For as long as I can remember, I’ve always struggled in the skin department. When I was young, it was eczema all over my face and body. As I became older, my skin got so oily that the eczema cleared up beautifully, but I was left looking like a greasy pizza. I’ve struggled with acne since the sixth grade, specifically those nasty whiteheads and huge, painful cystic bumps. In highschool, these opposing skin problems “got married” and had a “baby” on my face, leaving me with oozing pimples, deep red cystic bumps, and flaky, red eczema patches that would collectively scar my sensitive skin. Whether this sounds like your worst nightmare, or your reality, I’m here to announce that converting to natural skincare saved my skin and it can save yours too.
So, if you want to hear the full background of my skincare journey, I would recommend that you grab a snack and take a seat because you could be here for a while. But, to spare you some time, I’ll quickly cover the products I’ve used that ultimately didn’t work out for me. From drugstore salicylic acid scrubs, pimple creams and benzoyl peroxide washes, to three, four and even five step skincare lines, my skin would just not budge. Don’t even get me started on my experience at the dermatologist, which could be presented as the most pessimistic ‘Goldy Locks’ story ever. I was either prescribed treatments that were way too strong and would irritate my skin or treatments that were too weak and wouldn’t do much of anything. I could never find my “just right”.
I had enough. I literally told myself that if nobody else could fix my skin, I would just do it myself. So I did. And I will never go back. Here’s some cheap and easy recipes to my favorite all-natural skincare. Enjoy!
Brown Sugar Face and Body Scrub: Makes enough for the whole body.
- 1 cup of brown sugar: for exfoliation!
- 3 tablespoons of sea salt: for exfoliation!
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon: anti-inflammatory properties!
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice: for exfoliation!
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar: antibacterial properties!
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (or preferred oil): moisture!
This scrub is great for when my face feels textured and in need of some scrubbin’. I love to use this scrub to exfoliate dead skin, oil and clogged pores and it leaves my face feeling super polished and moisturized.
Turmeric Honey Mask
- 2 tablespoons of turmeric powder: anti-inflammatory properties!
- 1 tablespoon of organic honey: antibacterial!
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar: antibacterial!
This face mask works absolute wonders in a very short amount of time. Tumeric has amazing anti-inflammatory properties which helps calm acne, rid of scars and dark spots, and brightens the skin.
*Side Note: Turmeric tends to stain, so make sure you wash this mask off completely and use a mixing bowl that you wouldn’t mind getting stained!
Lemon Juice and Baking Soda Spot Treatment: (Make this in small batches at the time of use).
All you need are equal amounts of lemon juice and baking soda. Yes, that’s it. I usually only need a half of a teaspoon of each ingredient since it is a spot treatment and it’s not meant to be used on the whole face.
As soon as you apply this acne and dark spot treatment, you can feel it working instantly to exfoliate the skin and leave you looking radiant and glowy. This stuff is strong! Apply it directly to pimples, cystic bumps, or scars with a cotton swab as you would a normal spot treatment. Leave it on overnight or wash it off after about 10 minutes if your skin is especially sensitive.
Tea Tree and Aloe Vera Wash/ Toner
- 2 tablespoons of aloe vera (either from plant directly or the gel) to moisturize and brighten!
- Around 3 drops of tea tree oil: toning and cleansing properties!
- *Optional: 1 teaspoon activated charcoal, with toxin absorbing properties!
This wash moisturizes, deep cleans, and tones all in one! Tea tree oil on its own is a little too abrasive for my skin, but mixed with aloe, it works perfectly as a cleansing face wash. If you have access to activated charcoal, add in a teaspoon to suck out oil, dead skin and gunk from your pores!