I know of no woman that is so butch as to not keep a stash of skin care products. Even “low maintenance” women end up with a lot of cosmetic stuff that they pick up, often more out of impulse than of any real need. I challenge any woman to walk around a bath & bodyworks kind of store and not squirm and salivate.
Over time though, one realizes that most “skincare” products are actually nonsense. Most of what you really need, you can make at home.
From the money angle, a 200 ml coconut oil bottle (Parachute and similar) costs roughly Rs. 30. A 200 ml bottle of moisturizer costs anywhere from 3 to 10 times as much, depending upon the brand.
So give the intense therapy silky pearl body milk cocoon BS a rest, and grab a bottle of trusty old CO at the grocer's.
Over time though, one realizes that most “skincare” products are actually nonsense. Most of what you really need, you can make at home.
Let us start with moisturizing:
Note: There are several elaborate recipes even for homemade products, some of which are possibly valid cures for special skin conditions. However, since this blog is about simplicity and minimalism, We'll look at the simplest solution possible.
Dry skin can be itchy and annoying. Moisturizing is essentially creating a film of barrier on the skin to lock moisture in. The best moisturizer in my entire experience is a light oil rub down, right after shower. Just before you towel off, shake a couple of drops of oil (coconut) on to your wet palm, rub vigorously till the water in your palm and the oil forms a milky emulsion. Spread all over, rub in well. Leave for a couple of minutes and do a very quick rinse (no soap this time). Pat dry, and you are done.
After several expensive bottles of fancy moisturizers, I found that this simple solution is what works best even in Canadian winter, when your skin turns to parchment and the best of moisturizers turn out to be chemical cocktails (Propylene glycol? Parabens? Acrylamide? No thank you) that don’t work, and very likely are slow-poisoning you.
You can use lighter mineral oils or baby oil if you like, but you are just flushing your money down the loo. That, and I wouldn't trust mineral oils all that much either.
For especially dry skin or patches like knees and elbows, wet the area thoroughly, and rub in lots of warm oil. soak for a few minutes and rinse off. Once every while, a warm castor oil soak is great for even the driest skin. Coconut oil will still work, but the thick, viscous castor oil is an elixir for dry, flaky skin. Remember that oil itself will not moisturize - moisture is essentially water. So wet the area well first.
For especially dry skin or patches like knees and elbows, wet the area thoroughly, and rub in lots of warm oil. soak for a few minutes and rinse off. Once every while, a warm castor oil soak is great for even the driest skin. Coconut oil will still work, but the thick, viscous castor oil is an elixir for dry, flaky skin. Remember that oil itself will not moisturize - moisture is essentially water. So wet the area well first.
From the money angle, a 200 ml coconut oil bottle (Parachute and similar) costs roughly Rs. 30. A 200 ml bottle of moisturizer costs anywhere from 3 to 10 times as much, depending upon the brand.
So give the intense therapy silky pearl body milk cocoon BS a rest, and grab a bottle of trusty old CO at the grocer's.
Just about any vegetable fat will do the job.
ReplyDelete20 minutes is said to be the optimal absorption time; a shower after 20 minutes of application of the cheapest vegetable fat available yields as good results as all the over priced gunk out there.
have you heard of oil cleansing - am now hunting for teatree oil after reading this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lifeasaplate.com/2011/01/04/the-oil-cleansing-method/
heard that sunscreens are also really, really bad:(. Nothing like a good umbrella and scarf to protect yourself against the sun.