Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

I wouldn't consider myself an avid health and fitness person, but the one "beauty" tip my mother told me over and over again was "take care of your skin". This is something I have always tried to do my entire adult life. I have always been a water drinker (80-100 ounces as day), I have always moisturized daily, I have always taken a daily multivitamin, and have taken a magnesium supplement regularly for the past 5 years. Most recently I have also added an Omega 3 supplement (I'm not a big fish eater) and Bioplasma Cell Salts. So you can imagine my confusion frustration when I constantly have dry, flaky facial skin.

I think I have run the gamut of facial moisturizers on today's market. From a cheap bottle of Pond's Cold Cream to very expensive department store brands, yet nothing has completely cured my dry skin. I decided to take matters into my own hands and do some research on cures for extremely dry skin, and found a few home remedies I decided to try. My first project was making Homemade Cold Cream.

I decided to use Sweet Almond Oil (that I bought in a bulk size and was actually cheaper than smaller name brand bottles!) because it's full of vitamins A, D, and E, does not clog pores, absorbs in your skin with minimal greasy residue, and is great for dry skin, anti-aging, and reduces dark circles and puffy eyes (the latter is not an issue for me but why not be proactive!). I deviated slightly from the original recipe by buying organic beeswax bars instead of pellets, and found that they melt so fast it really isn't an issue, and I made mine the old fashioned way by using a pot on the stove (I'm not a big fan of microwave ovens, and the thought of making something I was going to put on my face in a radiation machine really freaked me out!). A quick 10 minutes later I had a light and fluffy cold cream that felt wonderful on my skin. Unfortunately it ended up being a bit too heavy for my face, but I think it makes a fantastic body butter that keeps my legs silky smooth!

After a bit more research I found a very interesting facial regimen that sounded a bit weird at first, but I decided to try it anyway. The Oil Cleansing Method.

Who knew you could wash your face with oil?! I decided to use my Sweet Almond Oil as the base (since I have so much I need to use up!) and I was pleasantly surprised that my face actually felt really clean after I finished my first wash! I did have a few breakouts, but I thinks it's due to the Oil Cleansing deep cleaning my pores and opening up pores that have been clogged. It didn't 100% cure my dry skin, but it was definitely an improvement, so I decided to stick to for a month and really commit to it. So, here I am a month later with my skin much less dry, and less blackheads too! I have to say, I am completely sold on the Oil Cleansing Method and will never use facial cleansers or "soap" on my face ever again! 

What is your favorite facial cleansing/moisturizing routine?