UPDATE (5/13/2013): One of my fave blogs posted a great list of TIPS on using the Oil Cleansing Method if you are thinking of giving it a try - one of her tips was not to use olive oil or coconut oil.
A friend told me she loved the Pumpkin Compexion Soap that I gave her for a gift one year and has been using it on her face ever since and LOVES it. Her face looks great so I decided to give it a try too.
Its been a few months, and I love using this soap. Its easy to use, it takes my makeup off easily, my face feels nice and clean afterwards. My face does feel a bit tight and dry after it dries so I do need to follow it up with a moisturizer....
What should I use?
I started with organic virgin coconut oil as a moisturizer, as well as a lotion for all over my body. It worked ok. My skin definitely "drank" it up promptly, but it was difficult to figure out that balance of applying too much or too little. Too little - would make my skin itchy and dry, too much - I would be a big greasy ball and leave grease marks on anything I touched. :/
I ordered some samples of Body Butta from Bubble and Bee to try instead of the straight coconut oil. I loved the smell of the Rasberry Vanilla and the Coconut Lime. Wonderful! They both did an excellent job of moisturizing all day with one application. Not to mention, I smell divine!
I also tried their sample of Organic Face Cream. It was better than using coconut oil, but it is very thick and it takes a while to spread on your face - you have to let the heat of your body warm it up a bit so it melts some and then it spreads around much better. I still felt like I needed more moisturizing than what this product offered.
A few months ago, I had found a moisturizing cream, the Healthy Glow Facial Hydrator, in my local ULTA Beauty store from a line called Belli. This line is geared towards pregnant moms who are concerned about chemicals in their beauty products. You can read more here.
I initially tried it when I bought it months ago, but at that point, I was still trying to move towards using the simplest products on my body. (Products that had one or two ingredients, basically trying to use products that weren't full of preservatives, additives, no matter how natural they were touted to be - just trying to keep it simple) I remember liking the smell of the Belli lotion, but I remember that I was also battling some minor acne at the time too, thinking that this lotion was just exasperating the problem....and so I put it aside.
Anyway, I pulled it back out about a week ago and started using it again for a moisturizer. Its smells great, reminds me of orange popsicles....Its a very light cream that doesn't leave my face feeling oily. It soaks in quickly and has worked great these past few days. No feeling of tight or dry skin. And I haven't had any breakouts either....yet. I hope I don't. I really like this lotion.
So what's in my cabinet now for skin care?
Pumpkin Complexion Soap - to cleanse my face
Coconut oil - to remove that pesky waterproof mascara
Belli Healthy Glow Facial Hydrator - for moisturizing my face
Bubble and Bee Body Butta Rasperrry Vanilla - for moisturizing all over
UPDATE: (5/13/2013) I recently had a facial at my favorite spa and they just started carrying a new line of skin care called Naturopathica. Their products are very simply made and use essential oils and other natural ingredients. I was very impressed with how my skin felt and looked after my facial with these products. I have been using the products for about 2 months now and my skin looks great and feels great too. The products that I am using are:
- Aloe Cleansing Gel
- Lavender Protective Moisturizer SPF 17
- White Tea Antioxidant Mask
