How To Create An Awesome Skin Care Routine

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Hello Lovelies:

Your skin is an incredibly important and absolutely gorgeous part of your body. And it can give you the most incredible confidence boost. The skin glow effect is real, am I right?

But does it sometimes feel like the smallest blip can disrupt your skin’s zen? Do you ever struggle to keep your skin happy?

Changes in seasons, dietary habits, stress and more can make your skin sad! And it’s easy to feel completely powerless, and even insecure, when this happens.

But that doesn’t have to be the case! There are so many things that you can do to be kind and in love with your beautiful skin.

Wanna learn more? Let’s talk about it sweet friend…

Why Your Skin Care Routine Matters

It’s so easy to forget that your skin is an organ, but it totally is. In fact, it’s your largest organ. And it’s so dang cool.

Your gorgeous skin is your body’s shield, defending your precious insides from all the ickies in the outside world. It’s always working it’s booty off (maybe literally) protecting beautiful you.

Let’s take a closer look at what your skin does for you…

Skin plays an important role in your innate immune system. It contains approximately 11 freaking miles of blood vessels and countless nerve endings. And it’s often in a state of regeneration; you shed approximately 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells per hour! That’s about 1.6 pounds per year! How cool is skin?! (source)

Essentially, your skin needs to regularly renew itself to stay strong and healthy in order to keep protecting you.

So it’s up to you to help it out by taking awesome care of it. And what better way to start than with a killer skin care routine?

Being Mindful of What You Put On Your Skin Can Help

Some of what you place on your skin can actually pass through that shield and potentially be absorbed into your bloodstream. So it’s a great idea to be mindful of what skincare products you choose to use.

If it sounds kind of bonkers think about things like nicotine and birth control patches; those products literally medicate your bodies through your skin. And some of the ingredients in your moisturizer and other skincare products can potentially find their way into your blood stream too. (source)

Self-care products are not all created equal. And, unfortunately, many of us are exposed to some pretty icky ingredients on a daily basis through our self-care routine. This includes known or probable reproductive and developmental toxins, endocrine disruptors, carcinogens and more. No thank you, right? (source)

But the good news is that you are totally in control! And there are tons of easy ways that you can treat your skin with the kindness it deserves. Let’s talk about some of my favourites…

6 Ways To Create An Awesome Skin Care Routine

1. Try Dry Brushing

I can never gush about this awesome self-care activity enough. Dry brushing is a personal self-care fave! Not only does it feel incredible, it’s such a great way to exfoliate. And it’s so simple that you can easily squeeze it into your routine.

Super bonus – dry brushing is not only an amazing way to exfoliate your gorgeous skin while also supporting circulation. And it also works as a pretty fantastic form of self-love.

I mean – how often do you hang out in your birthday suit? Pretty rarely, right? And many of us sadly have a bad habit of talking down to our lovely bodies when we appreciate them in their full glory.

(It’s me! Told you I love my dry brush xD)

But dry brushing is a great opportunity for you to work past that and silence your inner mean girl! It’s provides a chance to pay attention to areas you’re often down on and be kind to yourself instead.

And you can go even further by combining dry brushing with body positive affirmations. Things like “you are beautiful”, “you’ll do your best to love and honour your body”, “you accept your gorgeous skin just the way it is”.

Related: 3 Things Everyone Should Know About Positive Affirmations

Does it seem a little weird at first… totally! But after a while it can help to change your perceptions about yourself and your relationship with your incredibly amazing body.

Sounds great right? Let’s take a peak at how dry brushing works:

First and foremost you need to get your hands on a dry brush, like this one.

If you research around you’ll find a ton of dry brushing rules: Start at your feet, brush in gentle, circular motions and move up towards the heart. But rules smules in my personal opinion. You do you! If back and forth motions feel good then follow that instinct! Mix it up, whatever you like. Only you know what feels best!

But make sure to keep it gentle. Pressing too hard could irritate your lovely skin. It’s also best to avoid your face and other bits and pieces, if you catch my meaning, as they can be extra sensitive.

You can learn more about dry brushing and all of the goodness it has to offer your skin care routine right here.

2. Enjoy Some Skin-Healthy Foods

Ok, ok… this may seem like a stretch. Eating doesn’t really feel like part of your skin care routine after all. But bare with me for a hot minute.

There are tons of awesome things that you can do for your skin from the outside in. But healthy skin starts on the inside. And there are tons of delicious foods that can help your skin shine!

According to Jessica Wu, MD, a dermatologist in LA and author of Feed Your Face, what you eat can definitely have an effect on your skin. “There’s a growing body of research showing that diet really does affect your complexion. What you eat can affect your hormone balance, cause acne, and create or lessen inflammation, which is associated with skin aging.” (source)

So what kind of skin healthy foods should you be adding to your plate? Here are some options:

• • Avocados
  • Walnuts and other nuts
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Red and Yellow Bell Peppers
  • Broccoli
  • Tomatoes
  • Soy
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Green Tea
  • Carrots
  • Apricots
  • Spinach and other leafy greens
  • Beans
  • Berries
  • Olive Oil
  • Hemp seeds and oil
  • Oatmeal
  • Rosemary
  • Kiwi
  • Pumpkin
  • Chickpeas

This definitely isn’t a lit of every single food that helps support your skin. There are tons of them! Which is awesome! And it also means that you can keep the ones you don’t like off of your plate.

The best part? This list is dominated by a variety of fruits, veggies, healthy oils and nuts and seeds. Which means that you don’t need to feel overwhelmed. No need to keep a checklist on hand (who has time for that?!). Just try to include your favourite healthy plants on your plate and your skin will thank you! (source 1, source 2, source 3)

3. Treat Yourself To Some Coffee Skin Care

I talk about coffee as a skin care staple A LOT? It’s just too damn good not to add to your skin care routine. I kind of want to gush about constantly.

I personally think that coffee tastes like sadness (sorry), but this stuff smells like heaven! If you’re like me (or you want to kick the caffeine habit), a coffee face mask in the morning is a fantastic way to perk yourself up and enjoy the smell without drinking a cup. And hey, coffee also tames those puffy, tired eyes so it’s win win!

But if masks aren’t your thing, or if you want even more coffee goodness, you can  exfoliate with a coffee body scrub or face scrub.  And hey – I bet that you can put your creativity hat on and create even more coffee skin care goodness too! (Please share your creations with me – I am always excited to try coffee skin care creations!)

What exactly does coffee have to offer your skin?

• • Increased circulation, creating smooth, glowing skin
  • Less fluid build up and decreased puffiness (goodbye puffy morning eyes!)
  • Decreased sun damage (including fewer cancer cells created by too much time in the sun)

Pretty cool right? Who knew coffee was a skin care superstar!

4. Get Yourself Some Clay

Clay masks are easy and so, so fun! I highly recommend investing in straight up clay to keep the ingredient list as simple as possible. Not only does a package of clay last for what seems like forever, it’s so incredibly easy to put a mask together – just add water (and essential oils if you’re feeling it|) and you’re golden!

What does clay do for your lovely skin?

• • Maintain a lovely complex
  • Cleanse, exfoliate and soften your skin
  • Destroys bad bacteria and oil build-up

And hey – you can put your feet up while it works it’s magic. Or combine it with dry brushing and boom! You have a quick, easy and decadent skin care routine.

There are even different types of clays out there, so you can definitely find something that will work for your skin.

If you aren’t 100% sure which clays are the right one for you, I broke it down right here. 

5. Find Skin Care Products You Adore

Sometimes the idea of putting something together (even if it’s a quick and simple recipe) is just too much. I totally feel ya! I can be the queen of lazy Sundays; there are times when I don’t want to lift a finger. Which is why it’s so incredibly awesome to have access to skin care products that rock it in the ingredient department.

Your skin is pretty flipping important and what you choose to put on it matters. It’s working hard to keep you healthy (and looking damn fierce while it’s doing it, might I add). We might as well lend it a helping hand in the form of healthy skin care products, right?

A skin care products ingredient list can sometimes be a little complicated, so if you’re not too sure on an ingredient you can always look it up at on EWG’s Skin Deep Database. They totally simplify things by telling you if an ingredient is safe and presenting you with the research to back it up! I love goodness like this! EWG’s Skin Deep Database is my go to for the moments that I’m not feeling sure.

Need some help? These are some of my current favourite skin care routine products:

Coconut Oil

You can’t get anymore basic than 1 ingredient! Coconut oil may not seem like a skin care product, but, trust me, it’s rocking it in the skin care department.

Use coconut oil as a natural makeup remover and full body moisturizer (I love to slather it all over my skin after a bath). It absorbs rather quickly so you don’t have to feel like an oily fish for long.

But, keep in mind that coconut oil absorbs into the skin super fast. This means that it’s not good to place on eczema or extremely dry patches of skin. It may seem counter-intuitive, but when your skin is dried out something that absorbs super quickly will shockingly reduce moisture and irritate that dry skin. Give those areas some extra love with a moisturizer that sticks around!

Inspired Soap Works

I’ve had the absolute pleasure of testing out some of Inspired Soap Works awesome skin care products. And I am a happy panda; they seriously make some awesome goodness.

Did I mention that they’re plant based, hand made in small batches for ultimate freshness and scented with natural essential oils? That’s freaking amazing in my books. And I’m pretty confident you’ll love them too.

Even better? I’m running a giveaway with them on Instagram! You could win 1 of each of their skin care salves! Check it out and enter right here.

(This is all the goodness we’re giving away! Trust me, you want in on this.)

Here’s what I think you’ll adore:

Hydrating Lavender and Balsam Salve

This stuff is super concentrated baby! It’s water free so you are getting 100% hydrating goodness.

The lavender and balsam salve has been my skin care super star all winter. I even keep it in my purse to keep cold weather dryness at bay!

But it’s about more than just skin care. The lavender scent is always amazing before bed (rub it on your feet, wrists and temples and be soothed into a cozy sleep). I even put it in my hair for extra hydration and some defrizzing action. Booyah!

Bath Fizzies

What’s more awesome than relaxing in the bath and letting something else to do all of the skin care work for you? You can’t get anymore chill than that!

I LOVE these bath fizzies. I mean, they’re absolutely gorgeous for one thing. But they’re also naturally scented with essential oils (each one is different) and hydrate your skin like crazy thanks to the added almond oil.

You basically leave the bath way softer than you entered. Total win!

Loofah Slice

I’ve lovingly nicknamed these bad boys “Soap Inception” because they’re kind of the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s soap with a loofah INSIDE! How flipping amazing is that?!

I love that I can clean and exfoliate all in one. And they come in two delicious scents – grapefruit or lime. It’s citrus heaven and your skin has a first class ticket baby!

6. Love The Skin You’re In

It’s so important to remember that no matter what we do we are not perfect beings. There is no magical way to perfect, pristine skin. For anyone. We will all inevitably have scars, stretch marks, dimples, moles, cellulite and more.

And all of that makes us beautiful too! Sadly we just live in a world where Photoshop and clever marketing has us convinced otherwise. But baby, you are divine and wonderful just the way you are. Bumps, scars and all. I promise <3.

Related: 4 Reasons To Break The Rules And Love Your Cellulite

Self-love can be incredibly hard and takes some patience and time, but working on loving and accepting your gorgeous self, as you are, is the most wonderful way to become more confident and comfortable in our skin. And isn’t that the best skin care of all?

Final Thoughts

Your skin loves you so much, it deserves tons of love in return! And, no matter what shape it’s in, it’s absolutely beautiful and perfect just the way it is and so, so worthy of your kindness.

Spoil yourself sometimes, be kind to yourself and do whatever makes you feel best (whether or not it’s on this list).

And, of course, if you’re experiencing anything abnormal when it comes to skin health (or anything else), don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor. Sometimes the best moisturizer isn’t enough. And that’s ok <3.

Now it’s your turn! What are your go to healthy skin care products? Any skin care routine musts that you would add to the list? What are you most excited to try? Let me know your wonderful thoughts in the comments!

Health and love,

Thought of the day: Your body is incredibly worthy of love and kindness (and so are you).

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