Today I’d like to share how I take care of my skin, which is dry and sensitive.
Prior to my DIY days, I tried numerous commercial products without any success. No matter what product – even if deemed especially for dry/sensitive skin – my skin was always left dry, tight, irritated, and red. Now, I stick to this routine and have seen amazing results.
1. Avoid using soap to cleanse at all costs. Commercial soaps contain harsh chemicals that strip your skin of its natural oils and are harmful to your health. I found that even natural castile soap was too strong for my sensitive skin. However, castile soap is great for hand-washing. Use cream cleansers and oil cleansers. Avoid toners or products that contain alcohol – alcohol is extremely drying. Use creams in the winter (your skin needs the extra hydration) and oil-based serums (your skin needs less hydration and more nourishment…and something lighter) in the summer. Here is my routine:
In the winter, I use Lionheads’ Gentle Lavender Cream Clay Cleanser to clean my face in the evening to remove my makeup and sweet almond oil to remove eye makeup. In the summer, I use Lionheads’ Sweet Orange Cleansing Oil. Remember, oil dissolves oil! In the morning, I simply use Rose Geranium Hydrating Toner (winter) and Natural Toner (summer) to cleanse, hydrate, and freshen up my face. In the winter, I use my Argan Face Cream, while in the summer I use Lionheads’ Ultimate Serum.
2. Avoid conventional exfoliation at all costs. Most exfoliating scrubs either contain tiny plastic beads (which are horrible for marine life and the environment!), crushed shells of nuts, or pumice. All of these irritate my sensitive skin. To exfoliate gently, use mild clay masks (such as kaolin clay) and add some essential oils or carrier oils in your water to make the mask more nourishing and even more gentle. I love using clay masks once a week. Here is my routine:
My favourite mask is our Glow Mask for Sensitive/Dry Skin. It contains colloidal oatmeal, kaolin white clay (the gentlest of all clays), and vegetable glycerin; unlike conventional clay masks, this one does not “pull” on your skin and make your skin feel tight during and after the application. Plus, no more flaky skin after. Once a week, I also use the Oil Cleansing Method, using castor oil and jojoba oil, for a deep cleanse and exfoliation. Castor oil is a wondrous carrier oil that is able to deeply penetrate your skin to pull all that bad stuff out of your pores. I love massaging the mixture onto my face before a bath or shower. I wet a cotton face cloth with hot water and drape it over my face a few times. I use the cloth to gentle massage away the oil as well as any dead skin. I prefer using this cloth method over any loofah scrubber because even that irritates my skin.
Hope you find this helpful!
Lionheads 