If you are anything like me, you will understand that whenever there is a change of season, skin just freaks out and shuts down on maintaining itself.
Now I love winter, the cold, the fashion and the hot drinks. But my body says otherwise. For me, Winter somehow brings with it dry flakey skin. So unattractive, but most importantly - I feel disgusting.
Normally stress is my major trigger for bad skin. The minute I'm stressed, every one can see. But lately I'm not feeling stressed, in fact I'm worrying less about parts of my life that I normally would have spend countless nights worrying over. So what's the cause of this horrid skin?
Trying to understand the real issue is difficult in any skin problem because there are so many reasons; not enough water, not enough exercise, too many carbs, too much fast food, seasons changing, new products/foundation, bad quality cleanser/toner etc, stress, emotional issues, foundation brushes need cleaning, sugary drinks, dusty room/dirty environment, dirty sheets/pillows, etc.
The only way I can see to fix any minor health problem is detoxing. So my goal is to go on a detox/cleanse every three months, using natural remedies, because sometime you just need a good refreshing!
Here's what the plan is:
- Minimum 2L water every day. In fact I have heard somewhere that you are meant to have your first litre by 11am.
- Skinny water. Ingredients: 3 lemons sliced 1/2 cucumber A bunch of mint leaves (per gallon of water). Let it sit overnight and drink the next day. The lemon and water act as a natural detox that helps flush the impurities out of your system.
Review: If you like lemon, cucumber, mint and any fresh taste - you will love this as much as I did. I could almost feel the drink refreshing my insides. However, make sure you drink it the next day and if you don't finish it - chuck it out! You don't want to see what happens the next few days.. or smell it.
- Homemade body scrub. Ingredients: Coarse sea salt, olive oil, jojoba oil and lemon juice. Add to a small jar and use in the bath/shower.
- Cleopatra bath. Add ½ cup of milk or cream and ¼ cup of honey into a warm bath.
Review: I made a Cleopatra bath and used the body scrub at the same time and it was one of the best choices I have ever made. My skin was almost brand new and people actually commented on how soft my skin was - which is not normal for me! Also make sure you don't put your hair in the water.
- Face mask. Mix lemon juice and egg white together and apply. Leave until dry and wash off with warm water. Note: don't use while in the bath otherwise it won't dry.
Review: Yes it work - but I don't feel like I have really trialled this out very well. My skin felt a lot better but this needs to be done on a regular basis for it to actually help. So once a week should do the trick but I'll be testing that out!
- Cleaning make up brushes. Add tbsp of white vinegar to a cup of hot water. Leave for 20mins to soak. Hot then cold rinse and pat dry.
Review: The brushes were clean enough - but smelt like vinegar. Now I'm only suggesting this because technically it did work and it is pretty much free since I already had white vinegar. The brushes took a while to completely dry, as in; my foundation brushes took days to dry and I could smell the vinegar for about a week.
So those are my ideas so far, I may add or subtract certain points in the future but hopefully these will help.
Happy Easter weekend!
Beth x
