I know soap isn't necessarily something you think of with "skin care," but the right soap really makes a huge difference! For awhile I started to get really dry hands, again, and no amount of lotion would fix it. I couldn't figure out what was going on...until I realized I had been going cheap with hand soap because "natural" hand soaps are so expensive. I found this tutorial online about how to turn a bar of castile soap into a gallon of hand soap. I bought the soap bar at my local grocer, and ordered the vegetable glycerin online. Making the soap was fairly easy, and about three days after we started using this new hand soap I realized I no longer had dry hands! My skin was completely smooth again! So switching to a more gentle soap is the first step to healthier skin. :)
Dr. Bronner's Citrus Castile Soap Bar EWG Rating = 1
Here are my face products. I keep a small bottle of olive oil to remove eye makeup in the evenings. Then I use either my Avalon Organics facial cleansing milk, or my homemade skin cleanser. I just recently started using this homemade cleanser, but so far it has done a great job! My other new discovery in the last year is the Wonder cloth. This is great as a facial washcloth, as it is able to remove dirt and makeup that was left behind even after washing with soap. It is advertised to be able to clean without a facial cleanser, but I tried that for a week or two and wasn't happy with the results. So for now I use olive oil to remove eye makeup, the homemade skin cleanser, and the Wonder cloth as a final wipe-down. I know that Norwex also has microfiber cloths for the face, similar to the Wonder cloth, but I have never tried them. I do still use this face scrub once in awhile, as well.
Avalon Organics CoQ10 Facial Cleansing Milk EWG Rating = 3
My moisturizer-type products have grown a bit. The Honest Company Face+Body Lotion is still my go-to lotion for quick moisturizing and to keep in my bag when I'm out and about. I recently made this homemade lotion from Wellness Mama with a lot of specialized ingredients. Once my mixture cooled, it looked nothing like what was pictured (pictured in the black container on the left in the picture below). Although it is great as a moisturizer, I think I need to remelt it with some more beeswax to firm it up a bit more. I also made this eye cream to use at night before bed. I love how simple the recipe was, using things I already had at home.
Honest Face+Body Lotion EWG Rating = 1
Deodorant has been a big deal for me. I got really into making my own deodorant (using this recipe), and it felt great. It actually worked. And then I had a few unfortunate experiences last summer that made me think a little differently. The first experience was a trip my husband and I took to a friend's wedding across the county. During the flight, my homemade deodorant melted, and it resolidified without me mixing it back up. Unbeknownst to me, the wetness-absorbing components sank to the bottom and the oil stayed on top. So for the actual wedding I unknowingly applied coconut oil (only), which made for a very embarrassing evening. The second incident happened during a roadtrip to see family. Again, the homemade deodorant melted en route and leaked out of the (apparently NOT water-proof) container onto the rest of my toiletries. The oil had melted out and left only the baking soda and cornstarch remaining, which irritated me greatly. Living in a desert means I either had to refrigerate my deodorant, or constantly watch it melt and reform, hoping to mix it correctly in between times. A big lesson I've learned during these past few years is that the hippie life does NOT have to be completely 100%. Some changes are totally sustainable, while others I decided to give up. Deodorant, for now, has been one of the things I decided not to worry about making myself. As a compromise, I found a few good products that I can use. The first one I found is Kiss My Face Natural Active Life Deodorant, Fragrance-Free. While this deodorant is gentle, I do find that I need to re-apply it throughout the day. The real winner, for me, is Honestly pHresh Sugar Mint Deodorant. It works perfect and smells great!
Kiss My Face Natural Active Life Deodorant Stick, Fragrance-Free EWG Rating = 2
*I believe this is the same product, although the packaging looks different
Honestly pHresh Sugar Mint Deodorant EWG Rating = 3
*The rating killer for this is the fragrance, although the actual packaging claims the fragrance is "naturally-derived."
The last item I wanted to include for my current skin care is sunscreen. My medications make me more sensitive to the sun, so I wear sunscreen on my face almost every single day. My favorite is The Honest Company's Honest Sunscreen. This works for me and for the boys, because...why do we need different ones?
The Honest Company's Honest Sunscreen EWG Rating = 1
No comments:
Post a Comment