Well, I'm back because I'm really excited about all-natural skincare and I had to share. About a month ago I read an article about the Oil Cleansing Method and decided to try it. This opened up a whole new world of homemade skincare products (and quite a few trips to Mom's Organic Market for oils and other fun things).
During my most recent trip I came across Aztec Indian Healing Clay. I have been reading about clay over on Crunchy Betty (an AWESOME blog for natural skincare and cleaning) and the price was right so I picked up a jar, as well as a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar. The instructions on the clay says to mix equal parts clay + vinegar, put it on your face for 15-20 minutes. Just for fun, I snapped pictures, because what fun is a blog without pictures?
Here I am with my lovely greenish clay face. Hot, right? It gets hard pretty quickly which makes it hard to finish drinking your glass of wine, so I suggest you a) use a straw or b) chug it within the first five minutes of applying the mask.
Anyway, I flipped the TV to a new 16 & Pregnant so I ended up leaving it on a little long. It got really hard and was a little difficult to wipe off, but I soaked a washcloth with hot water, held it to my face for a few seconds, then wiped. The result? I was a little red. Like, I looked like I spent a little too much time in Ocean City without sunscreen.
Don't worry though! The website says that's normal (phew!). My face felt really clean. To moisturize, I coated my face in a thin layer of Jojoba oil, my current favorite oil - it's really smooth on your skin, soaks in quickly, and doesn't feel really greasy. I use it in my oil for my OCM too (more on that in a later post).I went to bed and when I woke up in the morning, no more red face! If I look tired, it's because I haven't had my coffee yet and my kids probably woke me up at 6 am. (yawn)
The verdict? Well, my skin is broken out right now, so I can't really tell you. Did it pull everything to the surface? I think it definitely did, but now I have to get it cleared up. I'm also in week 4 of OCM which is when it seems people start to break out, so who knows what's causing it. I plan to continue my natural skincare routine for at least another month or two to see if it really works. I LOVE how my face feels with OCM so if I can clear up the break-outs, I'm keeping it for good.
This clay has great reviews on Amazon (and everything on the internet is true, right?). I'm also planning to use it on my arms for my KP (keratosis pilaris) - I'm honestly willing to try anything to clear that up in time for summer!
I'll update in a week or two to let you know how things are going with my face. In the meantime, check out their website for more recipes - I think I might try the honey mask next. I've been doing a weekly honey mask so why not mix it all together?
