Let me just start by saying that I am flattered by how many people compliment my skin. Sometimes this is just because I am wearing enough makeup to cover up what's under there efficiently & sometimes it's because it's in the middle of summer and my natural oils are hydrating my skin. Sometimes it's because I've been drinking a ton of water. For whatever reason, I get complimented often and that thrills me to no end. I did not have great skin in school. When puberty kicked in, I had the very limited resources of my Mom (who I JUST finally got to start washing her face daily) and neutrogena commercials (I'm not even going to go into how horrible that crap is for your skin). I slathered on the "oil control" everything because I had no idea what was wrong with my skin and everyone kept telling me it was the oil's fault. This of course made things worse and eventually I'd give up and find cover girl makeup and literally cover every inch of my face with thick pancake-batter-like, oil free foundation. This of course made my skin worse and didn't cover anything.
Like everything else in this life it simply took some understanding of biology and trusting my instincts. I went to school for 2 years as a makeup artist and 2 years as an esthetician and learned all I could about the skin. It's ironic that I did all of this and came to several contradicting conclusions: first off, most "skin care" is crap. It's full of toxins that enter your body and just make things worse. Sodium laurel sulfate is found in 99% of face wash/cleanser and it's also found in laundry detergent, dish soap and pretty much anything that bubbles. It's harsh and strips your skin of the oils that it needs to properly hydrate and promote cell regeneration. Secondly, hydration is ALWAYS key. This doesn't mean just put on moisturizer. It means drink water! Properly hydrate your body which leads me to my next conclusion: beauty starts on the inside and works its way out. If your skin is beautiful with very little makeup- you're eating well, exercising, laughing and your insides are healthy.
People who juice on a daily basis usually have incredible skin. They're getting really high doses of vitamins and minerals and it goes to the middle and works its way out. Or, in other words, your skin is the last organ to benefit from good health so if you've got good skin its a good indicator that you've got a healthy body. So, my daily beauty routine doesn't include a toner, cleanser, moisturizer etc. It's actually kind of different: I wake up and brush my teeth with homemade vegan toothpaste, I use a scrub daily that also doubles as a moisturizer. I got the recipe from The Vegan Housewives and before that I made something very similar (minus the essential oils). This scrub exfoliates manually with the raw sugar crystals and moisturizes with the coconut oil. After I scrub with it, I pat my face dry. My face feels greasy for maybe 5 minutes at most because the oil immediately starts soaking into my skin. I drink 16oz of water within an hour of waking up & I juice 1 cucumber, 4 celery stalks, one bunch of kale, one bunch of spinach, 1 lemon, and a tiny bit of ginger root. I don't eat animals or their bi-products. That's basically it. If I feel like my skin is feeling dry after a couple of hours I add a little bit more 6:1 coconut oil and peppermint essential oil.
I don't wear foundation anymore, I do use a concealer under my eyes and mascara. I love, love, love lip balms. Rule of thumb- I always wear something emollient based (formulated without: Parabens ● Sulfates ● Petrolatum ● Synthetic Fragrances ●Colors ● Mineral Oil ● PABA ● Animal testing or animal ingredients). Wax and petroluem based balms just sit on the lips- I want something that will soak in! Look for ingredients like ultra refined organically grown shea butter fruit, beeswax (not as a base), alpha tocopherol USP (Vitamin E), sesame seed oil, aloe vera oil, borage oil, macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, wheat Germ Oil, grape seed oil, ascorbyl palmitate (Vitamin C). I have personally tried every single La Natura lip balm and can confidently say they rule. I put a little bit of brown shadow to fill in where hair wont grow anymore in my brows and I'm ready to go!
I've truly learned the benefits of less is more! My skin is not perfect but for the most part it's healthy and that's all I can ask for.
What do you do inside and out to promote healthy skin?
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