Sarah’s Morning Skin And Hair Routine… Exposed!
Meet Sarah—she’s super pale, like her favorite star, but suffers from the sensitive skin that often accompanies a porcelain complexion. Among her woes: looking too young for her age. Hmmm, Sarah, we’re not crying for ya there! But we do want to know your tricks…
Name: Sarah
Age: 28 (with the misfortune [truly!] of looking 18 [I say misfortune because until people hear that I am 28, there is an unfortunate tendency to lecture me as if I have never experienced the "real world."]
Current Weather: The best summer ever! I just moved to the East Bay and it gets into the low 70s at the most lately.
Hair: Short, pin straight, fine but lots of it.
Skin: Super pale and painfully reactive and sensitive. My chin in particular likes to breakout when it gets touched.
Favorite star or icon from the past: Christina Hendricks (not really from the past but she plays someone from the past… that counts, right? And she’s gorgeous.)
Before the bath…
I dry brush every day, everything but spots that have active outbreaks of eczema. I love that it has made my skin feel delightfully soft. Sometimes I do a mask before I bathe, either a sample of one I got from Spirit Beauty Lounge or straight yogurt (I bought a huge thing of yogurt and then remembered that I don’t actually like yogurt so I’ve been using it as a mask.) Anything that provides some serious moisture that I can wash off (pure aloe vera was nice too.)
In the bath…
I mostly bathe (I know they’re not environmentally friendly so mostly it’s just pretending I’m in a hot spring and using a dipper to dump water from the faucet onto me), sometimes for long periods of time, mostly for as long as it takes to wash my body. I’m a total minimalist when it comes to products. I want one product that does its job perfectly. So in the shower I use California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo and Bodywash. It’s unscented and has minimal ingredients. That goes on the bits that need regular washing. One pump is all I use for my body and hair (oh yeah, I get away with this because I have a pixie cut) so whatever is left from the bits-washing goes in my hair, just enough to make sure my fine hair doesn’t go limp from oil. The California Baby wash triples as my shaving cream. My face gets washed with a Konjac Sponge Company French Pink Clay sponge. No cleanser, just the sponge. My heels get pumiced if I remember.
Outside the bath…
My washing takes far less time than it does for me to moisturize and finish the process. I have super sensitive skin and get patches of eczema in various places (my wrists are FINALLY healing up) so moisture is super integral to keeping my skin from mutinying. I use a DIY oil that is fractionated coconut oil with 1 part jasmine grandiflorum essential oil and 2 parts jasmine absolute (jasmine is my all-time favorite scent.) I use that oil all over my still damp body, head to toe, just enough to cover everything without making me greasy. Then I brush my hair with a bright green Widu hairbrush that makes me so happy (the color is so fun!) and distributes the oil, preventing the grease effect (I walk a very fine line between moisturized/glowy and tragically greasy.) If I have a serious eczema outbreak I put a dab of Egyptian Magic on just those spots. It’s so rich that I have to alternate the days I put it on or my skin gets these weird bumps it only gets when it’s over moisturized. They go away but I try to avoid getting them with sparing application of moisturizer. Next is DIY deodorant (the winning recipe form the No More Dirty Looks DIY Challenge) and DIY body powder (arrowroot powder and the jasmine oils along with some rose hip powder because I felt like it.) Lastly, if I have a spot of cystic acne (it runs in my family and I got the least serious case; I only get one spot about 4 times a year) I dab it with tea tree oil, which is magic in a bottle and makes those spots disappear (I always put it on top of my face oil since tea tree oil is so strong and my skin is so sensitive.)
Finishing touches…
Most days I wear either no makeup or Couleur Caramel black cils longs mascara on just the top lashes. That goes on after curling (a must since my lashes are quite long but painfully straight.) If I’m feeling fancy (this feeling has nothing to do with what I am doing and everything to do with what I want to do), I add W3ll People universalist 2 on my cupid’s bow, lids, and lips, along with one of the following on my lips: W3ll People universalist 1, rms beauty lip2cheek modest, W3ll People nudist lip shine 8 all topped with hurraw! balm in black cherry (in keeping with my ‘give me one spectacular product’, hurraw! balm is the only balm I use. I have one stashed next to my bed, in my purse, and in my bathroom. The chai and coconut ones for around the house and the black cherry one, which is tinted, for when I am out and about.) If I know I’m doing a lot of outdoor things, I also put on my homemade sunblock (I just made it from a recipe I found on the internet and it’s the first time I’ve been able to wear sunscreen in years. I am allergic to most of the things that go into sunscreens OR they are too rich for my poor skin and cause serious breakouts [waxes are the main culprit.] The one I made has 3 ingredients: zinc oxide, fractionated coconut oil, and borage oil.) I only do sunblock when I am going to be out and about a lot because sunblocks tend to disrupt the flow of my skin and I prefer to just wear a hat and avoid long periods of sun exposure. Since it’s summer I am also painting my toes with Vapour Organics polish in Captive, the perfect deep blood red (the only color I will wear.) I searched long and hard for the perfect color and finally found it in Captive.
All that having been said, the most important beauty products for me are actually my diet, exercise, and fish oil. I take fish oil every day and eat a mostly vegetarian, veggie and fruit packed diet. This, along with regular yoga sessions, has done more for my skin than any product ever has. Maybe I should stop my clean living so I won’t be mistaken for a teenager…
Wow, great routine (and lifestyle). We’re super intrigued by the DIY sunscreen—anybody else made their own? What else here have you tried?
It’s so nice to see someone who is a bit of a product-minimalist! Even though we have really different needs, I find myself trying to keep it simple while going natural because I know that’s how my skin and hair do best. But it can be hard when there seem to be a million products worth trying :)
Thank you for sharing your routine Sarah. There is always something … Why do you use body power after you moisturize your body?
And really? Is that painful for be taken for a younger version of yourself:)? I bet there won’t be too many sympathizers with your *problem*.. Nice routine though, love Hurraw balms too.
As for DIY sunscreen… Never even tried to find a recipe for…. I too hate sunscreens and rather avoid sun exposure
Also, this is slightly off topic but the bit on eczema made me think of it. I have both eczema and acne (part hormonal, part clog-prone-ness) on my face. Right now the only moisturizer I’ve found that works for both eczema and acne is Cera Ve. Scents, dryness, and acne treatments all set off the eczema, heavy moisturizers set off the acne. Does anybody have a suggestion for a “clean” alternative?
hey Sarah, when I was your age everyone thought I was too young to be the teacher in the classroom – now no one questions my authority and it sucks! Appreciate it while you have it : ) Sweet routine, ever tried straight shea butter for the eczema patches? I’m very sensitive and find shea wonderful and healing for my skin.
Awesome- I was just thinking about mixing a huge batch of sunblock myself for the end of summer! :)
I’m surprised being so pale that she could use W3ll People– I tried out both the universalist 1 and 2 and found them to be either too yellow or too pink for my fair skin… :-/
I feel your pain on the whole looking like a teenager thing. I like how I look but it is a little awkward being mid thirties and being thought to be a college student especially if people find out that I have a nine year old son or that I’ve been married for over ten years. I regularly have people ask my age in a confused tone of voice then give me more respect once they know that I am older. Is our society ageist? Hmmm. Interestingly I also hear you on the finicky skin thing.
@Panda
I have Eczema and acne too. My Eczema is now under control. I had to see a specialist who undid the damage other specialists had done and then had me put Vaseline after a bath (I know I know…but it works better than Shea Butter). I currently use natural extra virgin coconut oil on the rest of my body but Vaseline to seal in the moisture after a bath. It was initially 2 baths to begin with. That repaired the skin barrier.
For acne, I was on medication for a year, sort of worked ….my acne is really bad. Lately I have been plucking the Aloe Vera plant, slicing the leaf in half and putting it on my face. The results are amazing. Zits go down next day, scars are becoming lighter and face look good. Thank God!
Loved reading this!
@ Panda I have that problem too, times a hundred. I know what works for my extremely picky acne-prone skin, but I am always soooo tempted to try new things!!! My solution is to stick with the cleanser, treatment, and moisturizer I know work, and then experiment with makeup colors & face masks, since using a mask once doesn’t usually do too much damage.
Sorry I should clarify that now I use Vaseline on my legs only.
Dear Impi and Panda, oh my! Vaseline to aid with eczema is a no-no! Try a little broccoli seed oil for your legs and barbary fig seed oil for your face. You’ll see the healing effects soon enough not to mention barbary fig seed oil contains zinc which helps with acne and dimishes hyperpigmentation and acne scars. If you can’t seem to find broccoli seed oil, try “locking” in moisture with a little beeswax derived product like Waxlene. It absolutely kills me to hear you are slathering a heavily dosed petroleum by-product on your delicate skin. KILLS me!
Good luck beauties!
This is a little off topic but relates to sensitive skin. I was reading on the Stark sight recently and came across a neat little factoid that was very relevant to me and that is that shea and latex are related. I had no idea. I knew about some of the latex related food issues but not shea butter. I have very sensitive eczema prone skin and shea butter has always been a bit irritating to me but its hard to avoid so I haven’t worried about it too much. Since I am allergic to latex I decided to start weeding the shea butter out of my routine which is a little bit of a pain as its in everything. I had never heard of the California Baby line but there is nothing in any of the products that I usually react to so maybe it will be an option.
This a was great read as I have recurrent dermatis that does well with anything an excema sufferer recommends.
@Impi Have you ever tried waxelene as a clean alternative to Vaseline? I hear good things about it, but have not tried it myself.
@ Ash. Did you mean the Universalist or the Narcissist?
@Ash- I apply the W3ll People VERY sparingly. There is no way that I could use it full strength (well, I could but then I look like a doll. No me gusta.) The Unversalist 2 is super sheer and more of a luminizer than color and the Universalist 1, since it’s shimmery, usually just goes on the fullest part of my lip to accentuate things.
@Rebecca- I’ve tried shea butter but have found that it’s not moisturizing enough. My skin soaks it up so quickly that I’d be constantly reapplying. I use an oil before I put on the Egyptian Magic and the beeswax in the E.M. helps seal moisture in because it’s an occlusive. That way I get moisture and stuff to help keep the moisture.
@Beth- Thanks for your sympathetic words. I find that I don’t get taken seriously because everyone thinks I’m a flakey teenager. Being in a MA program and having my teachers regularly assume that I was an undergrad was frustrating. So yeah, I think our society is ageist in both directions and it’d be great if age AND youth weren’t seen as liabilities, rather that they were seen as simply a part of life, no better or worse than any other.
@Sarah-I totally agree.
The barbary fig seed oil sounds really interesting, but I imagine too expensive for most people. Just googled it and a one ounce bottle cost $50-90! Does anyone have a more affordable solution for fading scars and hyperpigmentation?
@jennifer, I use a mask of Manuka honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg to reduce my acne scars. It’s cheap and always in my kitchen.
For those with eczema, my mother recently got me organic avo baby balm from mirror lake organics and it’s been wonderful. It’s not super greasy so I can rub it on anytime throughout the day. It’s the only moisturizer, besides the steroid filled cream the dermatologist gave me, that actually has reduced the eczema. The ingredients are avocado oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, sunflower oil, beeswax, and sage. All ingredients are organic and fair trade. The only thing I don’t like about it is the smell but it quickly wears off.
For those who suffer from eczema or similar conditions, you should give the Voya seaweed bath a try! Apparently, the owner’s daughter suffers from eczema and the baths are one of the few things that help soothe and heal the skin. I don’t have eczema so I can’t really say whether or not the claims are entirely true but I do love the seaweed bath. It’s great for skin! Check them out here: http://www.voya.ie/item.aspx?id=2
If you want to read the story about the daughter, you can download a pdf version of it from Whole Living magazine here: http://www.voya.ie/news.aspx
The cool thing is that you can reuse the bath for up to a month and then use it as fertilizer for your garden (if you are so inclined). Hope this helps! :)
@Jennifer, my DIY skin lightener is posted in the comments here http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2012/04/emmas-morning-hair-and-skin-routine-exposed/#comments, and it works great for hyperpigmentation. The active ingredients are pretty cheap, and you can put them in whatever base you like, so it doesn’t have to be expensive (I use argan oil which is much cheaper than the barbary fig).
@ Jennifer- Rose hip seed oil, but some sources say that it can worsen acne so patch test and if you can, start with a sample and just use it as a spot treatment on acne that is no longer active. The one from Pai is supposed to be good but I’ve gotten results with the lower grade one that my mother bought me. I think the Pai one should work even better.
Wow, the homemade sunscreen sounds absolutely awesome! I had no idea that you could make one yourself with so few ingredients. As another super pale girl, I will have to check this out.
Sarah – I adore that you’re a minimalist in the skin care department. A couple of questions:
Do you exfoliate ever?? I think I must have the same over moisturized skin bumps that you described. I was recently told that I should be exfoliating the areas that the bumps appear more often to get better cell turnover? Heck I dunno. But those bumps are wildly frustrating to deal with. For me, they are like tiny white heads usually on my nose or chin that are easy to extract but obviously cause some serious red blotchiness after and who the heck wants to extract those suckers day after day!?
Second question: I have the Konjac sponge in the Bamboo Charcoal because I seem to be breaking out a lot more than I ever have before (went off BC in May and I also battle cystic acne maybe one every other month or so), do you use a make-up remover at all, or are you finding that the sponge does an effective job at make-up removal? The sponge feels so gentle I worry that it’s not getting the job done, but that also may be because of the breakouts I’ve been having more often due to hormones? It’s all a guessing game for me at this point.
I’ve got a temperamental cystic zit on my chin right now that doesn’t want to go anywhere, so I’ll be trying that dab of tea tree oil now. I’m currently using Sprout’s cream on my face so hopefully that’s enough of a diluter for the tea tree oil!!
Thank you again for sharing your routine!
x
@Rebecca would your skin lightener work on sun lines? I have fair skin with freckles and this seemingly permanent “tan” line on my arms from wearing short sleeved shirts for years. I don’t mind the freckles so much but the pinkish tan line drives me nuts. Any suggestions? Thank you :)
@Katy, I don’t know. I’m not even sure I know what it is you are describing. I know on me (another pale girl, but no freckles) a tan line will show for weeks-months, so maybe you just haven’t kept out of the sun long enough for it to fade? I can pretty much guarantee my lightener will fade sun damage, but a tan, I’m not sure.
@ Katy- My experience with those tan lines is that a mix of exfoliant and avid sunscreen use can fade them. But in my experience, they come back the second you get lazy with the sun protection :-/
@Rebecca, I guess you could describe it as kind of a armer’s tan, except I don’t tan so it is more pink. It starts half way down my upper arm.
@Panda, Thanks! I plan to be more diligent with the sunscreen and I’m trying to wear sleeves when I’m outside to get this under control. I’ll also add a sugar scrub to my routine.
*I meant to type “farmer’s tan” oops!
Hello,
@ Panda, I use Dead Sea Warehouse magic salt soap. I LOVE it! I had eczema and so did my daughter and I haven’t had any outbreaks since using thier products. They are unscented. You can use the mask for face, body and hair. They also have a gentle but effective facial scrub, body lotion and three different types of soaps. Try these out.
@Sarah, I too have the same problem of being 28 and everyone thinks I am 19! Drives me crazy when I take my daughter to the doctors and the staff treats me like a kid. Anyways, I honestly would lay off the jasmine oil and see if that helps you with your eczema. Fragrances affected mine. I also use Jojoba oil which is the closest plant oil to our own natural skin’s oil production. Also try Deadseawarehouse.com. I love thier soaps and they are moisturizing. You will have an adjustment period(mine did) but I will buy this forever. Once my skin calmed down, I now either buy perfumes from pacifica or Lavanilla. They are rollar ball bottles so you can put it anywhere you want and tehy are natural too. Or make your own. Hope this helps ya!
@Votre Amie- I exfoliate with a face brush from Hydrea about every other night. I stopped for a while, which is why it wasn’t in my routine but now I’m pretty religious. I find that if I do more than every other night my skin starts breaking out but I also find that not doing it causes my skin to break out! So every other night with a dry brush is my exfoliation. Occasionally I use a DIY face mask (rosehip seed powder, aloe powder, and rhassoul clay (I think that’s it) lives in a jar on my counter and when I use it I just mix it with water or yogurt or anything else that strikes my fancy. I don’t use a makeup remover. I usually just rinse everything off with water and then use the sponge. Like I said, I’m a product minimalist and since I don’t wear a lot of makeup, I just don’t buy it. I suppose I could make my own oil based one but it seems like more trouble than it’s worth for me. You might try sweet almond oil though, if you’re looking for a natural makeup remover. I suggested it for my mom, who wears a lot of makeup, and she likes it a lot. she gets it from mountainroseherbs.com.
@Melony- One thing I do know about my eczema is that jasmine doesn’t aggravate it. Some E.O.s do, like the mints, but jasmine has been tested and retested and it doesn’t cause problems. I love jojoba oil but find that it’s not moisturizing enough. The body oil I use now is borage, fractionated coconut, and rosehip seed oil. I had a really bad outbreak recently but since starting this oil it is at least less itchy. My most recent DIY foray was to make my own psuedo egyptian magic (that stuff is SUPER expensive.) Beeswax, coconut oil, and some capsules of propolis, royal jelly, and pollen make something very similar. The smell is… less than ideal and I need to play with oils to mask the scent and the pollen sinks to the bottom of the jar but considering it’s my first attempt, I’m pretty happy with it. My biggest issue is the decidedly musty scent but it dissipates once out of the jar.
As for the soap, I am not brave enough to try it. Every time I’ve used bar soap (I’ve tried multiple kinds over the years. Always minimal ingredients, natural, moisturizing, etc. but for some reason bar soap makes my skin freak out. Dry with a coated feeling that I just can’t deal with. Thanks for the suggestion though.
My sincerest apologies to Sarah, Rebecca, Beth, Melony and all others younger than your years looking girls out there! Only after reading comment after comment did I realize that it is in fact a nuissance to be taken for a kid or teenager when in fact you are older, which obviously I thought was an awesome advantage and not a problem at all.
Sorry if just now I’m being able to post my message (only now being able to catch up) but I sincerely hope it will be understood and accepted.
All the best, allways
@nancy, I have no problem with what you said! Having experienced things both ways, I wish I was back to people thinking I’m a youngster. ; )
@Rebecca, I’m glad to know that . Hope all others will see it the same way.
And on a total different note… Did you see that you probably gave Kahina-Giving Beauty the idea for their newest product? They now have their very own lightening potion.. As for me,I silently thank you every day for your recipe:)
all the best, always
@nancy, I did see that! They have that new brightening serum. The ingredients are mostly things I’m not familiar with as lighteners, but I admire the company and I’ll bet this is another great product. It makes me very happy to know the DIY has worked for you. Best backatcha!! : )
@ Nancy -It’s okay, complaining that you look young in our youth obsessed society does at first reading sound a bit much. Interestingly I have looked twenty three ever since I was 17 and at that age I realized that I was regularly treated with more respect and courtesy than my friends. Some people even assumed that I was an older sister or chaperone when I was out with my friends. I trained to a pre professional level in classical ballet and contemporary dance with the intention of doing it professionally but in the end I decided to give it up. I decided instead to to do the one thing that dancing would have made very impractical and that was have children. I was married. It was planned. I was on the young side at the time, which was twenty three, but I wasn’t a knocked up teenager.
Well, the flack I took for deciding to have children at twenty three was over the top. Even one of the midwives I went to suggested that I go to a support group for young mothers. She passed me a brochure and I had to point out to her that the maximum age cut off was twenty one and that I was nearly twenty four. Now at 33 when I am at a park with my children, 5 and 9 year old boys, people often assume that A) they are not mine. That I am the younger childless aunt. Or B) that I had my 9 year old when I was 15 and there is a stigma in our culture against teenage mothers. In some ways I can understand the reaction people have. My body shows no trace of my two pregnancies and both my grandmother and my mother have always looked very young. At over 60 my mother has only just started to look 50 and for years people were blown away when she admitted to having adult children. My husband and I met when we were 19 and 20 and as cheesy as this sounds we’re still completely retarded for each other. Getting together young has meant that we have done some things a little sooner than other couples and I will never forget the look on the waitresses face the night we went out to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary and she asked what the occasion was. We had to very carefully explain that, no, we had not gotten married at 15. (ironically my husband is as baby faced as I am). I think that what bugs me the most are the judgemental conclusions people come to based on their assumptions and how keyed up our society is about being the \ right \ age. Sarah is right. Whether it’s youth or age, they are just different parts of life, no better no worse.
@Panda – The dermatologist I used to go to, before I discovered sites like these, suggested Cera Ve to me. I found it to work quite well, however, it is not completely clean. A good alternative, I find, for my skin, is Alaffia Melon Shea Toning Cleansing Milk. They have other cleansers on their website geared toward specific skin conditions. I haven’t tried them, but my sister had the Alaffia Melon Shea lotion, and I found it was great for my skin. The Melon Cleansing Milk was almost the same ingredients as the cleansing milk, give or take a few, so I went with that one.
@Votre Amie – It’s been maybe almost a year since I went off BC. It’s hard because when I was on it my skin was flawless, and I took care of my acne scars and they all went away. However once I went off, my scars are now back due to all the cystic acne that came back. Like you, I am always searching for a good make up remover. I use Vapour foundation to cover up my scars and even out my complexion. I find I always have to clean my make up off once, and then cleanse it again, then put on a 90% rose water+glycerin 10% Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider concoction of a toner to wipe off any make up residue. Since Vapour make up is so natural looking, sometimes I can’t tell if there is any left after cleansing. However, when I run my apple cider toner on it with a cotton puff, it’s shocking how much is still left on. So I alwayss do that. I’ve tried many cleansers from Tata Harper to Evan Healy to Aesop. I will give you a short run down on what I find works. Aesop Parsley Seed cleansing oil worked well, I like to use a cleansing oil to remove make up first, then use a cleanser to clean my face, followed by toner. However, Aesop has PEGs in it, so I don’t use it anymore. I’ve yet to find a cleansing oil that I like that is clean. (help!) Tata Harper’s cleanser with the beads was nice but pricey, and I only used it once I removed my make up with something else. I personally love Evan Healy’s Blue Lavender Cleansing Milk. I found it did a very good job of taking my make up off. Then I would just cleanse my face again with the same EH cleanser. I’ve also tried using Simply Divine Botanicals You Can’t Zit Here, it removes make up well but I wasn’t comfortable with the essential oils in it. However, lately, I’ve been doing something else. This is the cheapest, most effective cleansing routing I’ve used that is clean. I’ve been cleansing my make up off with Burt Bee’s Orange Essence cleanser. It smells divine, and really warms my skin up. Then I wash my face with Dr. Alkaitis cleanser. I switch off between the Burt’s Bee’s Orange cleanser with my Alaffia Melon cleansing milk. Then I use that apple cider rose water toner, and it usually picks up make up reside from around my chin, where I have a lot of acne. Then I moisturize with the Alaffia Melon lotion or Pai’s Geranium Thistle lotion mixed with Dr. A’s treatment oil.
@Sarah – I really enjoyed reading your routine and your simplicity inspires me. I also love Hurraw, the night treatment balm is a dream, and the Black Cherry is divine! You wrote that you use California Baby as your multi use product. I used to love California Baby, but a year or so ago, they supposedly got bought out by Johnson & Johnson, hence their packaging make over. I was such a fan of their calendula cream and their I Love You bubble baths and their body lotions. However, when I went to repurchase my calendula cream, I noticed the unattractive packaging change, and in the ingredients the main ingredients of calendula officinalis (sp?), was no longer one of the first ingredients, but one of the last. And the rest of the ingredients looked very similar but just moved the most important ones near the end. After that, I never repurchased from that brand and have used my original calendula cream and I Love You bubble bath very very sparingly. I don’t know about your California Baby product, but just thought I’d throw that out there so people can be aware.