Sharing the Esthetician in Me

Most know that I am a cosmetologist. I love beauty everything! Hair, make-up {I have an obscene amount of make-up...boxes and bags and an entire vanity full!} skin care and treatments. I love it all!
Skin care has been one the most frustrating things in my life. I want to share a little bit of what I have learned, from experience, cosmo school and jobs in spas.

I had hormonal acne since I was 12. You know, nothing too scarring or crazy but nothing to sneeze at either. I struggled with wearing make up because I always felt like everythng I tried just made it look worse, you still saw the breakout plus there was a gob of goop on top of it. I never felt like my skin looked nice. The breakouts let up a little as I got into my twenties but I still got pretty hefty zits fairly often. It wasn't until after Ashton was born that I felt like I got the normal, average skin I always dreamed of. I'm a new woman! And for the first time in my life I bought liquid foundation and I am never going back! {I could do a whole separate post about make up alone, the policy on that is not the same as my skincare- less is more. You definitely get what you pay for with make-up!}

Now that I finally don't have to be fighting slick, oily breakout skin I'm stepping into the next phase of skin management, anti-aging. "What? You're 26!" Yeah, just like we work out now so we will still be able to walk later...I anti-age treat now so I can reap the benefits later. Now is when we need to be preserving our collagen and elasticity so the deep wrinkles of our 40's don't set in for good.

This is how I take care of my skin:

 Washing: I have a few different washing mechanisms. I like using a cleansing cloth to rub away my make up. I use Burt's Bees Sensitive cloths. After I do this I usually feel like I could use a little deeper cleanse so I either, wash again simply with a face wash, exfoliate {I will get into next} or wipe with a cotton pad soaked in Witch Hazel.

Exfoliation: One of the most forgotten yet vital steps of healthy skincare. I have used a wide, and I do mean WIDE variety of exfoliators. From that awful apricot one...you know the one...to super high end, $60/bottle ones. I have settled on Coconut oil mixed with baking soda. Yup. That's it. And it's divine. Since my skin has switched from oily and acne to more mature and dry, I get dry patches that are flakey on my forehead and chin. This exfoliation has by far taken care of it the best, second only to microdermabrasion.This also keeps my clogged pores at bay. Though, I still search high and low for a way to eradicate them completely, when I figure out that secret, I will let you know!

Moisture: a good moisturizer now will be the differnce between fine lines and wrinkles later or "You're how old? You don't look a day over___!" I use Hylunia's Healing and Restoring cream. It's a little on the thicker side but it works for my dry, flakey skin. For oilier skin, I'd recommend simply oil. Coconut, olive, almond, try a few and see what works best for you. I realize this may sound backwards. Oil for oily skin. But you read that right. Do a little googling and you'll see, I'm not off my rocker. Treating overly oily skin with oil will actually calm your overactive sebacious glands down. You may feel like a slip-n-slide at first, but please! Don't give up! You won't regret it.

Special treatments: For masks, my favorite is a honey, oat, and Bentonite clay concoction. Honey is wonderful for oily or dry skin {it even has anti-bacterial properties!}, oatmeal is calming and healing, and Bentonite clay is great for detoxifying.

Mix those things together first, I usually throw in about a teaspoon of coconut oil also, it will be thick and chunky. Add dashes of warm water and mix until it's creamy and emulsified. Leave it on for 15 minutes and you'll feel like a million bucks! For sensitive, irratated or sunburned skin, pure aloe vera. I order mine {actually all the pure things, witch hazel, oils, clay, etc} from Rose Mountain Herbs. They have a great variety of pure ingredients as well as their own line of skincare products.

I hope my experience and these ideas are helpful. The truth is, there is not one right way to care for skin. Every person is different. You need to do some experimenting to find the best regime for your skin needs. But a general philosphy of "less is more" has helped me. No need to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy name brand washes and balms. I've found that pure, natural basics have done much more for my skin than even the $80 creams from a Dermatologist ever did... Just saying.