Non-Toxic Skin Care Routine

This is another wonderful guest post from my good friend Bridget. She has a great self-care routine that gives her beautiful glowing skin and she agreed to write it up for me to put on the blog.

This is another wonderful guest post from my good friend Bridget. She has a great self-care routine that gives her beautiful glowing skin and she agreed to write it up for me to put on the blog.

How Removing Toxins Changed My Life — My New Non-Toxic Skin Care Routine

I would like to start off by saying this has been a 7-year journey for me. Yes, I could have changed a lot quicker and for the most part, I did but sometimes changing so drastically is scary and you start to revert due to fear. That’s ok! Fear is good and what most people need in order to change! I know I do!

I just celebrated my 30^th birthday and that was something I was dreading a little… ok… A LOT (hard to admit). When I brought the idea up to Kate about writing an article about coconut oil and how it changed my life, I regretted it right away and put it off for MONTHS! Taking pictures of myself without makeup and not only taking the pictures but then putting them on the INTERNET?!?! “I must be crazy,” I thought to myself. What motivated me the most was when I was out with my girlfriends and one of them brought up how judgmental a lot of women are of each other! I could not agree more! We are always looking to movie stars and personalities on TV to guide us in our lives. What to wear, eat, how to live, everything! Finally, I decided to write this article and take selfies without makeup for your entertainment and quite frankly to “stick it” to all the haters. Enjoy!

Like I was saying, 7 years ago I switched out all food to organic, free-range, all-natural items. It was expensive! Then I changed all of my cleaning products to cruelty-free and all-natural, which also was expensive! Then I started to switch out my clothing to organic fabrics that are part of the fair trade moment or made in the USA. Well, I think you know where I am going here… everything was very expensive for my right-out-of-collage budget! So I ended up pulling back a little. I started to buy my clothes wherever I wanted, not always buying organic foods and every once and a while buying cleaning products that were not great for Good Ol’ Mother Earth! After years of this back and forth fight with myself, I started to see my skin and overall appearance changing. People started to ask me if I was “Feeling OK” and if I was “doing alright”. The hard part was… I was happier than I had been in a long time! It was so frustrating!

So what did I do? In the last 2 years, I used up all my cleaning products that are full of toxins (yes, I am cheap and could not throw away things I already paid money for), changed my personal hygiene and makeup products to cruelty-free products, and last but certainly not least I started to use essential oils!

NOW, let’s see those non-makeup selfies!!

Before – About 4 months ago:

Used products that were full of toxins, my skin (hard to see in the picture) is red, dry, and rough. I have very sensitive skin; even the “sensitive skin” products hurt me! Man, did I waste a lot of money on products that did not work at all!

Halfway – About 2 months ago:

No longer using products full of toxins, my skin (hard to see in the picture) is STILL red and rough. Due to my sensitive skin, seeing the change was really hard at first. Plus, winter came in Minnesota and my face dried out BIG TIME!

Morning routine

Drink a large glass of water (24oz) with lemon or a citrus essential blend
Supplements. I have been taking supplements for a long time and it really depends on what your body needs. Supplements, in my opinion, are not one size fits all. You can find Kate’s favorite supplements list HERE (use coupon code REALFOOD at check out and save 10% off your entire order!)
Diffuse peppermint essential oils or any oil blend, whatever wakes you up!
Coconut oil all over my face to moisturize, I do not add oils in the morning but you can if you want! When it is really windy or cold out I will switch to an unscented, face cream.
Makeup.

Bedtime routine (inspired by Kate: Article Here)

Drink a large glass of water (24oz) with lemon or a citrus essential blend
Coconut oil on a cotton ball or cloth towel to remove makeup
Oil cleanse to get everything out of my pores
Every other day, I use a face scrub (Recipe here)
Put a drop or two of lavender oil in my hands, breath in for relaxation before I go to bed.
Finish up with coconut oil all over my face mixed with either frankincense or melaluca oil. When it is really windy or cold out I will switch to an unscented, face cream.

My 30^th birthday – January 13^th:

Again, I am NOT good at selfies… sorry about all the funny-looking pictures! My skin (hard to see in the picture) is no longer red, rough, or dry! It is very smooth and soft. I can walk out of the house with no makeup on and I don’t feel insecure.

I would like to note that I still do not buy all organic food but I am working on that. All of my cleaning, beauty, and personal hygiene products are all-natural and cruelty-free. I have a couple of apps on my phone that help me out while shopping to make sure that I am making the right choices (for me). Currently, my favorite app is from Beagle Freedom Project and it helps me remember which products are not animal tested. After this change, I feel more in control of my life and my personal appearance. Thank you for reading and I hope you got a kick out of my selfies!

*Note: I am NOT paid by anyone to promote the products I have listed above. I list them just as ideas if you don’t know where to start.