Bentonite Clay Skin Detox (Acne)

Hey guys,
      So I have tried numerous home made remedies for my acne prone skin.  Incase you are wondering, I stopped using store bought things because I have tried just about every product out there and they never ever work.  If they do, it is only for a little bit and then they decide they hate me again.  So I figured I should try my luck at home made things for a couple of reasons.  1) they're cheap. 2) they are easier to change if they do not work. 3) no harmful chemicals running around on my poor skin.

I have tried many many things, with some luck.  Most recipes are on the website.  BUT!  I was still getting breakouts.  Granted my skin is a lot better than it was before I dropped all of my "products" but it was still not quite lovely.  I tried this new thing called Bentonite clay.

WTF is that??
Well, we have all heard about clay masks that draw out impurities blah blah and they cost a pretty penny.  Well a lot of those masks are artificial ingredients OR contain a very very small amount of an actual all natural clay.  Bentonite clay is an nature made ingredient that you can find online.  You usually have to by in at least by the pound but that is still about $10 tops and will last you quite a while.  For preventative issues it should be used like a regular store bought clay mask, once or twice a week.  However I decided to go on a major detox.  (as far as my skin was concerned at least)

Step One:
Drop the makeup... to do this I waited until finals week for me so I didn't have to worry about being seen with my awful skin around campus etc.  But I reccomend this for any cold turkey skin detox.  In my opinion the less crap on your face the better chance it has to heal.

Step Two:
The mask.  It is very simply clay powder (bought online) and water.  Now there are many different types of clays you can buy, but after some research I decided on this clay.  It was said to be the most detoxifying without really drying out the skin too much.

One note about this clay is that it is VERY absorbent.  I tried for days to get a good mixture.  I only wanted to make one serving at a time, so there was a lot of guess, check and fails on my end.  I discovered a few things that worked for me.
1)The clay is extremely absorbent like I said, I use about one part clay to four or five parts water.  I know that seems like a lot, but it really mixes better that way.  When I used more than that I got a clumpy thick mixture that did not want to spread evenly on my skin.
2) Try to get a container that seals and has approximately one serving unless you want to make it ahead of time.  I have not tried this, so I do not know what it's shelf life will be.
3)  Even when you use the correct proportions of clay to water, the mixture will initially be lumpy and hard to spread.  I found that making it the night before works really well.  I simply refill it after I used it on my skin, taking up no more time than had I done it right then.
4) Mix thoroughly for a few seconds.  I do this simply by putting the lid on then shaking.  However, the clay will be at its best if you let it sit and absorb on it's own for a while.  Once again, I reccom
mend overnight.

A few other general tips:
1) make sure you apply to clean skin.  I like to wash my face beforehand, even if I do not have makeup on I will have excess oil.  If this oil is left on the skin I found that the clay absorbs THAT, thus not absorbing as much from your pours as it could be
2) Moisturize lightly afterward if you feel the need.  Honestly, if my skin feels fine after the mask I leave it overnight, but if it feels dry I moisturize with coconut oil.
3) Leave on for half an hour.  I put it on before the shower and then wet it and scrub it into my face before I rinse it off.

Results:
So far I have been using this mask everyday for about 12 days I think.  My skin has definitely improved.  I am not sure if after I am done "detoxing" my skin will stay nice when I revert back to once or twice a week for maintenance.  however, this is cost effective and gentle enough to use as a cleanser as well, so I would not be opposed to doing that.

Have any of you tried this? or exprimented with other clays.  I also order Rhaussoul Clay, but this has been workign so well I have yet to try it.

EMAIL me with your results, and Happy experimenting.


**REMINDERS** None of the above information or anything from previous posts is based off of scientific evidence or fact.  This is all simply MY own personal experience with each of these "recipes" or products.  Any experimenting you do must be done of your own caution.  Please check for allergies, or other possibilities before trying any of these things.  I am not responsible for any adverse affects due to your own at home experiments.  THESE ARE SIMPLY MY EXPERIENCES and I do not encourage anyone to try them without consulting the necessary professional resources.

Product Review: Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in Light 01

As an acne sufferer foundation has never been enough to fix my face.  I have tried countless concealers trying to find one that stays on without looking totally fake.  This one is supposed to cover Tattoos!  Sounds good right?

The Product:
Texture:  It comes out in a thick cream and goes on quite smoothly.  As always remember to tap the product into your skin and never rub.  If you tap it in you need hardly any to cover large parts of your face.  *****

Color:  There are only I believe four color options for the concealer here.  Now for me that is not such a big deal because I have always been a concealer before foundation person.  However if you are the other way around, this may cause some issues.  Although I will say that it blends quite well.
****

Coverage:  If this thing says it can cover tattoos well... I am not SO sure about that.  I find that with large blemishes it does a really good job at reducing them but I still see them a little bit.  However!, my redness and acne scars completely disappear.  My favorite thing is that my skin does not look like I have a ton of makeup on because well I don't!  It takes very little to get such good coverage results as far as redness and scars are concerned.  For the bigger blemishes though I am still left a little wanting.
****

Price:  I may come back and amend this later on, but right now I am not thrilled.  It costs 30$ at Sephora.  The container is 0.5 oz of concealer.  This depends I though on how long is lasts me.  It is true I use very little to cover up my face, so 30$ every two months might not be SOOO bad.  For a beauty product that I hold to high standards such as my concealer I am willing to pay for results.
**

Overall:  I really do like this product.  It has definitely climbed the ranks as far as my personal favorites.  However the price really kills.  I know it is a high end product, but until I see how long this lasts me the rating stays at ***3/4.

Note:  I use this concealer with a skin primer under it.  I do not know how it performs without a primer.  I will do an experiment and let you know!




So what concealers do you use?  Do you apply it before or after foundation?  How much do you pay for it and how often do you buy it?  Any suggestions!?

Face Wash Regimen (All Natural)

So I have been toying with a face wash regimen for the last week or so to try to perfect what I want.  I have had really bad skin since I can remember.  I have tried every single product in under the sun.  Proactive, Clean and Clear, Neutrogena, Clearasil, Acnefree, and Burts Bees, just to name a few!  Nothing ever worked so I decided it was time to make my own regimen.  It started with a lot of research.  I knew I wanted something all natural.  This was mostly because I wanted something that was easy to make and as non irritating as possible.

After some research my possibilities included...
just about everything under the sun... So I threw everything out the window and Decided to pretty literally make it up as I went along.  What I ended up with were a few key ingredients that I made into a three sometimes four step system. 
Organic ACV
Coconut Oil
Baking Soda
Tea Tree Oil
Aquaphor
Although I initially wanted to use only all natural ingredients, Aquaphor has been something I use on my skin daily since I was a kid.  It made the rounds in my house and got used on everything!  It is scent free and doesn't clog pours.  Aquaphor is something I will probably never be able to cut ties with even if one day I lived in the forrest in a tent.  Seriously this stuff is THAT good!

Step One, Scrub:
This one is pretty basic.  Simply Baking soda and water.  Thats Right! Just baking soda and water.  I use about a 1/4 BSoda to a 3/4 Water mix.  You should adjust this based on your own skin type because the soda will exfoliate the skin.

Step Two, Toner:
Again this is basic.  Organic ACV.  This once again stinks to high heaven, but it goes away completely when it dries.  I use about 50/50 water to ACV because my acne is pretty heavy.  Some people say to use it full strength some say 1 part ACV to 10 parts water.  Basically there is no right answer.

        My experiences:
I have used it full strength and 50/50.  I switched to 50/50 simply because it cut the smell down.  It was going away on my face but my bathroom was starting to stink-Yuck!-and I will say it cuts down the stench by a ton.  I have not noticed it working differently since diluting it.  However I will admit I would probably switch to full strength when I get a breakout just to nip it in the butt.

Step Three, Moisturize:
I use two different moisturizers, one during the day and one overnight.  Coconut oil is the sole ingredient the night time moisturizer.  Since I also use it on my skin I just take it straight out of the jar.  However and this is  BIG however, you must use Virgin Coconut oil.  It should be white and a little cakey.  Once you heat it up between your fingers it melts right into clear oil.  I just apply a thin layer all over my skin and thats that!
During the day I have this spray bottle with a cup of water and maybe a teaspoon of Coconut Oil in it.  I just spray my face with it lightly with it after toner.  I switch it up because the straight oil takes a while to absorb, and I don't have the time in the morning!

Step Four, Spot Treatment/Mask:
This is where the Aquaphor comes in.  I just took about a tablespoon of Aquaphor and mix in a drop or two of tea tree oil.  I originally did this as spot treatment because I wanted something more substantial than just oil so I felt like it was staying on my face all night.  Once every three days I replace the coconut oil with this mask.  Just a thin layer on my skin before bedtime.

THATS IT!  I know it was a lot of words, but if you think about it most steps are just one ingredient.  Doesn't it erk you that it can be that simple.  I will say my skin has NEVER looked so much better.  It is not overly dry oily messy anything.  Just slowly clearing up and getting healthier.  A big part of this is my honey mask.  Since I find it so crucial I will make an entire post dedicated to it.  It is just too lovely!


P.S.  Shelf life is something I was concerned about when I decided to use all natural ingredients.  However, I made all of these ahead of time and store them in my bathroom.  So far nothing has gone bad or smelled funny and it has been a couple of weeks.

Please remember, this is how these things reacted to MY skin.  Each person is different and ingredients may react to your face in a better or worse way.  Be careful and let me know how it goes!

Experiment #1

The first thing I did when I was experimenting with natural products was whip out the ACV.  I initially started looking into this as an acne treatment because I also suffer from severe disgruntlement of those products as well.  Anyway, I used it as a toner for my skin and just wiped it across my clean skin.  THIS BURNS LIKE A MOTHER F*@%ER.  However, I did notice a difference in my skin even the next day.  That night I also made an ACV rinse for my hair.

Recipes:

Hair Rinse...
~ about 1/8 cup of ACV
~ mixed with about 2 cups warm water from shower
~ tilt head forward and pour vinegar over hair
~ massage for about a minute then rinse with warm water
~ follow up with cool water if you can stand it (for shine)

Effects...
I tried to use this as an anti dandruff treatment, and a clarifying treatment since I have really hard water at home.  The next day I must say I did not notice any itch at all, and my hair looked AMAZING!  However, I did smell like an Easter Egg until my hair dried.  *NOTE*  If you are active or workout whatever, when my hair got wet again and I started to sweat I did smell a hint of vinegar, but nothing terrible.

Skin Toner...
~ I used a dab of this on a piece of toilet paper or a tissue
~ I used it on my face full strength.  If you have sensitive skin you can dilute with water.
~ Do not rinse off, let dry.
~ If skin feels dry moisturize with anything that won't clog pours
~ I added nothing the first night just to see what the effects would be

Effects...
~ Acne looked better, not completely gone
~ Complexion looked a lot better
~ Smelled of vinegar a tad when sweating.


After I did these experiments I found out that Organic ACV is really what I was supposed to be using.  It contains the "mother" which is basically a bunch of cloudy gunk.  So although I got the results I wanted for my hair, I am looking forward to the hopefully enhanced results with my skin.

will check back later!

Going All Natural "No Poo"

I am among the majority of women out there who are far from impressed with the expensive shampoo they use and their performance.  I was googling around initially for a shampoo that would moisturize my curly dry hair, relieve an itchy scalp without ruining my red color.  I found one option.  A 35$ shampoo and then a 35$ conditioner.  UHHH no thanks! :(

  As I was googling I stumbled across the "no poo" method.  The basic way is baking soda and ACV (apple cider vinegar).  As I read further, the baking soda could be very drying.  Then I found out about the curly girl method.  This focused on washing your hair with only conditioner.  Of course then there is the always famous olive oil deep conditioning.  Then I found a website with organic shampoo bars.  So basically there are about a gazillion "no poo" techniques on the world wide web.  Thus leaving be one STILL very unsatisfied curly haired little girl.  In my lack of planning type of way the first thing I did was went shopping!

I bought...

Baking soda
Apple cider vinegar
Coconut oil
Grape seed oil