Cutting the Cost and Chemicals in Face Care

My now teenage daughter (13) came up to me and said, "Did you know that if you put tape over a pimple it will go away?"  I replied, "You could also wash your face."  Amira:  "Nah, that's too much work."

Amira is experiencing teenage acne.  It was something I was spared as a teenager, though I cannot say the same for my brother.  Yet, even then drug use played probably the biggest part of hormonal imbalances within him to create massive blemishes.  My acne didn't come to me until after my 2nd child, while in my mid-twenties.  The dermatologist, upon trying to recommend Accutane to me (which I never took), advised me it was indeed hormonal and probably would last until I was thirty.  It took a lot of money to make me feel better that I was at least attempting to do something about it.  Finally, I said, "You know what -- if it's going to last until I'm thirty I might as well try to save some money and get my face used to simpler ingredients."

Have you noticed how many ingredients are sitting in your facial cleansers, toners, and moisturizers? Not to mention the serums you would add for age spots, wrinkles, or blemishes.  Then you throw on your makeup over the [probably] over 100 ingredients that already is sitting on your face from the cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and serum.  I mean, if it's not imbalanced hormonal, maybe it's immune-system overload and the poor immunities are too busy working through chemicals to target the bacteria under and above your skin.  Just a thought.  I'm not a doctor, just using my head.  

My skin did get clearer, and it was before I turned thirty.  A lot prayer saw me to that day, as well as some -duh- changes, like to simpler ingredients, and I also officially let go of any sort of cover-up (for over a year now).  I don't even use concealer.  Oh the freedom to be able to touch your face or lay down your head on your white pillowcase without makeup removal.  Here are the changes I made, which is the fewest ingredients I've been able to find so far.

Cleanser

I've seen expensive cleansers like Sheseido and Mary Kay, chemicalized though hypo-allergenic.  Personally, I use bar soap, the same I use as my hand soap.  Of course I'm referring to strictly plant-based soaps.  I switched to a simple, natural bar soap seeing as the hands are so porous, very easily we let invaders in through them.  I use Trader Joe's soaps for the cost ($1.69 for oatmeal or $1.99 for tea tree for a pack of 2 bars).  Yet, Kirk's Castille is at comparable price (approximately $1/bar or a wee more), with only 5 natural, plant-based ingredients.

Exfoliant

I've heard of, and used, coconut oil mixed with sea salt.  In fact, I've been in some restaurants that have that mixture as their hand 'soap.'  It is a great idea, though I keep the cost down even more with just a box of baking soda at less than $1 a regular sized box.  This works as a microdermabrasion as well.  I will mix a tad bit into my soap-lathered hands.

Toner

My mother long ago told me to switch to witch hazel, since it says right on the bottle it is a facial astringent and so much cheaper.   It does the job for as low as $2 a bottle.  You can get a really good witch hazel at a health food store, but admit that I cheat with this one and buy the one that has a bit of alcohol in the regular band-aid section of the store.  What of those using toners to balance their face tone and pores?  For this reason, I do also alternate essential oils with my witch hazel, that way my face doesn't get used to just one oil.  I alternate with tea tree, lemon, and frankincense.  All you need is one drop per cotton ball of witch hazel.

Moisturizer

Now I've heard people say they may use cheaper cleansers and toners, but the one thing you should not compromise on is the moisturizer you use.  Even to my mother, moisturizer is the most important thing you put on your face.  At Mary Kay we were taught it protects your face so it should be a great product.  Oh I agree.  Yet, I found a way to not compromise with using only one great ingredient.  That's right, just one.  Jojoba oil.  I have friends that use other single-ingredient oils as a mosturizer, like coconut oil, almond, or even argan.  I use jojoba because its composition is the closest to your own face's natural oils than any other oil or cream out there.  That familiarity is what, from other reads and testimonies, calms your face from wreaking havoc with excessive oil production.  If you choose jojoba oil, you should ask many questions of the manufacturer, like if the oil is filled with another.  I have read how companies can advertise 100% jojoba oil, but that does not mean what you think it does.  Since jojoba oil is actually a wax, it will harden in cooler temperatures.  Your purchase would prove itself pure if the jojoba oil has hardened when left in the fridge overnight.

With every article I read in my mid-twenties while I was battling my own blemishes, I came to acknowledge diet and exercise are your biggest contributors to healthy skin.  The biggest change I noticed with my skin is when it got hydrated -- through humid environments and water intake.  Water truly is your best friend.

So if you were counting, from the soap, to exfoliant, to toner and esential oil, to moisturizer, that is as little as 9 ingredients amongst all.  Does just your traditional cleanser have that little ingredients alone?  Love your face -- it is the first thing people see when they meet you and the last thing they forget when about you.