Just like the barbaric vikings in the Capital One commercials ask “what’s in your wallet?” have you ever stopped and asked yourself, what’s in your facial wash?
About two months ago I stumbled upon this blog. If you are trying to go all natural, this is pretty much the holy grail. It’s a lot to work through, but it’s chocked full of amazingly valuable information that your mama or grandma probably didn’t even know about.
It took me a little while to work up the, erm, courage, I guess, to try this new facial regimen, but I’ve fallen in love and am now attempting to convert everyone who will listen. My skin has never felt to amazing, or looked so good. There is also the added benefit that I’m not scrubbing my face with toxic, harmful, and potentially, cancer causing chemicals.
* Yes, I researched this. I looked up the ingredients in Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (a supposedly popular choice according to my searches). The first ingredient listed is purified water. Um, okay. Why would I pay $15 for a little bottle of something that consists mainly of water? Second ingredient, sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), which is often used as a engine degreaser. It surrounds hair follicles and can prevent hair from growing as well as make hair fall out. It keeps children’s eye from developing properly. If used in toothpaste it will weaken enamel and cause cavities. SLS is considered very abrasive. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a probable human carcinogen and it is classified in the state of California to cause cancer.
Awesome-sauce. If that doesn’t make you go running, I don’t know what will.
There were three other ingredients listed that are harmful and/or are known or probable carcinogens. I also checked my bottle of Mary Kay Velocity facial wash and again, first ingredient water, next two, probable carcinogens.
Sweet… I’m going to officially start freaking out now. And we wonder why cancer is on the rise. Sheesh!
So what do I wash my face with?
Honey.
Yes, I said honey. You know, that stuff that comes from bees. Often used to sweeten tea or added to toast or biscuits. Yes, that stuff.
Turns out, it incredibly beneficial to your skin too. No harmful chemicals needed.
Honey is antibacterial and antimicrobial. A.K.A. it says adios to anything trying to create pimples in on your skin. I’ve seen a great improvement in how much clearer my complexion looks. I haven’t really battled acne for a while now, but overall I just feel like my skin looks better.
Honey is drying, yet moisturizing. This is probably my number one reason for loving washing my face with honey. Honey will slightly dry your skin, which will help dwindle down a pimple’s hopes of thriving. It’s also moisturizing, in a good way. I’ve always had this dry/oily skin battle going on. My skin is more on the oily side, however, especially in the winter, it feels dried out, especially on my forehead. I would smear layers and layers of moisturizer on my face, only to still have dry, flaky patches. Why? Probably because those moisterizers just sat on top of my skin and did nothing more than clog up my pores. Honey actually sinks into the skin and gives it true moisture. The issue of dry patches is completely gone, and I find I need to little to no moisturizer now.
It also has awesome enzymes (great for anti-aging), is great for all skin types, and has healing qualities as well (probably one reason why my skin looks better too).
I mean really, what can beat that?
Um, nothing.
Now I do like to pair my honey with my friend baking soda. (Which you saw in the picture at the beginning of the post and probably wondered how it would come into play.) Baking soda makes a great microdermabrasion, for cheap! And to think I used to pay Mary Kay thirty-something-dollars for a microdermabrasion full of chemicals?! Seriously, my skin feels better after my cheap-o baking soda scrub than the expensive, bad-for-ya one.
So here’s what my facial regimen looks like right now.
*If you need help selecting honey to use visit the Crunchy Betty site for a guide on selecting your honey. I’ve been using the “no-no” store bought honey so far, but I’m going to be looking for a local, organic supplier of raw honey soon.
Everyday, twice a day, my face gets washed with honey. I prefer to dampen my face ever so slightly, then with dry hands, massage a bit of honey (about a teaspoon amount) into my skin for 1-2 minutes. Then I rinse it off with warm water and I’m done. If I feel like I need to moisturize I use a tiny amount of the Melaleuca Co.’s Renew lotion with a little extra melaleuca oil added. Most the time, I don’t feel I need to though.
*I don’t use a lot of heavy make-up on my skin, just a light brushing of mineral powder foundation. Because of this, I just use honey to wash it off. If you use heavier foundations on your face, you’ll want to follow below to remove it. Mix it on a washcloth and use that to wash your face.
If I am taking a shower, then I replace one of those plain honey washes with a honey and baking soda wash. I mix in a little bit of baking soda in with my honey and mix it into a thick paste in a little bowl (condiment cups work great). I rub this into my face and then let my face soak in all it’s goodness while I shampoo, shave, etc. Then I gently scrub for 2-3 minutes in a circular motion and rinse.
Try it and tell me your skin doesn’t feel amazing after that! No really, I dare you to toss all your store bought cleansers in the trash and go for it. You probably won’t even have to go out and buy anything. It’s probably in your kitchen right now.
So go do it and no longer fear what’s in your facial wash.
*This post could also be titled “the post in which I use a lot of asterisks with italics.”
Edited to add: I washed my face with a commercial cleanser the other day. My skin felt like it was burning and also felt super dry afterwards. I had to moisturize. Now that’s saying something.
