Natural Skincare Resources

NLSFullsize.jpgWelcome to the first week in our 10 week series on Natural Living! I hope that you learn something that will help you on your journey to natural living. I’ll be sharing some of the ways we have changed from the conventional way of doing things to a more natural path (just like Melissa does in her post sharing her switch to natural methods) and some of the things we have not done yet but aspire to eventually. Wherever you are, just jump right in! Hopefully we can all inspire each other to live more mindfully, one step at a time.

This week’s focus is on natural skincare. Your skin is your largest organ and first line of defense against pathogens. Let’s learn how to take care of it without all of the chemicals!

Face

I have written about washing my face with honey and will be sharing my new favorite way of washing my face, the oil cleansing method, later this week.  If you’re really curious though, and don’t want to wait for my post, go see what oil cleansing is all about and how it was a Godsend during pregnancy for Rhianna as well as Erica’s thoughts on oil cleansing after a past history of working at a make-up counter. You can also read a more detailed how-to post on the oil cleansing method from Earth Mamas World.

I also use a honey/baking soda and apple cider vinegar regimen to remove my make-up on the days I don’t use the oil cleansing method, and I will share that, too along with another product I like for exfoliating that doubles as a face mask. And for even more natural face washing info, Charise shares how green tea can be used for facial cleansing (as well as coconut oil and honey).

I remove my eye make-up with olive oil. It is such a perfect way to remove every trace of it, and I only wish I had discovered it sooner! In general, I don’t need moisturizer for my face but on the rare times I do, I just use a dab of coconut oil. It works beautifully. You can also wash your face with coconut oil. There are so many things in your pantry right now that can pull double duty and cleanse your face, too! I’ve got a guest post coming this week on what you can use to combat acne and you’ll see more pantry items make an appearance.

As far as make-up and nailcare, I’ll dedicate a post to that later this week. I’ll just say that since going more natural with my facial cleansing, I find myself not feeling the need for make-up as much. There are some make-up brands out there that are more natural than their conventional counterparts for those times I do want to wear it though. Of course, the most natural is to be make-up and nail polish free. I still like to have some color on my toes and my face though personally. 😉

For my lips, I am a big fan of the homemade lip balm I made from the Coconut Oil for Your Skin ebook. It’s a yummy orange flavor. We used a turkey injector to insert it into an old lip balm tube so I love that it is easy to put on. Mandy has a recipe to make your own lip balm, too. Of course, just dabbing on straight coconut oil works as well!

Body

I love coconut oil for all sorts of skincare concerns. We use it for rashes, bug bites, scrapes, moisturizer, lotion, lip balm…the list goes on. I love the ebook Coconut Oil for Your Skin for recipes you can make at home. For soap, I have a lot of favorites that are good for your skin and smell delicious to boot. For liquid soap, I like Dr. Bronner’s in the almond scent. We use it for our hand soap in the kitchen (mix 3 parts water with 1 part Dr. Bronner’s and add to a pump bottle) and have used it as a body wash for my daughter and me. (It works for hair, too.) I’ll share a list of my favorite bar soaps this week as well as some non-toxic lotions. (Of course, coconut oil works for lotion, too. It’s even better if you whip it.)

For deodorant, I’m a big  fan of Monkey Baby Naturals on Etsy. I’ve used it all winter with no issues with stink. I’m really curious how it will work through the summer months, but I’m pretty confident it will work well after reading Dionna’s Monkey Baby Naturals experience. Of course, you can make your own. Earth Mamas World has a simple 3 ingredient homemade deodorant and Passionate Homemaking has a video tutorial as well as Q&A on homemade deodorant.

For shaving cream, I like Alba’s Shave Foam. I like the Alba Cream Shave as well and have found that the Trader Joe’s brand is pretty much the same thing but cheaper when I buy it here locally. 🙂 I will say this is not as natural as I’d like. It gets a 3-4 in the Skin Deep Database and a 0 is ideal. I have heard good things about shaving with coconut oil but just haven’t tried it myself yet.

For protecting our skin from the sun, I prefer to use hats and be careful about how much time we are exposed. I like us to soak up that Vitamin D some. But, for the times I know we will be out in prolonged sun exposure, I like suncare products with zinc as the active ingredient with non-nanoparticles. We currently have Elemental Herbs Sunscreen Kids  which fits with that criteria. Yes, it is a big white mess to put on but as long as you remember a little goes a long way, it’s worth it to me to have to rub it in and not worry about icky chemicals absorbing into me or my kids skin. Marcella’s complexion is such that she rarely needs sunscreen so I still have the same bottle I bought when she was 1. The cool thing about a non chemical sunscreen is it doesn’t expire. There are no chemical ingredients to break down. Of course, coconut oil also is a nice natural sun protectant as well. (You are not surprised by now, are you?) Nine Naturals provides a nice list of what to look out for when looking for a safe sunscreen (in particular while pregnant) as well as other ways beside sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun. If you do end up receiving a sunburn, however, Mandy’s got just the thing to treat a sunburn naturally.

Be on the lookout later this week for a post over at Living Peacefully with Children on a One Ingredient Wrinkle Minimizer as well as a guest post on treating acne naturally. Another similar resource about switching over to natural products for your skin can be found at Queso Suizo.

In the weeks to come in the Natural Living Series, the topics are:

Natural Baby Care (May 12 – May 18)
Natural Hair Care (May 19 – May 25)
Natural Cleaning (May 26 – June 1)
Natural Wellness (June 2 – June 8)
Eating Naturally (June 9 – June 15)
Eco friendly Clothing (June 16 – June 22)
 Reducing, Reusing and Recyling (June 23 – June 29)
 Natural Mouthcare (June 30 – July 6)
What Living Natural Means to Me (July 14 – July 20 )

Want to participate? Learn more in my Call for Submissions post.

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