Trying to muck your way through ingredient lists on cosmetics is exhausting. Even products who tout being clean, organic, etc still often have ingredients in them that are less than ideal. For people with a history of cancer, autoimmune diseases, or for those wanting to avoid those awful things all together it is so important to lighten the toxic load in anyway possible.
Our skin is our largest organ, we have to begin to look closely at the products we are using on our bodies.
While the amount of the toxic ingredients (many of which are known cancer causing agents) may be small, when you are using multiple products, often multiple times a day, every day, for years, it starts to add up. Many products contain ingredients that are endocrine disruptors such as: phthalates, bisphenol A, dioxin, benzyl butyl phthalate, bis phthalate and diethyl phthalate, just to name a few. These endocrine disruptors do just that, they disrupt the endocrine system which controls: hormones, pancreas, adrenal glands, pituitary glands, etc. Studies are showing that these endocrine disruptors can especially have an affect on estrogen and estrogen sensitive cancers.
Scientists believe that 2/3 of cancers are caused by environmental toxins, like our cosmetics, household supplies, lawncare, etc. Every little bit of our routine that we clean up, will reduce our toxic load and strengthen our terrain to help prevent future disease and/or progression.
Check out The Metabolic Approach to Cancer by Dr. Nasha Winters and Jess Higgins-Kelley to learn more about strengthening all of your terrains. This book should have a subtitle called, " & Life", because the principles laid out in the book are keys to living a healthy life for everyone, not just cancer patients.
While Young Living and Beautycounter have decently clean products, some still have risk of endocrine disruption, which I personally have to be super careful about.
Since it can be so difficult to sort through all the ingredients I have found that it is easier to just make my own products. But I don't want to look like a crusty old lady either! I've found some things that really have helped my face, because chemo was hard on it!
For starters, cleansers.
Facial Cleansing
Historically I've had really bad acne, which I notice goes away almost completely when I eliminate sugar, dairy has a slight effect too. Typically though, if I am eliminating one the other has been nixed as well.
I would be surprised if the majority of people don't find the same thing to be true, when you clean up your diet it isn't necessary to use some of the same products that you've needed in the past. Now, this can take awhile...if you spent years messing stuff up it may take a few months to rectify.
Initially it seems counterintuitive to "wash" your face with oil, but when you start to think about it oil cleansing works because like dissolves like.
The other thing is when we strip our faces of all the oil with regular cleansers our body thinks it needs to make more oil, so you begin to overproduce. When you stop stripping it of it's natural oils by cleansing with oil it will begin to slow down the overproduction and your skin will gradually become less "oily". This is a process though and one that I think is an easier transition in the winter than the summer.
What kind of oil to use?
In the past I have attempted to do oil cleansing using coconut oil. That did not work for me, I would break out. Now I know that coconut oil is comedogenic, which means it clogs the pores, however if you mix it with castor oil many people are fine. It worked well for me, no break outs, when I was super duper dry and crusty during chemo. There are better options out there than coconut oil, that offer more benefits and less issues.
Olive oil is a good place to start, mixed in a 2:1 ratio with castor oil. If you are dry, try avocado oil and castor oil, if you are acne prone try jojoba and castor oil. If you still feel too oily, add more castor oil. If you feel to dry, add more of the oil of your choice and decrease the amount of castor oil.
During the winter months I often only cleanse in the evening and then continue my routine of a few spritzes of rose water, Vit C serum in the evening, anti-aging serum am&pm, and then a moisturizer.
Normal Skin Cleansing Oil
2/3 cup cold pressed, virgin, unrefined, organic olive oil
1/3 cup cold pressed, virgin, unrefined, hexane free, organic castor oil
Bragg's is a good olive oil option, click here. I use Kasandrino's for consuming, if you don't want two separate bottles around, it does cost a little more, click here
For castor oil be very careful you are getting hexane free, organic, cold pressed. Click here for the one I buy.
Instructions for use: massage approximately 1 teaspoon into your face for 1-2 minutes, wet a soft washcloth with hot water, wring out and apply to face and allow it to steam a bit then gently wipe, repeat 1-2x. Pat dry.
Oily Skin/Acne Prone Cleansing Oil
2/3 cup cold pressed, organic jojoba oil
1/3 cup cold pressed, virgin, unrefined, hexane free, organic castor oil
Click here to buy jojoba oil
For castor oil be very careful you are getting hexane free, organic, cold pressed. Click here for the one I buy.
Instructions for use: massage approximately 1 teaspoon into your face for 1-2 minutes, wet a soft washcloth with hot water, wring out and apply to face and allow it to steam a bit then gently wipe, repeat 1-2x. Pat dry.
Dry Skin Cleansing Oil
2/3 cup avocado oil
1/3 cup cold pressed, virgin, unrefined, hexane free, organic castor oil
Click here to buy cold pressed, unrefined, organic avocado oil
For castor oil be very careful you are getting hexane free, organic, cold pressed. Click here for the one I buy.
Instructions for use: massage approximately 1 teaspoon into your face for 1-2 minutes, wet a soft washcloth with hot water, wring out and apply to face and allow it to steam a bit then gently wipe, repeat 1-2x. Pat dry.
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