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i read somewhere that the only things that you should put on your skin are the ones that you can eat. it's true that it will get absorbed into your body so you might as well put something good on your skin i make my own face masks using honey, cucumbers, avocados, and papaya. i leave them on for about 10 minutes and they always make my face feel so nice. my one TERRIBLE experience was with aloe vera gel. it literally burned my face. it was so swollen and red for about 2 days. i thought it was supposed to be good for your skin, so I'm thinking that it was an allergic reaction.
every night, i use jojoba oil on my face and i rub it in. it doesn't clog my pores at all and it makes my skin so soft.
for my body, this isn't raw but i love, love, love LUSH bath products. they make vegan ones, too, and they just smell out of this world.
your skin is the largest organ. it absorbs everything you put on it. it is true, only use skin care products that you would feel comfortable eating. i won't use any skincare product that i don't make myself except for terressentials hairwash. so called "natural" or "organic" beauty products aren't natural enough. They usually have preservatives or other additives. chemicals and synthetic ingredients rapidly age your skin. actually, it's better to not use anything at all. people cleanse and use skincare products way too much. nothing is as miraculous as the label says. putting stuff on your body all the time is more detrimental than letting it do what it's naturally supposed to do.
if you want to cleanse every once and a while I recommend washing with a mixture of almond meal and ground up orange peels. make it a mix and keep it in a jar. when you're ready to wash your face take a little of the dry mix and mix it with a little purified water or rose water. it should have a pasty consistency.
for deodorant i recommend potassium alum crystal.
I haven't been using deodorant and I honestly can't tell a difference. Sweating is natural so I don't think it's necessary to use. Nobody has told me I stink, either. haha
Look up "OCM", or the Oil Cleansing Method.
Pretty much, you just clean your face with natural oils, as oil cleans oil. Then you moisturize with a little oil.
The basic protocal goes like so:
Massage whatever oil you decide to use into your face all over.
Take a rag and soak it in hot water, wring it out, then place it over your face. Let the steam get into your pores. When the rag turns cold or warmish, drag the rag off of your face, wiping the oil off as you go. This will steam clean your pores and remove dirt and clogging oils.
Lastly, massage a dot of oil back into your face to replace lost oils.
This works like a charm and has shown promise in getting rid of acne, beleive it or not!
You can create your own oil blend; most people use olive oil and sunflower or canola oil for their blends; sunflower is the cleansing oil and olive oil is the moisturizing oil. If you have dry skin, use 60% or more of the olive oil in your mixture, and if you have oily skin, use mostly canola or sunflower. The exact blend is up to you.
Personally, I used coconut oil as my cleansing oil, and I found it to be SO drying! I have dry skin to start with, but my skin just dried right out when I used coconut oil. So, if you have oily skin, coconut oil works great ! I just use pure olive oil and nothing else, but once again thats because my skin is sooo dry.
There are all kinds of forums for OCM people out there, where they write their experiences with differnet oils. Jojoba is a popular one, but keep in mind it is not technically an oil. It does, however, mimic the skin's natural serum the most, so that's also something to think about. Vitamin E oil is nice to put in your mixture, too.
Good luck!
I am so thankful for your comments! I'll have to look up the Oil Cleansing Method. That sounds very interesting. I've noticed that the more I have natural care products around, the more I'm reminded of the RAW food lifestyle and to stay healthy!
I am currently attending an aveda institute of beauty and wellness and will be soon graduating and working as a professional esthetician.
for the most basic natural skin care i would agree with the oil method,
first cleanse with water, then apply which ever oil you choose. i recommend jojoba because it is very close to the oil your skin naturally produces. i would then saturate a washcloth with hot water, wring it out, and place it over your face. this opens your pores and lets the oils seep in, doing its work. simply wipe off the access off with the wet towel.
i would then tone with rosewater.
exfoliate/treat with tea tree oil. also use this to spot treat any blemishes.
once again tone with rosewater.
geranium and lavender are excellent for soothing and reducing redness.
then moisturize with coconut or shea butter.
for masks and such there are plenty of recipes out there :)
OMG, that sounds heavenly.
I just purchased some castor oil, jojoba oil and some walnut oil. I am gonna do some experimenting with the OCM (Oil Cleansing Method). I did some research on OCM www.theoilcleaningmethod.com and there is a discussion on the Beauty Bottle Forum there is a link that will take you to it from the oil cleansing website and so I have decided to try a mixture of 25% castor oil and 75% sunflower oil due to the fact that I have oily skin that is very sensitive and gets flaky very easily too. I cannot use moisturizer because it makes me breakout, infact just about everything makes me break out! I should be getting the oils in a couple of days, ( iherb shipping is great) then I'll take the plunge, wish me luck! I'll post my experience here to let you know how it's working.
Oh I did purchase some walnut oil and jojoba oil as well, so I'll have plenty of oils to play with, I just hope my skin won't turn into a big huge zit (gulp).
Steph
Absolutely! Using natural products can have many benefits for your skin, health, and overall well-being. Personally, I've noticed that natural products like Batana oil offer a gentle yet effective way to nourish and care for my skin. Plus, they often contain fewer harsh chemicals and additives, reducing the risk of irritation and adverse reactions.
Basically, as you can see, I've been experimenting with oils and natural ingredients. There are so many wonderful things. Calendula extract and oils based on it can do miracles. Coconut oil is good for both skin and hair. I have wonderful hair after applying coconut oil. Still, banana oil remains one of my favs!