It’s common knowledge that your mood and your living conditions have an effect on your health. Your skin, the physical barrier between your immune system and the external environment, is living proof of what happens in your everyday life. The world is gradually opening back up. It’s time for your skin to breathe again too!
Did you spend the summer at home on a “staycation”, or did you run off to a paradise resort? Either way, when seasons change, the same questions arise: what is the best way to detox, cleanse and brighten your skin? Or how to light up a pale complexion from staring at a screen all day, prevent those fine lines from your time in the sun, and soothe a skin that tells the story of your life and its many happy (mostly, we hope) turns and twists?
The best recipe: quality sleep, a healthy diet, and rich, nourishing, hydrating, purest and most genuine skin care products. It’s the key to a glowing complexion. Since wisdom, however, cannot be bought, it’s up to you to find transparency in the clean beauty industry and pay less attention to passing trends.
Home beauty recipes
We would be rambling if we told you to eat a balanced diet made up of products that are natural, and organic if possible. You know all that already. When it comes to basic beauty products found at major retailers and chain stores, regular applications and how they are done – short massages or finger patting – are often just as important as the skin products themselves. Pretty much everyone has certain basic, more natural and readily available products at home:
- castor oil does wonders for chapped lips and hair that breaks (after leaving it in your hair, you might be tempted to use a strong clarifying shampoo: be careful not to undo the oil’s nourishing benefits);
- fresh aloe vera gel thoroughly moisturises your skin’s top layers. Some people buy one leaf a week and keep it in the refrigerator. They then cut a piece every morning, squeeze out the cool gel and apply it directly to their skin;
- baking soda can be used to brush teeth; it helps whiten the enamel. The salty taste, though, may not be to everyone’s liking;
- talcum powder makes for a gentle face scrub (apply to wet skin). It will purify your skin and increase its permeability prior to applying moisturisers. It also reduces the risk of minute abrasions caused by traditional exfoliators;
- macadamia oil, rich in essential fatty acids and vitamin E, effectively nourishes dry skin, although it will leave skin shiny and has a strong smell.
However...
While these home tips and methods will give interesting results, a bespoke skin care programme with specific products will grant more thorough, deep and lasting effects. The ideal path to long-term healthy skin and well-suited solutions to specific issues is to find a brand that you can trust, and to establish a bespoke skincare protocol that makes sense and withstands the test of time.
Remember: properly knowing your skin’s singular and evolving characteristics is key to appropriate and durable care. Consumers often fall for well-marketed products that have good social media visibility and are toted by influencers. When beauty push comes to shove, however, these formulas are rarely suited to your specific issues and needs. The beauty industry lacks transparency and, above all, direct customer relations. Shall we say, face-to-face contact? Pun intended :) Let’s stop product hopping and focus on educating ourselves.