when a really sweet woman offered for me to go in front of her. I only had two items, and she had a full cart. And then she looked at the two big aloe leaves I was holding, and said “I have to ask…what do you do with those?”
So I told her, and it got me to thinking…I put some pretty crazy shit on my face.
If you’ve been following this blog, you already know how much I love coconut oil for skin care. For years I’ve been washing my face at night with nothing but coconut oil, which is called oil cleansing. Here is the post I wrote on it months ago:
The best way I have found to wash my face
Like me, most people think it sounds crazy until they try it. But once they do, they LOVE everything about it…how easily it removes makeup, how soft their skin feels in the morning, and how their oil production actually balances out. I love Nutiva coconut oil. You can find it on amazon right here: Nutiva coconut oil or can get it at a discount through Thrive Market
So what about the aloe? You know aloe is a popular ingredient in a lot of skincare. But if you look at the ingredients, there is generally a lot of crap. I looked at a bottle of aloe gel for after sun at CVS and it contained polysorbate 20, tetrasodium EDTA and diazolidinyl urea in addition to aloe juice. Plus several artificial colors to make it bright green, when the inside of an aloe plant is actually clear, not colored. Why put that on your skin?
Here’s what I do instead…get the fresh aloe leaves that are sold in the ethnic produce section of many grocery stores. For my local Central PA friends, Wegmans and Giant both carry them. I slice it up and use a knife to cut out the flesh from the inside, which I cut up in chunks and put in a jar in the fridge. It looks like this:
Looks like a jellyfish!
In the morning, after cleansing (or just wiping with a warm washcloth) take a chunk of the gel out of the fridge and rub all over your face. So cool and refreshing! It has a mild firming effect and makes a great primer for your makeup. I especially love doing this in the summer. And of course, it is amazing rubbed all over your body if you get a little too much sun.
Do I do this every day? No. I love my Annmarie Gianni Rosemary Toner too, but use the fresh aloe to mix things up from time to time.
I also use raw honey on my face once or twice a week. I’ll wipe my face with a warm washcloth when I get up, then spread the honey all over and leave it on for about 10 minutes before I rinse it off in the shower. The unfiltered honey is best because it is thicker and doesn’t drip.
Remember, the honey has to be raw! Locally, I get mine from Greenridge Acres at the Broad Street Market. Sometimes I just order it on amazon, here’s the brand I have used: raw honey
Why raw honey? Raw honey has never been heated and still has all the nutrients and enzymes intact. It is an antimicrobial that soothes existing inflammation and helps to prevent infection. It also regulates the pH level of the skin, and acts as a humectant, increasing the water content of the skin.
I could go on and on, but I like to keep my posts short and sweet! Do you have to put all this crazy stuff on your face? No, but I do think it is really important to pay attention to the ingredients in your skin care. Your skin is your largest organ, and what we put on our skin is actually absorbed into our bloodstream.
Yes, I use all of this on my face!
If you want to use the purest ingredients without cutting up aloe leaves and tracking down raw honey, I highly recommend Annmarie Gianni skincare. They actually use coconut oil, aloe and raw honey as ingredients in some of their products. So you get the same benefits, but they come beautifully packaged, without all the sticky mess! Here’s a link to the website if you’d like to check out their products:
So, can using natural skincare ingredients help you stay happy, healthy and hot? Well, of course! You will be happy knowing you are using pure, safe, ingredients on your skin. Coconut oil, fresh aloe, and raw honey are free from any toxic ingredients that could be dangerous to your health. And I have many friends that have been thrilled with how their skin is glowing since they have started using these natural ingredients. And that is hot!
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