Like so many other young women, I bought into the lie that taking care of your skin is expensive and complex. I bought products that not only didn’t help my skin but in many cases actually harmed it. I spent more money than I’d like to admit when there were simple and inexpensive solutions that would do much more for my skin than a $50 product. Worst of all, I was always searching for the next greatest thing rather finding and settling into a routine that truly worked for me.
I share my routine with you to encourage you to look for a simpler, more grounded way to take care of your skin because I believe that what marketers are selling us are not only expensive but also sometimes do more damage than good. I want to emphasize that my routine likely won’t work for everyone. In fact, I’d be shocked if it did. I share it to give you some ideas and inspiration for simplifying your own skincare. Not only will it help your budget, but it will provide a way to declutter those overstuffed bathroom drawers and simplify the process of getting ready in the morning.
My Minimalist Non-Toxic Skincare Routine
Just like so many other trends in the beauty industry, skincare has become a marketing scheme that leaves you always looking for something new and better. Even when you find something you like, marketers are working hard to promote the next latest and greatest serum or cream that promises to do things that your current routine cannot.
But there’s one thing about skincare that marketers don’t want you to know….that is that our skin is an organ that is a part of the greater system of our body. Therefore, supporting our skin goes so much deeper than just slapping some product on it. Healthy, glowy skin comes from supporting that system as a whole. So while I will share some “products” (if you can even call some of them products) with you; it is also extremely important to realize that healthy skin comes, first and foremost, from a healthy and vibrant body.
Things That Were Actually Harming My Skin
Before I jump into what my current skincare routine looks like, there are a few points worth mentioning as to why past skincare didn’t work for.
#1 I wasn’t supporting my body. In other words, I was focused solely on what I was putting on my skin rather than taking care of my body as a whole to support healthy skin. I wasn’t eating well and didn’t have good sleep habits. These things were always going to put my skin at a disadvantage.
#2 I was focused on “getting rid” of certain conditions or irritations rather that “supporting” my skin. For me, this looked like searching for cleansers, serums, and creams that would fix my conditions rather than understanding that my skin needed lasting nourishment and support over a quick-fix product.
#3 I relied on others to tell me what my skin needed. Skincare, just like hair care, just like diet, and so many other things are highly individualized. What works for one person probably won’t work in exactly the same way for another. I encourage you to learn about your skin, your individual needs. That is will what ultimately give you the best results.
Morning & Evening Skincare Routine
My morning and evening skincare routines look exactly the same and they are SIMPLE. So simple, in fact, that they almost seem ridiculous to share.
However, in a world where the internet loves to share 20 step skincare routines; it seems worthwhile to show you that skincare can actually be quite minimal. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on dozens of products to achieve the dewy, glowing skin you desire. In fact, I only use two, and my skin is healthier than it has ever been. You read that right, just two. I use coconut oil as a cleanser and then moisturize with my homemade whipped tallow face cream or a homemade mixture of shea butter, cocoa butter, and almond oil. Both of which I also use as a body moisturizer.
You may be thinking I could never handle putting so much oil on my skin. That is exactly what I thought because I too was prone to oily skin and breakouts. However, I found the exact opposite to be true. I was stripping the natural oils of my skin by using harsh cleansers which led my skin to produce more oil to compensate resulting in more breakouts.
When I started cleansing with oil instead, my skin rebalanced and stopped over-producing oil. The same was true of using tallow face cream. Did you know that makeup of beef tallow actually mimics our natural skin barrier making it the perfect moisturizing agent? If the idea of rubbing beef fat all over your body weirds you out, I have also found a lot of success in using the combination or shea butter, cocoa butter, and almond oil.
Now, will I admit that there are probably other very natural and effective products that would continue to improve the look of my skin? Absolutely. Yet, there is also another thing I know about myself, and that is that I don’t enjoy skincare that’s any more complicated than that. In the mornings, I look forward to getting going with my day and would much rather spend time on my hair than a complicated skincare routine. And don’t even get me started on the evenings because I am no night owl; so a multi-step routine when I all I’m looking forward to is climbing into a cozy bed is a big “no thanks” for me.
Maybe you’re someone who enjoys the process of taking care of your skin. If so, a few more steps to your routine may be fun and even life giving. The point is not to stick to some rigid routine that an influencer is selling to you but to find a rhythm that works both for your skin and your energy levels.
More Minimalist Skincare Hacks
As I mentioned earlier, our skin is another organ within our body system. Therefore, skincare includes taking care of that larger system from within rather than just the few topical products we apply. Outside of my daily skincare routine, there are also a few other practices I believe have truly helped moved the needle toward healthier skin.
Whole, Nutrient-Dense Foods: Limiting processed sugars and highly-refined oils immediately cleared up my skin. Now, I never had severe acne, but would have somewhat frequent breakouts that significantly decreased when I focused on eating whole foods over processed ones. However, the foods that really helped support my dry, often itchy skin was adding in nourishing animal fats. Things like beef tallow, butter, lard, coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil. Fats like these help build skin cell membranes and preserve the skin’s lipid moisture barrier. In other words, as someone who once struggled with constant dry and itchy skin, especially during harsh northern winters, including fats like these which provide a number of vitamins and minerals that help keep the moisture in the skin cells.
Sleep: Sleep is so important for all the systems within our body, so it only makes sense that it would affect the health of our skin as well. Once I started prioritizing not only getting enough sleep, but also equally as important, getting high quality sleep, my skin began to look and feel more vibrant.
Sun: Most advice is going to tell you to avoid the sun at all costs if you want healthy skin, but there is quite a bit of new research indicating how detrimental it is to get too little sunlight. Sunlight sets our circadian rhythm, improves mental health, and provides vitamin D which we have a hard time getting enough of through diet alone among several other benefits. While excessive sun exposure can definitely be damaging to the skin, avoiding it entirely also has its downsides. The vitamin D that sunlight provides actually supports cell growth and repair within your skin cells. It has even been shown to help with skin conditions from diaper rash to eczema and psoriasis.
Hydration: I hesitate to share this one because I think in a lot of ways we have taken hydration to the excess when it comes to skin health. While chronic dehydration will impact your skin, we also don’t need to chug water all day to be hydrated enough to have healthy skin. What I will say is that hydration when also combined with a balance of minerals and electrolytes has benefitted my skin so much more than drinking water alone.
My Favorite Skincare Products
I have included all my favorite skincare products. While I only use coconut oil and a moisturizer on a daily basis, I have also included a few others that I use somewhat frequently.
Cleanser/After Sun Care: Coconut oil is the star of the show here. I use just a finger-sized amount on my face in the morning and at night and rinse with warm water. I also love using coconut oil when I’ve gotten a bit more sun than I’d like. It is soothing, hydrating, and healing to skin damaged by the sun. Since coconut oil can be difficult to travel with due to its susceptibility to temperature change, I like to use this cleanser from Toups and Co for traveling.
Moisturizer: When it comes to a moisturizer and body lotion, I make my whipped tallow face cream or body lotion. If I don’t have tallow available, I will mix up a batch of shea butter, coconut butter, and almond oil using the same ratios as the body lotion. If making your own sounds intimidating or is simply doesn’t fit into your schedule, you can also buy some here.
Sunscreen: While I’m not anti-sun, there is definitely such a thing as too much sun which is why I make my own tallow sunscreen. You can also buy it here if you don’t want to make your own.
Makeup: If you haven’t figured it out already, I really like the products from Toups and Co. (Not sponsored, I just really like their products.) So naturally, this is where I get my makeup from as well. My favorites are there primer, liquid foundation, mascara, blush, and tinted lip balm.
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Homemade Whipped Tallow Face Cream
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