No Nonsense Skin Care. Off the Grid!

My son has a friend who is asking me how to care for his oily skin.  I am not an esthetician.  I am a spa owner and massage therapist with a lot of exposure to skin care products and talk.  So what I have to contribute about how to care for skin is going to be much different from what our esthetician has to say, but I'll try to cover both bases.

First of all, I don't subcribe to the belief that there is a $50 magic potion in a bottle that will make me look young and beautiful.  That doesn't mean that I don't like all the wonderful, scientifically formulated, researched, organically grown concoctions that scientists have come up with to address whatever skin care issues they want to address.  They are fabulous.  They smell great.  They make my skin feel soft.  Tons of people love them and can attest to their effectiveness.

But I come from old time, do it yourselfers.  My parents were Back to the Landers in the 70s.  We lived without running water, without electricity, and without a phone.  We lived on $1200 a year, going to town once a month for supplies that we couldn't grow ourselves.  We canned all of our own food, milked our own cows and goats, split our own wood, and hauled water from the well.  Self Sufficiency was the name of the game.  Off the grid.

Yes I know.  This is the epitome of the 'when I was a kid I had to walk 5 miles through the snow, up hill both ways to school' story.  But it gives me a different perspective from the average person.

So if a company has discovered that the enzymes in the pumpkin have amazing capabilities as a facial mask, and they have created a formula that capitalizes on this property and you can reap the benefits of their work by buying a $58 mask to use once a week, my initial thought is, 'I can get a pumpkin for pennies on the pound.'  And I can put $57 into my independent retirement account.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't do our pumpkin peel at the spa.  You should.  It's amazing.  Getting a facial is akin to getting a massage, it makes your skin glow, stimulates new cell growth, and collagen production.  Yes you should get a pumpkin peel.  And if you want awesome formulated cleansers, exfoliants, and moisturizers we have them and they are great.

However, there are other ways to do skin care:

• Our esthetician has been telling everybody about Grapeseed Oil.  She uses it in the shower as a facial cleanser and makeup remover.  Yes I know it is an oil, but there is a difference between excess oil build up produced by hormonal imbalance, and a nourishing oil like Grapeseed Oil applied topically.  And Bonus, it moisturizes as it cleanses.
• Baking Soda is my latest favorite thing. The How To Hair Girl turned me on to the No Poo method of washing hair.  Love it!  Not only is it a great substitute for an $11 bottle of Shampoo, it is a great exfoliant.  Half a spoonful in your hand with a couple drops of water, rub in a circular motion all over your face and neck to exfoliate.  It feels amazing.  And it probably costs a half a penny.
• There are tons of blogs that give diy recipes for Pumpkin Peels.  Of course, I'm a Raw Foodist so whenever I see a recipe calling for canned pumpkin I can't help but think about how all the enzymes get killed when the pumpkin is cooked.  The pumpkin peel is supposedly an enzyme peel, so why kill all the enzymes and then do the peel?  Raw is best, frozen would be second best.
• One of the most important things to maintain your skin and stop premature aging?  Stay Out of the Sun!  Yes a little is necessary.  But don't let it get to your face.  Wear a hat.  Can you get sunscreens?  Yes.  We care the best sunscreen at I.M. Spa.  We also carry Organic Tinted Moisturizers with SPF.    But for crying out loud, put on a long sleeve shirt and a hat.  
• I can't wait to try this Castor Oil Mask.  For me, Castor Oil goes back to the days of Edgar Cayce, who prescribed it constantly for many ailments.  
• And I absolutely love green clay masks.  Nothing pulls out impurities like a good green clay mask.  Put a little kelp in there and wow.  It's really effective.  How much does clay cost?  Maybe 2 pennies for a mask.

Anyway, I could go on and on.  But I won't.  Here's my recommendation for my son's friend:

1. Cleanse Face with Grapeseed Oil every night before bed
2. Cleanse Face with Mild Castile Soap with a squeeze of Lemon every morning
3. Moisturize with Grapeseed Oil
4. Baking Soda Exfoliate 2 Times a Week.
5. Wear a Hat 
6. EAT MORE VEGETABLES

About the eating more vegetables thing.  Our skin replaces itself every 28 to 35 days. 

Think about that.  

Every month you get brand new skin.  

What are you creating your brand new skin with?  Bread, meat, and cheese?  Think about increasing your percentage of raw, unadulterated vegetables and fruits.  Things that haven't had the enzymes cooked out of them.  Foods that have not been preserved so that they can live on the shelf indefinitely.  

What percentage of your food intake is Vegetables and Fruits?  Mine is about 80 to 90%.  

What would your life look like if  30% of your food was Raw Veggies and Fruits?  

What would your skin look like?

And to follow up with formulated skin care solutions.  If you don't want a do it yourself solution, we have the top of the line Organic Skin Care solutions from Eminence Organics at I.M. Spa and they are amazing.  For my son's friend who is suffering with acne I recommend (and I'm sure our esthetician would too) the Clear Skin Cleanser, and Moisturizer.

Or you might just decide to go make yourself a Chamomile tea and use the tea bag as a mask and the tea as a facial cleanser and toner.  :)