April 29, 2015
Amar Gandhi
How to Exfoliate your Skin
Flawless skin is the start to saving you time and money from concealer, primer, wet foundation and powder foundation. I totally understand how we run into “break-out” days from stress, ‘time of the month’, weather change, hormone change, etc. However, there are ways to prevent random break outs. So, today I will be sharing an everyday exfoliation to better, softer and blemish-free skin.
I used to simply wash my face with a towel and SpectroJel but it is simply not enough. My skin routine has gone from 1 step to up to 4-5 steps daily. I exfoliate both my face and my body on a regular basis. Recently, I have also started to create natural remedies made from everyday kitchen products.
Exfoliating my Face
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Begin with a warm wet face towel and place it on your face for a few minutes. I usually start off lying in bed when I do this; I find it so relaxing after a long day. The purpose of this is to open your pores.
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Next, gently wash your face with your classic face wash or scrub to ensure that your face is clean for the exfoliation. My all-time favourite is the Citrus Clear Tangerine Tangle scrub. This scrub has a nice grit that helps remove dead cells. It smells so nice and always leaves my skin clean and soft. (image)
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On to the exfoliation remedy. I have tried SO many different at home remedies, from honey, to avocado, to coffee scrub and I found that oatmeal works the best on my face and it’s quick, easy and not too messy. There are two recipes for this: a basic oatmeal exfoliation and a sweet oatm
eal exfoliation. I stick with the basic one and every now and then (once a week or every two weeks) I do the sweet oatmeal exfoliation.
Basic Oatmeal Exfoliation
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons ground oatmeal, 1 teaspoon baking soda, water
Steps: combine oatmeal and baking soda, mix, add drops of water and keep stirring to a paste form
Sweet Oatmeal Exfoliation
Ingredients:2 tablespoons finely ground oatmeal, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable or almond oil (almond is best), 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Steps: combine all ingredient, mix.
For both, after mixing it should be in a paste form, then you apply to face and rub in a circular motion. I usually leave it on for a 3-4 minutes. Then, rinse and pat dry with a clean face towel. (image)
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Before going to bed, I apply a light coat of toner. I use Clean & Clear’s Essentials Deep Cleaning Toner. I have never really used toner until a few months ago. But I really like how this one leaves my face less likely to break-out. I find this toner pretty strong, there is a alcohol feel when used; so in a way I guess it really is “deep cleaning”. (image)
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Lastly, moisturizing is the key. Give a few minutes for the toner to soak in first. Then grab you favourite face lotion and apply a light coat on your face. After all the work put into your face you face needs to settle down with a coat of lotion. Avoid using lotion that isn’t meant for your face because that tends to be too strong. My personal favourite is AveenoClear Complexion Daily Moisturizer. Of all my moisturizer, if find it to be the most calm and natural. I believe it is made from soy extract. Although it doesn’t smell nice it’s worth it for flawless skin. (image)
Exfoliating my Body
My body is a bit easier to exfoliate. I don’t have many blemishes on my body than others. So every twice a week I use the Orange Splash Sugar Scrub from Soda and Co. I use a scrub right after body wash. I find this scrub always leaves my skin restored and refreshed. I am such a digger for citrus smell too. This scrub is also enriched with Jojoba and Vitamin E. When using the scrub, I use a loofah to massage the scrub all over my body in circular motion. And then rinse and pat dry. As always, I moisturize with body lotion and occasionally body butter. I alter between The Body Shop body butter and Bath & Body work’s body lotion. (image)(image)
