Hello everyone, I’m Ansh from Vanity No Apologies and Swati has taken a back seat today 😛 I was quite confused when she asked to guest blog at her place since there were a gazillion topics in my mind but then I picked this one up since I’m a curious cat and like to know about other girls’ skin care routine. So I thought of letting you peep into my treasure of secrets.
For the record, I’ve combination/oily, acne prone and super sensitive skin. Yeah the worst kind imaginable! So, basically very few products suit me and I try not to mess up with my skin care because my skin rules me rather than other way round. Here I’ll share the very basic and natural things I use for my face and body.
Cleansing
I use honey and mix a few drops of lemon (2-3 max since I’ve sensitive skin) and use it to wash my face every morning. Honey is a great cleanser. I sometimes use raw milk and apply all over my face with a cotton wool and wash off after 15mins, regular usage has lightened my dark spots. As for the body, I use the masoor dal and turmeric pack whenever I’ve time. It has helped me with the tanning and reduced the elbow pigmentation.
Toning
We have all heard that rose water is a natural toner, so I tried using the Gulabari spray freshener and it was just HORRIBLE! It made my face red, blotchy and itchy. For a long time, I didn’t use any toner, simply because none of them would suit me and infact would give me allergic reactions. From lakme to aroma magic, I didn’t leave a single toner untried. So, now I resort to natural methods of toning my face. Most of the times I end up using over-the-counter products but keep in my mind to use a natural toner at-least before sleeping. I now use a home made green tea toner. For it, mix green tea leaves in hot water and add a few drops of tea tree oil and lemon. I agree its time consuming but worth the effort.
Moisturizing
I use aloe vera gel all over my face to moisturize. I’ve an aloe vera plant at home and get it direst from the leaf everyday and store the remaining in the fridge. If you don’t have it at your home, there are a lot of brands with aloe vera tubs to offer at great prices. I sometimes use the vitamin e capsules in the over-the-counter moisturizers. Other than that I use Liz Earle and Fab India. Instead of using a body lotion, I use olive oil + coconut oil on my body straight after a hot shower. It takes care of the dryness to a very great extent. Must for the coming winters.
Exfoliating
Take 2-3 tbsp of raw oats and mix it with honey and a few drops of tea tree oil. Regular usage of this scrub has shown a great improvement in my skin texture. I used the lemon and sugar scrub once and it was a disaster! So, this shows no matter how much natural and home made the tip might be, use your brains and go ahead only if it is meant for your skin type. I use St. Ives scrub too, so if don’t have much time then it is a good option as well. And I started using that clean & clear scrub but it’s of no use, save some bucks.
Face Packs
Earlier I would apply face packs like a maniac..2 per day and then go on for months without even touching them once. No prizes for guessing that it never helped me. You need to keep your patience with the homemade things, don’t expect miracles overnight. Apply face packs atleast thrice a week according to your skin type. Applying a banana or curd pack to a very oily skin would only worsen the situation. So, keep your skin type in mind.
Papaya…yes that not-so-tasty (or the most yuck fruit if I’ve the liberty to say so!), yes that healthy papaya. I don’t even like the smell of it, so ripe and gross. But it does work wonders to your skin. Mash a ripe papaya and apply on your face. If you can’t bear the smell…then breath from your mouth silly and shut up your nose for those difficult 15 minutes!
You see how these mixtures use the ingredients which are very easily available. I agree they take a lot of time but you can do all of this while watching TV or something like that…time management! 😉 Hope it helped you and I’m here to answer your queries, if any.About the Author: Ansh is a Fashion and Beauty Blogger based in Delhi. Check out her blog at ‘Vanity – No Apologies’. You will find everything from her dress hauls to her reflections on the products she has used on her blog. Her particular specialty, if I may say so, is in how to deal with sensitive problem-prone skin which is, of course, very useful for all of us as the experience is first-hand. And, don’t forget to check out her blog. I am sure you will enjoy her blog.
Hi ansh.Very beautifully written and very detailed article….I love how you prefer natural things than chemical products 🙂 i am also trying to limit my chemical products and instead use herbal methods…that’s why i am a religious follower of this site…
I am going to copy-cat your exfoliation method… i really like it and want to give it a try,currently i am using sugar n olive-oil as my everyday scrub.
Hi Monali, thts great you prefer natural methods, they help us in the long run. Haha! yes sure, even your method sounds interesting
@Monali isn’t the scrub too much for everyday usage???? coz sugar is very scrubby!!!
@swati,the sugar i use is not so granulated,rather its very tiny white particles.and the thing with sugar scrub is you have to be gentle with it if you want to use it daily.I dont use salt scrubs coz i prefer shaving than painful waxing or irritating hair-remover creams.So,suger scrub keeps my skin soft and help to prevent ingrown-hairs 🙂 and,of course its so cheap….& chemical free…
Oh,i forget to mention,if you plan to use suger scrub daily,be sure that the suger dont go “down there”,i have read somewhere it may cause yeast infection.Better be safe than sorry….so,after using this scrub wash with lots of water…
and,if you have tiles in your bathroom,like me,then be extra cautious as the oil in the scrub makes tiles slippry.hence after i finish my bath,i use a good detergent to wash my bathroom.
hmmmm…thanks for that info too Monali 🙂 I shall read about it and write in detail!!! and, you are awesome…always giving me something or the other of new posts 🙂 but you know I still feel that you shouldn’t use it everyday….btw, you use the scrub only for the face or for the entire body???
Hi swati,you are welcome.i don’t use it on my face for more than twice a week.but on body i use it daily & gently scrub it.
hmmm…wow I must say you are great coz I do a thing for one day and then I don’t do it fr months at a stretch….being regular with beauty routine is very important….btw one small misconception I would like to clear is that sugar is actually chemically manufactured…its not natural though no harm in using it…in fact sugar is very good for skin as it has AHA’s but if possible you can use gud (jaggery) powder instead coz it gives better results than sugar is organic and has no chemicals at all….I think one can powder gud at home though I am not sure of that!!!
thanks swati,i was thinking sugar is chemical free,but a lil bit of chemical during manufacturing is ok with me,as suger-scrub gives a very smooth skin….And i dont think jaggery powder will be enough an exfoliation for body,as it is more smoother.Its only my theory,as i have never tried it.
I always take care of my skin n hair no matter how busy or tired i am.after all my body also needs to be taken care of…and i have promised myself never to neglect myself.It really makes me sad when women take care of others so lovingly but neglects themselves.No one is really going to give you importance if you don’t value yourself-this is my mantra…
And one more thing if one invest some time daily for herself,in the long run she wont need to be dependent fully on make-up….
well…yeah that’s also true that one should invest time for themselves…I was just reading stuff about over-exfoliation so will let you know about it and jaggery powder is actually great at exfoliating because it has glycolic acid which is one of the alpha-hydroxy acids recommended for exfoliation so you need not worry about it being too soft on the skin…it does work…try it sometime and let me know 🙂
hey ansh i read ur article …i hav query i am having same sensitive skin .aftr washing face wid facewash in nyt it get dry …i dnt want to use moisturiser in nyts so wat u use ..giv me som tips..i am using himalaya face wash on daily basis..
its drying out your skin so you should definitely consider changing!!! if you don’t wanna use moisturizer, you can always go for oils or apply aloevera combined with some oil drops. it helps 🙂 would definitely forward your query to Ansh!!!
vamakshi use a mild cleanser which doesnt strips out everything off ur face. like the himalya facewash u use is very strong n harsh. i would sugest cetaphil..it is my hg. also in summers cetaphil can be quite mild so i suggest lotus tea tree face wash. n u dont hv to be uncomfortable about using moisturiesers at night..to start with you can use them on alternate nights and see the difference 🙂
hey!! Just read the post. I have the same particular skin type that is mentioned in the post. I want to know if it is ok to use honey for a very sensitive skin?
hey…yes, you can use honey for sensitive skin 🙂
I am all confused.
Plz tell me the proper procedure…
Am i supposed to cleanse ,tone moistureize and then scrub right after bath?
Also I have a oily skin so Will honey or sugar/jaggery powder increase my oiliness of skin.
I have KEllogs Oats that i bought from market.
can it be used for scrub purpose?
you first cleanse, scrub then tone and moisturize. cleansing and scrubbing can be done during the bath.
no honey or sugar will not increase the oiliness but its good to mix some salt as it controls the oiliness of the skin. yes, you can use kellogs oats.
hope this helps 🙂
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I REGULARLY USE Garnier Men PowerLight Intensive Fairness Face Wash.It’s written over the product that it deep cleanses impurities n pollutants also helps eliminate dark dead cells.
So is it a cleanser??
Now the thing is that it gives good results very quickly i.e within a minute or two which makes me think are there some strong chemicals etc present in it or is it harsh , or may be it will create future problems for my skin.
the ingredients mentioned on the product are as follows:
Ingredients: Water, coco-betaine, butylene, glycol, polythylene, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium chloride, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, acrylates / C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, grape fruit extract, chondpus crispus (carrageenan), CI 47005 / yellow 10, CI 61570 / green 6, CI 77289 / chromum hydroxide green, lemon fruit extract, hexyl cinnamal, jojoba esters, limonene, linalool, nenthol, methylparaben, salicylic acid, sodium hydroxide, tetrasodium EDTA, fragrance, sodium glycolate (F.I.L. B30996/1).
THNKS….
yes, its a face wash and garnier is a normal over the counter product…being paranoid about products doesn’t really help!! you can use any product you want but stick to it. this one has SLS which is a renowned surfactant so it cleanses easily but natural cleansers are equally cleaning so that doesn’t mean things are harsh on skin!!!
btw, you can give dove face washes a try!!! they are SLS free.
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