of our life.

When I thought about diving deeper into this subject, I immediately knew who should be the one to write it: Melanie Jade Rummel of My Magical Journey. This woman has been a huge inspiration to me since I “met” her – both because of her commitment to decreasing the amount of plastic in her life and because of her strong belief that we can manifest the things we want in our lives with the power of our thoughts. I knew no one else could illuminate this subject like she could.

So here is Skinful Thoughts by Melanie Jade Rummel:

As a clinical hypnotherapist and joyful living coach, I know the power of positive thinking. Here are three ways you can use your thoughts to appreciate your natural beauty and help your skin heal if you are experiencing skin issues:

● Always focus on what you love about your skin and yourself. What we focus on is what we create more of in our life. If you have a zit on your chin, for example, don’t examine it every time you look in the mirror. Instead, make a conscious decision to look at all your blemish-free skin and admire the beauty of it. I found it funny in my own life when I started doing this and realized that 99% of my face was perfectly clear. Why was I worrying about the 1% that had a zit? I have since realized that I only break out when I am severely stressed, which thankfully doesn’t happen very often anymore. Have you noticed this in your own life? Spend more time relaxing, meditating, and enjoying the beauty of life, and your health and how you feel about yourself will greatly improve.

● Visualize your skin healing. Set aside time to quiet your mind and your body. Take a few slow, deep breaths to settle your mind. Then, imagine relaxing light coming into your body and causing every muscle to relax. As you are taking several minutes to do this, also tell yourself that you easily let go of any thoughts that are not relaxing. See those thoughts floating away. When you feel focused and relaxed, imagine sending healing energy to the area of your skin that needs attention. Be creative! You can imagine that you are in an amazing spa getting an incredible facial, and that the cream the technician is spreading on your face is specially formulated to heal your skin. You can imagine a Divine healer coming to help you heal. Let your imagination help you heal yourself. When you are ready to end your meditation, affirm that the healing you have received continues throughout the day even without you focusing on it. Feel the feelings of having perfectly clear and healthy skin until you feel like that is what you have.

● When you speak about yourself, remember that you are speaking to your precious Spirit. Pay attention to your words. Are they lifting you up or bringing you down? Recognize how your soul is affected by your thoughts. You are a beautiful being doing the best you can in your life. You deserve all good things, and you deserve to be treated well.

Our beauty hangups and skin conditions can be great opportunities for us to recognize our innate healing powers and practice self-love. I hope these tips help you to live more joyfully and to appreciate your own Divine perfection.

Thank you so much, Melanie! Readers, be sure to visit her at My Magical Journey.

Your Stories on Skin Care

From the lovely Leanne Daharja (NZ) of Hazeltree Farm (formerly known as Cluttercut):

1. Washing my hair less often.

I have dry hair, and find that washing my hair once a week is absolutely often enough to keep oiliness at bay. Any more, and the chlorine and contaminants in our tap water start to dry my hair out. I also never use shop-bought shampoo and conditioner (except very rarely when travelling) – I’ve been using bicarbonate soda (baking soda) and apple cider vinegar for nearly three years now, and my hair has never been better.

2. Rarely using soap, unless I’m truly dirty! And showering less often.

I don’t use soap. Water and a loofah work fine most days. I only use soap if I’m truly dirty i.e. have ground in dirt from the garden. Soap – no matter what claims it has or its maker has – dried out my skin and causes me to have rashes.

I’ve also started showering less often, and find that in our cool New Zealand climate that works brilliant for me. Apparently the Norwegians only shower once a week – I’m building up to that, but even showering less than daily is helping my skin improve as it re-establishes natural oil balance.

From the lovely Chandelle (California) of Chicken Tender:

Photo used with permission.

Yarrow, lavender and peppermint liniment

***Please submit YOUR natural beauty tips to five5seed@gmail.com. I am happy to include links to your blog and/or store. Just include the following: your name (or initials, screen name, etc.), location & age (optional), link, and of course, at least one natural beauty tip!

Flowing, Growing, Changing Nature

As the equinox approaches and we transition into another season, it is important to remember that our bodies, like any part of nature, are always changing. If you have begun using natural ingredients in your beauty routine, you will likely find, at some point, that they don’t work consistently throughout the year. I’ve known many people to give up at this point and think that it was just a fluke that it worked at all in the first place. But we have to remember that we change and therefore, what we use on our bodies will have to change with us. This is particularly true when the weather/season changes or when we experience a transition in our lives.

We often don’t realize just how much our bodies change not just seasonally, but every single day. This is particularly true for women. What are we dealing with?

::Hormonal fluctuations

::Stress (this literally changes our bodies’ chemistry)

::Nutritional imbalances/changes

::Amount of sleep we get each night

::Exposure to pollutants (ingested, inhaled, etc.)

::Amount of exercise we get each day

::Exposure to (or lack of) fresh air

::Hydration levels

::Humidity, sun exposure, temperature

This short list covers a few of the many things that affect our bodies every single day.

I think in this culture, we are taught to strive for static perfection when it comes to our bodies. Clean, clear, healthy skin, the ideal weight for our body type  and height, etc. We have to realize that that ideal is completely unrealistic. In the wise words of Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

It’s a miraculous thought to realize how much change we experience from moment to moment, and how the changes in our bodies are influenced by external events. And how the changes our bodies experience go on to influence MORE change in the world.

Try to remember this when your routine of baking soda and ACV doesn’t work on your hair one day, or your natural deodorant recipe fails you out of the blue. Don’t give up on your natural skin care if your skin suddenly becomes flaky or you break out more than usual. Breathe and adjust. It often only takes the slightest change to “fix” the problem.

::Switch back and forth between homemade shampoo (or organic baby shampoo) and baking soda/ACV when your hair seems unresponsive. Or try just washing it out with water.

::If you use a homemade deodorant recipe like the one I use and it stops working suddenly, try simply dusting your underarms with plain baking soda, or try a commercial brand, like Terressentials roll-ons.

::If your skin becomes too dry or too oily, try different oils, oil combinations, or try eliminating or reducing your moisturizer for a while. Make your own lotions using cocoa or shea butter and oils in the winter, and just plain oil in the summer. Use less, use more, cut back on one application here or there (or daily) and see what happens.

Don’t be afraid, discouraged or frustrated if (when) a natural routine seems to stop working. This is…well, natural. By altering your routine just a little bit, you will often find a quick solution, and will likely be able to go back to your normal routine after a short period of time. Experiment and have fun – don’t give up!

Supple skin…and how to keep it that way!

My skincare series left off with using less or no soap on your face. Have you tried it yet? It’s all a process of experimentation, and you may ultimately find that your skin functions better with a little soap – just keep it mild and natural. (Castile soap is a good bet.) Or try washing with oil, as I mentioned previously, or honey. I forgot to mention honey, and someone else brought it up – I have used that with great success, as well.

As for moisturizing, I have heard two arguments. Some say use it liberally or you’ll turn into an old prune! Others say use it rarely or it’ll make your skin stop producing its natural oils and you’ll turn into an old prune! Hmmmm….

Once again, this is an area for personal preference, instinct and experimentation.

First, though, let’s tackle one of the biggest myths (in my opinion) spread around by the cosmetics industry: Any skin products that contain oil will cause you to break out.

I spent most of my adult (and teenage) life living in fear of oil – both that in products, and the oil produced by my own skin. You may have already read of the horrors that I put my face through – scrubs, chemical peels, a decade of Retin-A, astringents, toners, etc. I would never, ever touch a product that had oil in it – not makeup, not foundation, not moisturizer. Every product I chose was carefully inspected to make sure it contained no oil and was labeled “noncomedogenic.” Now I think of those days and want to laugh (or cry, actually). I feel that I irreparably damaged my skin during those years and now I’m trying to do what I can to help it perform and look its best.

I now look at the word “noncomedogenic” and I see a big string of nonsense letters. Personally (and again, just my opinion), I think you’ll have less pore blockage if you are using a natural oil than you will if you are using a bottle full of stabilizers, dyes, fragrances, chemicals and preservatives, no matter how “noncomedogenic” those ingredients may claim to be.

As always, I believe we should follow the wisdom of our bodies to find health. If our bodies CREATE oil, then why should we attempt to wash, tone and powder it away? Why should we then “re-moisturize” our skin by putting oil-free chemicals onto it? The whole process now seems ludicrous to me.

Don't be scared of real oil! (Photo credit: Mountain Rose Herbs)

But this is where things get dicey for me. As many of you know, I’m more of a hands-off gal than hands-on. I’ve learned that when it comes to our bodies, we should be stepping out of its way and letting it do what it needs to do. I spent a year letting my hair re-balance itself by washing it less and eliminating commercial shampoos from my routine. No, my hair is not now perfect, and yes, I still have bad hair days. But I love my hair, love the way it feels, love how healthy it is and how fast it grows.

My skin is another matter, entirely, however. I never had much trouble with my hair, except that it tends to be on the oily side. I always thought that my skin was oily, as well, but I have discovered that it is actually DRY! It only appeared oily for the last twenty years because I was constantly (I’m talking 2-3 times a day here) stripping it of its natural oils with extremely harsh products.

Part of the reason I have been so slow to write this post is that I haven’t honestly figured out a really effective routine for my skin as I have for my hair. I don’t want people to think that if you just do this and that that you’ll have perfect skin! Nope. This is another experiment that you will have to figure out for yourself, as I’m doing. Hopefully my ideas will help, as will the experiences I have encountered throughout this process.

So what do I do? As I’ve said, I only wash my face with water once or twice a day. I always wash at night to get the dust of the day off my skin and to make sure it is as fresh as possible so it can rejuvenate as I sleep. As for moisturizing, I go through phases. Sometimes, particularly in winter, I will make up a batch of homemade moisturizer using oils, cocoa butter and water and apply that every day. (Check the internet for recipes and experiment until you find one you like. Just remember to make them in small batches and keep them cool or they will get moldly!)

In the summer, I generally just use jojoba oil as a moisturizer. Of all the oils in the world, jojoba oil is the most like the oil produced by our own bodies. It generally works well for many people and absorbs easily. If you don’t have access to jojoba, try coconut, sweet almond, sesame, avocado or olive oil. Remember to only use a dab of oil – you don’t need much! You can dab off the excess with a cloth or towel after about 10 minutes.

Because my skin has been so messed up over the years, I tend to “let my skin go” for several days at a time in the hopes that it will eventually re-balance itself. It’s been two years and I have seen definite improvement, but I’m still not exactly where I want to be. Anyway, when I’m in a re-balancing phase, I will moisturize only after my shower (every other day) when my skin is “open” from the heat and steam. The only reason I do this is because I feel I have messed with my skin far too much and by “stepping aside” as often as I can, I hope to allow it to find its own wisdom again. This is, of course, my own intuition on the matter. I think it is important to experiment and find out what works for your skin.

I think it’s also important not to be afraid of natural moisturizers. Oils, butters (cocoa, shea, etc.) and other such moisturizers are, in my unofficial opinion, the best things you can use to keep your skin hydrated. When used prudently, they shouldn’t cause you any problems with breakouts, and I believe they keep your skin looking and feeling MUCH healthier than commercial products.

I’ll share a bit more about this subject in future posts, as well as several tips on breakouts, makeup, and more.