Starting Over in a Toxic World

Welcome to my first-ever blog! And thank you for joining me on my past, present and future endeavors. I truly hope that everyone who visits my blog will come away with at least one little nugget of wisdom from my own trial and error processes.


For my first post, I'm going to dive right in and talk about my latest great find: all natural skin care for your face (mainly for the ladies). This is a DIY from the comfort of your home post. No big expenses here. But let's start with the back story.


If any of you are like me you've probably spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on skin care products through the years. As a woman in my mid-thirties who has had some skin problems - adult acne, allergic skin, oily skin, dry skin, irritated skin, etc. - I have spent more money than I care to think about. I've tried all the big lines, and many of the little ones. I've tried the chock-full-o-chemicals lines, and the totally natural or organic lines. I've tried simple steps, and complicated scheduled skin care regimens.


After a developing more severe allergies and sensitivities over the last 3 years, I was starting to think that I'd never be able to settle into a single thing that my skin would tolerate. I was using simple hypoallergenic skin care for allergic skin, and was still getting these awesome little rashes that would turn my cheeks into red, chapped, burning and stinging swatches of skin. It hurt to smile, and I looked sunburned for about a week. I managed to heal it all up, then switched to another equally gentle product and back came the reaction. The cosmetician I talked to assured me it couldn't be this product, as it is hypoallergenic and specifically for allergic and sensitive skin. Wrong. Hypoallergenic is just a nice way of saying 'less likely, but still possible, that your skin will want to melt off your face if you use this'.


So I of course became more frustrated with the skin care industry and decided - like with so many other things in life - that I can do this myself. Why trust all these companies who profit off of me requiring multiple products, or who want to keep me trying all their newest products with claims that I find are seldom reliable? Let's dump all these things that my body has decided are toxic, and get back to the basics. So I dust off my trusty old guide on aromatherapy care, "Healing Home Spa" by Valerie Cooksley, and I get into all the skin care sections.


It's almost unbelievable, that I overlooked this for so long! It has to be too simple to work, doesn't it? My skin needs more than this, doesn't it? I can't just feed my skin like I do my body, can I? Well it turns out I can! And I should! And I do! And I love the results so much, that I've been suggesting it to co-workers, friends and family whenever I think there's a need. I have never used a single set of products that worked this well for this long, and as a huge bonus are so inexpensive, it almost feels free.


Keep in mind that I started this back in June, and it's now September, so it's been about 3 months with not a single bad effect, no break outs, no rashes, no irritation. My skin is softer and stronger and smoother than ever before. I used to have oily and dehydrated skin at the same time, and now it is actually normal - not dry, not shiny, not oily, not rough, not flaky, not red - just normal. Honestly, I don't think many women even have 'normal' skin, because it certainly isn't the average person who can claim their skin is just perfect all the time.


So now on to what I'm using!


Step 1: Take off eye makeup, even the tough waterproof stuff (all I ever use due to allergic eyes watering daily) with olive oil. Plain old olive oil from your kitchen. Pour it into a little tiny bottle and put a drop on a finger. Close your eye and rub gently. Wipe away with a tissue. Gently of course, because anytime you touch your eye area you could bruise the skin under your eye and get dark circles. That's it. Don't rinse it. Olive oil is an incredible moisturizer for your eyes, and it amazing for conditioning hair. Eyelashes are hair too, so it's extra care that I never thought of before. Bonus!


Step 2: Wash face with yogurt. That's right: back into the kitchen and grab the full fat Greek or Balkan style plain yogurt. Just dip your fingers in, rub the yogurt over your dry face and neck, even on your eyes if you wish (closed of course), then splash off with tepid water, or wipe off with a wet washcloth. The lactic acid in yogurt acts as a natural exfoliant on the skin, but is gentle and moisturizing at the same time. Not to mention, the pH is similar to your skin's, so you don't strip away any of the natural oils, and your skin won't feel tight or dry like it does after using a soap or cleanser. It is so gentle on my face, that I can stop here. No need to tone it, or moisturize it. My skin feels perfect.


Step 3: Tea or flower water for toner. Flower water can be bought or made, but I don't bother. I brew up a nice strong cup of chamomile tea and put it in the fridge. Use real flowers if you have them, or just a plain old herbal tea bag will suffice. Make it strong and keep it in the fridge. Pick a flower or herb that has properties you're looking for. I chose chamomile because it is anti-inflammatory. Even though I'm allergic to ragweed, chamomile (in the same family) seems soothing to me. It's great for itchy, red, and irritated skin, and feels so soothing. Just soak a cotton ball or pad with the tea, and wipe all over your face and neck (eyes too if they are itchy, tired, swollen or sore). Follow immediately with moisturizer to keep the water in your skin. Don't wait for it to dry. I keep mine in a small mist/spray bottle, and use it whenever I want to refresh my face as well. Just grab it out of the fridge and mist it on for a quick refresher!


Step 4: Moisturize with oil. That's right, oil; even for oily skin. I use a combination of hazelnut oil (2 tbsp.) and jojoba oil (1 tsp.), and I add a few drops of lavender essential oil for smell and healing. It's a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-septic oil that is gentle on skin and smells wonderful. But you can add any essential oil that suits your purpose, or skip it altogether. Hazelnut oil is very high in vitamin E, slightly astringent, and absorbs quickly into the skin. No oily feeling left behind, and skin is soft and smooth. Jojoba oil is actually the closest oil found in nature, to human skin sebum. The theory is that the jojoba tricks your skin into thinking it has produced enough of it's own oil, and therefore balances out the oil levels on your skin, because it doesn't evaporate like water-based moisturizers. Just mix the oils in a little bottle (I use travel bottles I got at the dollar store for all my stuff) and put a tiny amount in your palm. You need less than the size of a dime for your entire face and neck. Maybe the size of my baby finger nail is all I'm using. It lasts forever! No oily skin, no dry skin. Just perfect skin.


So that's my regimen. Simple, safe, and so cheap! The only thing I had to buy was hazelnut oil, which was tricky to find. I got mine at a specialty food shop here in London, as it is a connoisseur's cooking oil. It cost me a total of $15 for the oil, and I've used about 1/16 of the bottle in the last 3 months. I had olive oil, yogurt and chamomile tea in the kitchen, and I've used jojoba oil and lavender essential oil for some of my aromatherapy preparations in the past, so I had those on hand. If you had to buy the jojoba, you can get a small bottle for about $10 which will last you about a year at the amounts I gave above. Essential oils vary in price based on the oil, but be sure to use a real essential oil, not a fragrance oil, and make sure it is safe for use on skin. Some oils are too strong, even when diluted, and can cause irritation or allergic reactions.


So I've rambled on enough for my first blog post, but I hope you got something out of it! All in all, this is the best skin care I've ever used, and I think I'll be sticking with it! The only downfall is that it's mostly stored in the fridge, not the bathroom. But that makes me feel good in a way. Like with choosing your groceries, if it can spoil, it is likely good for you!


To follow next time: some natural versions of other skin care products, like scrubs and masks.


Thanks again for reading!