Once again, it’s been a long time since I’ve last posted, and my beauty regime has changed fairly dramatically. Right to it…here we go.
Let me begin by saying DIET IS THE MOST POWERFUL WAY TO CHANGE YOUR SKIN HEALTH. More specifically, healthy fats. This has by far given me the most visible positive results in comparison to any product I’ve used on my face this year. I use far less makeup now because of my diet revival.
Diet Backstory: I’ve always been into health and fitness. I’m an ingredient label-checker. From 2014-2016, because I was weightlifting heartily 5-6 days a week, the majority of my diet was carbs, next protein (eating more or less my body weight in grams, so anywhere from 90-115g), and low-fat….because fat makes you fat…right? WRONG. Carbs–even ‘good’ carbs like fruit and sweet potatoes and all that jazz–store fat. I got myself to a point where my hormones were an still are messed up, I have insomnia, adrenal fatigue…I couldn’t even do a low intensity weightlifting session without getting dizzy, lightheaded and being sensitive to light. I became afraid of working out. And in the past year, I’ve lost all my gains and my motivation to workout. I’m slowly starting out again so I don’t disturb my cortisol levels. Healing is going to take more than 6 months. I knew my diet wasn’t great, but wasn’t sure how to fix it. With the help of a holistic place, I started the ketogenic diet 8 weeks ago. I’m pulling the strings a little now and moving to a high fat, low-carb diet now because while I do love eating bacon everyday, bunless hamburgers, steak and loading my veggies with butter, I gotta have bananas, apples, carrots, quinoa and sweet potatoes, and ice cream every so often. Keto is restrictive for it to work, and I don’t think it’s a diet for everyone, but that’s another topic for another blog. My point is, I use to eat low fat. I’d maybe have red meat 1x per week for the sake of my iron levels, rarely used butter, you get the point. I was fairly ripped, but how was my hair and skin health you ask? It looked like a hamster was sitting in my tub drain every time I showered (mind you, my hair is curly and I don’t brush it, so I do lose more in the shower), but my hair was pretty thin. My skin, kinda dry. Acne not terrible, but I knew diet could decrease it. Since upping my fats (we’re talking like 200g per day!) and dramatically lessening my carbs (started out at 30g net carbs/day), my hair began to feel healthier…more oily in a good way. Not a gross, dirty, can’t style it way. I lose way less hair now. 1/3 of what I was losing before. And my skin…I don’t feel like I need moisturizer. I don’t get that tight feeling. (But I still lightly use moisturizer.)
PRODUCTS
I’m going to make this next part simple. Because seriously people, skin health BEGINS INSIDE. De-inflame yourself. Our society sees food as rewards. It’s not. It’s fuel. Stop buying $40 face creams for your face meanwhile eating McDonalds, breads, and sugary foods. Or just give me your money instead because you are, for the most part, wasting it. ;)
My favorite fats for healthy, hydrated hair and skin:
Avocados, avocado oil, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, Kerrygold butter, steak, nitrite/nitrate free bacon fat, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans.
My favorite face wash is:
BURT’S BEES RENEWAL REFINING CLEANSER.
My most favorite product of 2017. It’s soap-free and has tiny exfoliating beads that I feel have helped my acne. It does leave a little bit of a coating on your skin, so if you like a squeaky clean feeling, you may not like this product.
I also like OLAY GENTLE CLEAN FOAMING CLEANSER. I’ve been using this product for 5+ years. It’s reliable, gentle, great at removing makeup, and cheaper than Burt’s. I use it on days I wear little to no makeup and don’t feel the need to exfoliate, though before I started using Burt’s, this was all I used and it worked absolutely fine.
My favorite toner:
WITCH HAZEL or DILUTED TEA TREE OIL.
Anything else is a gimmick and a waste. Look at the ingredients of many toners and you’ll see witch hazel.
My favorite AM moisturizer with sunscreen is:
BURT’S BEES RENEWAL FIRMING DAY LOTION W/ SPF 30.
This is a thick moisturizer, but I will continue to use it because the ingredients are beneficial (apple + watermelon, and no phalates, parabens, petroleum, or SLS), and the active ingredients in the sunscreen are right on the mark of what you want in a sunscreen (Titanium dioxide + Zinc Oxide). I HATE the way it’s packaged though. The container is glass, and because the product is thick, once it gets down to 1/3 left, it’s near impossible to get product out. They need to fix this. A squeeze tube design would be wayyy better.
CERAVE FACIAL MOISTURIZING LOTION AM W/ SPF 30.
I’ve used this product for several years. It’s great! It’s far less thick than Burt’s renewal day lotion. If I’m being nit-picky, the reason I prefer Burt’s over this is that this contains Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate. I try to stay away from anything with the word aluminum in it. It also has parabens, and 4 sunscreen ingredients. I like to try to stick to titanium dioxide + zinc oxide. Still, if you are on a budget, this is a fantastic product. It contains niacinamide and ceramides. Coupon available on the CeraVe website!
My favorite sunscreen is:
CERAVE SUNSCREEN FACE LOTION SPF 50.
There’s a $2 off coupon on CeraVe’s website. I use either the Burt’s renewal day lotion above OR this. Never both together. This is slightly less thick than Burt’s renewal lotion. Usually I use this when I know I’m going to be outside for a long time. I do love CeraVe and their ceramides, niacinamides and great prices. This product uses the key sunscreen players: Titanium dioxide + Zinc Oxide. Hip hip hooray!
My favorite PM moisturizers:
BURT’S BEES RENEWAL FIRMING NIGHT CREAM
CERAVE FACIAL MOISTURIZING LOTION
I rotate every couple days between these two for a 2 reasons. 1) Burt’s night cream is pricey, and 2) Burt’s is thick and I don’t need a thick lotion every night. But man, does a little go a long way. I’ve had it for a month now and can tell it’s going to last me a while. Both products have great and different ingredients.
My favorite makeup is:
These days, I would summarize my makeup style as low-cost, ingredient conscious (for the most part; I don’t look into eye makeup ingredients), and a basic/minimalistic/clean face. I HATE when ladies load and contour their faces with makeup. To me it’s unrealistic and too much work, for what?
I’m still using Everyday Minerals Jojoba base for everyday wear with Revlon ColorStay on my birthmark. Been using these two products for 5-6 years now. For nicer events, I use Urban Decay Naked on my face (and ColorStay on my birthmark). Once I use up what I have, I plan to get away from Naked because it creates smile line and under the eye and eyelid creases even with a primer. My favorite primer is NYX Hydra Touch Primer (good ingredients), and I set with NYX Dewy Finish Spray. The spray really sets that full-coverage ColorStay makeup well, especially with it being on a creasy area: my neck. If you prefer a setting powder as opposed to spray, I recommend Everyday Minerals Finishing powder. For eyes, I like Smashbox Always Sharp black eyeliner with it’s built-in sharpener. I have pretty much zero issues with it smearing, and it goes on easy. For mascara, Loreal Volumnious Original. I rarely use mascara, and this is a fantastic, reliable and cheap mascara. My blush for years now is Everyday Minerals. I don’t even buy it…I just use the samples or get freebies when I purchase their other products.
**I finally gave Bare Minerals a try this year, and while the coverage was silky and nice, it creased so bad it became embarrassing…Kinda like when you have spinach in your teeth and your friend doesn’t tell you. I’d come home from work, look in the mirror and be horrified by the obvious makeup creases. Plus it’s more expensive than Everyday Minerals…so a win-win for me and Everyday Minerals.
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