Winter is here, and I don’t know about you, but the cold weather plays havoc with my skin, and if you are like me and like to have the water ridiculously hot when you take a shower or bath then your skin is probably feeling very dry, rough and itchy. There are a couple of ways you can combat this feeling, one is to slather yourself with moisturiser a couple of times a day, or you can embark on a skincare journey that will give you beautiful soft, smooth skin. Don’t think of it as a chore that is going to cost you a lot of money or take so long that you need to give up your day job. It is a few simple things that you need to do and I want you to come away feeling relaxed and pampered, so take this time just for you.
The first step is to make the change to natural skincare products, get rid of the commercial bottled shower gels, shampoos, conditioners etc. Not only will your skin love you for it, but so will the environment, by making these small changes you are taking a big step towards living more sustainably. Natural skincare products like soap, shampoo, and facial bars are a readily available option and do not cost any more than the products I mentioned above. You may find that these products will even last longer than a lot of that bottled stuff and definitely will not have the skin irritants and toxic chemicals that make up some of their ingredients.
By replacing shower wash or commercial soap with an all natural traditional soap bar you will stop stripping your skin of all its own natural oils and be conditioning it at the same time, so a double whammy for your skin. A lot of the commercially bought products contain “detergents” this is why they have such rich bubbly lathers, but this is what is stripping all those beautiful natural oils from your skin. Ahhh……they smell so good, but these fragrances often aren’t natural either, and for them to hold so strong a scent even more chemicals are added, and this has a very drying effect on the skin.
To understand how a natural soap bar works I need to explain a little basic science about soap. Simply put, soap molecules have hydrophilic (attracted to water) and hydrophobic (repelled by water) ends, when washing with natural soap one end of the molecule attaches to the water and the other to the dirt and grime, so as the water washes away the soap, the dirt and grime attached to it gets washed away as well. Often natural cold processed soaps will be formulated to have residual oils or butters left to condition and moisturise as they cleanse, so a much nicer way to get clean.
Natural facial bars, can be a very simple and luxurious change from a bottled cleanser and is an easy option for a quick get up and go way to cleanse in the morning, or in the shower in the evening. I know a lot of people worry about facial products, but sometimes less is more, and the simple approach can have very easily seen and felt benefits. I know that I personally formulate all my facial bars to be gently cleansing and conditioning at the same time, I also have facial bars for more specific skin types.
Now, shampoo bars, I believe that what we use on our hair and scalp is very important to our overall skin routine, as most people will wash their hair in the shower and allow these products to wash down over the face and body. Bottled shampoo and conditioners are probably the biggest culprit when it comes to toxic and skin drying chemicals. By using these products a cycle of striping and conditioning is begun and is often hard to stop. What I mean, is that a lot of bottled shampoos wash the hair so thoroughly that they can strip away any good oils from the skin and have a very drying effect on the hair, which often can only be counteracted by using the conditioner, which only coats the hair with more chemicals. I will not go into too much more detail, but if you would like to read more about shampoo bars, then please see my blog on “Shampoo Bars and How To Use Them”.
I know that there has been a lot of misinformation put out about soaps, but think about where a lot of this information is coming from and maybe do a bit of your own research, do a bit of reading and please try for yourself. I know from personal experience that my skin has never felt better and hearing the feedback from so many of my customers, has given me the confidence to recommend this simple skincare routine. With the onset of the colder weather and the ever increasing temperature of my showers, my skin would be feeling very dry and be rough and scaly looking, but this is not the case. I don’t even need to use moisturiser anymore, and any break outs or clogged pores are none existent.
If you are looking for a very simple and natural way to treat yourself and your skin, then make the switch from bottled commercial products to the more environmentally sustainable products that can be found in my store and many other small Indie businesses. I use only the most conditioning ingredients, that are plant based and derived straight from Mother Earth herself. I do not use palm oil or any other ingredient that is not sourced ethically or responsibly, wherever possible I try to buy Australian ingredients and do not use colourants that are not 100% natural, so you will not find micas, oxides or titanium dioxide in any of my products.
Take the plunge into all natural and sustainable skincare, I bet you wont regret it, and the choices out there are many. Beautiful handcrafted artisan products look, smell and feel amazing!
