Call me crazy......

I'm trying something new here. My skincare regimen consisted of washing twice daily with a skin brightening/exfoliating cleanser (popular store brand), applying a vitamin syrum, and then a moisturizer. At night I had been using these Aveda cleansing pads after I washed, they seemed to work really well but were really expensive, so after I used them all I decided I needed to search out other methods.......we're all trying to make our dollar stretch. And I was starting to notice my skin was more dull, cold weather had set in and made it more dry, and aarghhh the dreaded break-outs! Soooo, I had been thinking of changing things up a bit, particularly I wanted a more frugal skincare regimen but it still had to work! I was reading a blog article the other day about natural skincare.........homemade skincare! Well, it definitely sounded like it was more frugal than the expensive store bought cleansers that I had been using. But, homemade?? I was a bit skeptical at first. But I researched a little, talked a little, experimented a little, and I can say that I am beginning to believe all the hype! Not only are these homemade skincare recipes more frugal, but they are actually alot healthier for my skin. And that is really what's important to me.

My new skincare regimen is (hold on to your seats!!) only consisting of two things.......oil and more oil. Doesn't that sound crazy? It did to me, especially since my skin seems to break out at the mention of oil, what is that about?I'm 32 years old and NOT in puberty anymore!! Well, a dear friend of mine recommended Coconut Oil as a moisturizer, I wasn't too sure what to expect but it is a very light-weight oil that is solid at room temperature and as soon as you put some in your hand it turns into an oil. And a little goes a long way, so a jar like this will last forever. And I have sensitive skin prone to break outs but this has been great so far! I'm also using it on my hands and it works well for your hair too. You can apply a little to the strands of your hair to tame fly-aways and frizzies. But a little goes a long way, so don't put too much on or else you'll go flat :)

Coconut Oil

My cleanser is also oil! I have been using the Oil Cleansing Method for a couple of weeks now and am absolutely loving it! Simple Mom has a very informative article on this method if you are interested http://simplemom.net/oil-cleansing-method/. But basically, what you are doing is removing dirty oil from your skin and replacing it with clean. Most facial cleansers strip the skin of its oil, so it overproduces oil in order to compensate for this thus leading to break outs. But, when you wash your skin with an oil, this restores a healthy balance. My mixture is Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Castor Oil. The Castor Oil removes dirt particles and cleans out your pores, while the EVOO replaces and replenishes your skins natural oil, it has the same pH as your skin. I use equal parts of them mixed together with a few drops of organic essential lemon oil to give it a fresh citrusy scent and I apply it at night. I apply to a dry face, I gently massage it into my skin for about a minute ( it's like a mini facial!). The oil dissolves my makeup/mascara better than any remover I've bought! After this, I apply a warm washcloth and just let my face steam for about a minute, this opens up and cleans the pores. Afterwards, I just take the washcloth and wipe my face and voila that's it! No need for anything else, no moisturizers, no nuthin'! I haven't had any breakouts and my skin hasn't been dry at all.

Oil Cleansing Method

I've been so thrilled with the results! I'm getting really healthy skin and making our dollars stretch at the same time!