My Skin Care Story & Regime

Since I started posting videos on YouTube I have been asked numerous times about my skin care regime. I must say it has evolved and is very different than what it once was.

Here is a video I did a few months ago that I mention my skin care regime. Fast forward to minute 3 to hear about my skin.

As a child and very early teen I always had been complimented on my skin. Funny, I never saw it and always felt a little embarrassed when I was complimented. In my later teen years, what I saw in the mirror was much different. I would see enlarged pores on my nose, tiny little breakouts and bumps on my forehead. Around PMS time I would get painful pimples around my face. I would put oatmeal on my face, egg whites, avocado, you name it. I resorted to OXY pads and every skincare product that was mentioned in the magazines. I remember over scrubbing my face and then feeling the burn from the alcohol in the toners. My face would get tight and itchy. I would get peeling skin around my nose. It seemed my skin just became worse the more attention I gave it. It made no sense at the time.

Being a teen my diet changed drastically. I was eating donuts, pizza, soda, fast food. After all, all the magazines I read said that your diet didn't have anything to do with my skin. It seemed chocolate and fried foods were OK as long as you used the products that were advertised. Well, I bought into it and became a product junkie. I never saw much of an improvement in my skin. All that seemed to happen is that I had more makeup and more goop for my face.

Years later, it was time for my massage practice to expand into a day spa. I spent so much time being "educated" on skin care and I knew what every aesthetician knew and more (or so I thought). Most of what I practice now is not was I was taught, but there were a few things that I found fascinating.

One thing I learned is that microdermabrasion is dry friction. The reason it is so effective is because when dead skin cells are wet they become sticky and do not come off the face. When your skin is dry, the cells flake off. I never had microdermabrasion done, but now I do dry friction in the form of skin brushing. Yes, I do my face, but not all the time. I will also take a soft toothbrush and go around my nose from time to time. I find that this is very effective in keeping my pores looking smaller because they are cleaned out.

In regards to exfoliation, I know not to do too much. I learned it the hard way. There is such a thing as too much and I feel that over-exfoliation is more damaging than never exfoliating at all. About 2-3 years ago I did a pumpkin enzyme peel. Once you do one of these you are to apply sunblock and stay out of the sun. Well, somehow I forgot (on the same day) and went outdoors to wash my car. When I came inside I looked in the mirror and was horrified. I had brown patches all over my face. My skin was vulnerable and basically left out for the wolves. I now have hyper pigmentation on my cheekbones. I now need to be more creative when applying my makeup. It is not as bad as it once was and it is fading. I have seen improvements when applying vitamin C, lemon juice, diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide, and bentonite clay. However, I haven't done any of these in a while. It just hasn't been a priority lately.

Despite the sun exposure issue after the pumpkin peel. I am not a huge advocate of sunblock like I once was. I am working towards that philosophy that if I can't eat it, I shouldn't put it on my face (However, I still am wearing makeup). I enjoy the sun and actually feel and look better after a little exposure.

My Simple Skin Care Regime
I must attribute my skin to more than cleansing and toning. I feel that the things that have improved my skin the most are the following:

1. Drinking lots of water
2. Sweating (either with a workout or sauna)
3. A little sun everyday
4. Using less skin care products and fussing with my skin
5. Eating a high raw diet ( I noticed that dairy and fried foods made my skin breakout, where sweets, grains and bread made my face look puffy.)

Cleansing
I use a microfiber cloth with water daily. I love this because it removes all my makeup, including mascara. It also removes my excess oils on my skin without stripping my face. Afterwards, I can still feel I have some natural oils on my skin. About once a week or so I use a loofa and Dr. Bronners castile soap. This gives me a little deeper cleanse.

Exfoliation
I will skin brush my face and use a soft toothbrush around my nose. I do this about once a month. Sometimes I'll do it less or more. I am not as aggressive with this as I once was. Like I mentioned before, I think over-exfoliation is worse than none.

Moisturizing
I occasionally use coconut oil, but that's about it. I will apply the oil, massage it in for a few minutes and then wipe off the excess oil that was not absorbed into the skin with a dry cloth.

Sun Protection
Surprisingly, I am no longer the sun block nut that I once was. I think they made me breakout and I didn't care for the toxic ingredients. I now use coconut oil, aloe vera, and eat a few Brazil nuts for sun protection. I enjoy the sun, however I am pretty smart about it. I acclimate my skin in the spring to be ready for the summer. I try not to shock it and spend a ton of time in the sun after being indoors all winter. I also take it easy and avoid extended peak hours in the sun. I also understand the importance of a raw rainbow spectrum diet to give me sun protection. Every color is a different antioxidant that the plant produces to protect it from being sun burned. Ever notice the colorful produce is harvested after the long summer days? It makes sense if we eat those foods, we will have the same protection for our skin.

Facials
I used to have these once a month, but I haven't seen a professional in over a year. I do have a facial protocol that I do at home from time to time. It includes seaweed, spirulina and bentonite clay. The full facial protocol is coming soon to my blog. So stay tuned :)