NATURAL SKIN CARE

It has been a while since I have done a post on our more organic, natural, and in general healthier lifestyle changes. This is not because we have stopped using any products.  Nope, this is because we wanted to wait and see if the products we chose were really good and what worked for us and what didn’t. Today I am going to discuss our recent change of skin care products.

When Robert and I got married, I was introduced to Mary Kay skin care and make up by his aunt and mom.  I fell in love, and the products were cheaper than the Clinique makeup and skin care I had been using.  I loved their products so much that when Maggie was little, I even tried my hand at selling them (that really didn’t last long), but that’s how much I LOVED them.  Once Maggie was old enough to start to deal with preteen issues, of course I grabbed my favorite skin care, Mary Kay and happily showed her how to use everything in the proper order.  Mary Kay was horrible for her.  Her face was red, itchy, splotchy, and burning.  It took us washing her face 4 times in cool water to get the burning to stop.  I was bummed since I loved Mary Kay.  So we started the hunt for skin care for Maggie.

Now, I must interject here and say that even though Robert and I both have oily skin, he has small pores and isn’t as prone to break outs as I am with my big ol’ honking humongous pores.  Maggie (thankfully) has her daddy’s skin.  While she does battle some break outs, (what teenager doesn’t?), for the most part her main issue is small black heads and not the HUGE ZITS that I got, (and still get occasionally if I am being honest)!  So we needed to find a skin care line that would work for her.  We tried Clearasil which did ok but not great.  Then I switched both of us to Neutrogena Natural skin care (see, I was going in that direction of better health before my sister gave me the nudge to jump in with both feet).  Maggie and I both liked the Neutrogena skin care, but we still battled break outs.

Upon talking to my sister (who makes her own skin care products), I decided that making my own skin care would be too time consuming for my life right now.  So, I did some research and decided to try Desert Essence skin care.  Checking with the Environmental Working Group website, the products that we chose were ranked 0-2 for toxins, so I knew we found a quality natural and healthy product.  Now we just needed to use them!

OH MY GOSH!!!  Can I just say how much Maggie and I both LOVE Desert Essence skin care!!!!  For Maggie I chose the Thoroughly Clean Face Wash Original Formula and the Thoroughly Clean Oil Control Lotion.  For me I chose the Thoroughly Clean Face Wash, Daily Essential Defense Lotion, and the Daily Essential De~Puffing Eye Cream.  Both of these skin care collections main ingredient is tea tree oil.  These products have done wonders for our skin. 

My skincare products.

Maggie's skincare products.

Maggie and I have both noticed less break outs.  Her blackheads area almost completely gone, while she does still battle some break outs, they are nowhere what they used to be.  I too battle some break outs, but they are few and far between and my pores are looking a lot smaller, which is a huge plus to me!    Maggie and I have both noticed that our skin is a lot softer too, another bonus!  Even Robert has commented that our skin is looking better. There were a few things about these products that did take some getting used to. One is that the smell isn’t as pleasant as the other skin care products that we have used.  Please don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad smell, just not as flowery as what we had been using.  The other is that the lotion that I use is a lot thicker than what I was used to.  I found this hard to get used to, but as soon as I figured out that I didn’t need as much lotion as before, this wasn’t a problem at all.

For us, the Desert Essence skin care line is a must keep.  We both enjoy using their products; they aren’t that expensive (the most expensive skin care line is half as costly as the Mary Kay), and they have left us looking great.  We are still on the search for a great natural makeup; we will keep you posted on that front!