Ania’s Morning Skin and Hair Routine… Exposed!
Exciting news! We’ve had such an influx of Morning Routines (please keep ‘em coming!) that we’re going to be posting these even more often. Today, we travel across the pond to hear from the lovely Ania of Europe. Look out for exciting and mysterious European clean brands. [And a special thanks to Sylvie who will be helping us get these bad boys up. —S&A ]
Hair: Shoulder length, straight, no problems here
Skin: Dry and sensitive, reddish and uneven, with a long history of acne (forehead, jaws, sometimes chin), now almost gone
In the shower…
I’m a believer in body brushing but I’m way too lazy to do it regularly, so: body brushing, sometimes :) I use Weleda Sea Buckthorn Creamy Body Wash(smells divine!), just on the parts that need that…
I’m still looking for my perfect shampoo…I’ve tried Eubiona, Weleda, Lavera, Logona, Urtekram and more, I’m reasonably happy with Lavera rose milkor almond milk but I feel I need to change shampoos every few weeks or so, so that my hair does not get used to it… anyone else feel the same?
I use conditioner few times a week, no favourite here: I quite liked Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Conditioner, now I’m using Jason Aloe Vera one (weird consistency).
If it’s the weekend and I don’t need to put my clothes on immediately and run out of the door, I put some oil on my still wet skin: argan, coconut, or sea buckhtorn. My new favourite is Shea Nilotica, with a delicate vanilla smell—amazing!
After the shower…
I use Weleda Salt Toothpaste (I will never use anything else now, it doubles up as a gentle scrub for lips), Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Milk and Santaverde Aloe Vera Tonic for sensitive skin (this is a really good German brand that uses pure aloe vera juice where other brands use water), then I massage a few drops of argan oil into the wet skin (or, when my skin feels really dry, a bit of Dr. Hauschka Rejuvenating Mask). If there’s any inflammation, I put a few drops of pure lavender essential oil to calm it down
Finishing touches…
Usually I just put a touch of mascara (Hauschka volume, which nice but could stay a bit longer…) and RMS Living Luminizer and I’m good to go! If I have a few more minutes and want to look more polished, I use Vapour Soft Focus Foundation (my new buy and I’m loving it!) and Dr. Hauschka lipstick in warm red (I’m not so happy with it as it’s a bit too drying, but want to finish it before I get a new one).
If I use a hair dryer, I apply a few spritzes of Logona blow dry styler with bamboo.
After a long search, I found a clean deodorant that is ok for me: Weleda lemon (haven’t tried Soapwalla yet; this one is not amazing but compared to other clean ones, at least does its job fairly ok and smells nice).
And, last but not least, a little bit of Pacifica Persian Rose Solid Perfum, my Vpure omegas and I’m off:)
I mean, right?! Who loves what? Did Ania mention any of your favorites here?
Great Routine! I also am having trouble with finding the perfect shampoo and conditioner. I don’t think I could name a single one that I actually liked enough to buy a second time around. Right now I’m using Acure Organics Mint and it’s ok, but I feel like I need to switch to something else every other couple days otherwise my hair doesn’t feel “clean”. I’m beginning to think that it’s a problem with my water quality and not the shampoo.
I love the sound of a toner with aloe vera – made a note to check it out when I run out of my Kahina!
Love your routine Ania :)
I’ve heard Logona products are awesome. Will give them a try soon.
Am I the only one who had serious issues with acure conditioner breaking their forehead out? Like, literally a giant line of tiny pimples all around my crown that eventually traveled down to the rest of my forehead. I’ve since moved on to Yarok, and it’s alright, I sometimes wonder if it’s truly moisturizing enough on my ends. I have wavy/curly hair that has been giving me issues ever since I got it cut short. It’s like my curls just get too heavy and fall out, not a problem I’ve ever had. Usually when Ive cut it short in the past it’s gotten even wavier, I’m wondering if it has something to do with the fact that I never color my hair anymore nor do I use anything but natural products, it’s discouraging because I love my curls/waves but have no clue what to do. I haven’t tried intelligent nutrients conditioner but I have tried acure and it was too rich(tried it for damaged hair, since cutting off my damage though it may be that I simply don’t need all that for my semi fine hair, it’s funny too bc I used to think of my hair as thick. It’s def changing on me and I’m not sure I love it) and John masters I loved but my love for it started to fade over time I’ve also recently started to shampoo my hair again, something I wasn’t doing but with shorter hair it gets oily much easier. I’d love suggestions on how to fight frizz in humid Nc climate. It’s he’ll for my hair as far as frizz goes.
@Renee Rahua finishing treatment works great to get rid of frizz. I love using it for my curly hair.
@Renee have you tried the “backwards” method? Condition (even with a rich conditioner) first then shampoo. I sometimes do a coconut oil treatment then shampoo. Leaves enough moisture but not too much.
I use Ava Anderson Nontoxic shampoo and conditioner and love them. I would recommend giving hem a try to see. I also use it on my small children.
@Renee, I’ve only used the Acure shampoo and conditioner for normal hair and found it to be great, but still rather rich. I have thick, curly hair and started out using natural products for thick, dry hair with disastrous results…greasy nasty mess! I think I was so used to conventional products stripping out all the moisture that I thought I had dry thick hair but not so much now. I also blame the brazilian blowout for changing my hair structure, it used to be much more curly. I use desert essence lemon tee tree for oily hair once a week or so just to \clarify\ and found those to be pretty nice products as well.
Thanks Ania for the routine! I love the line about body brushing! I get lazy or forgetful so only do it sometimes, but when I do I love it! Also interesting to see shampoo and conditioners are a tough product for you in terms of favorites, I think those were the hardest products for me to find as well. I’m loving Acure for normal hair and I’ve tried a lot of the brands out there!