Detoxing my Moisturizer

Oil on my face.

Now that statement means something entirely different to me than it did a few years ago.

My whole life - until the past several years - I would have described my face as "oily."  Very oily, actually.  

I would wash and scrub it clean several times a days, use toner...and could/would still blot it multiple times during the day to get the excess oil off.

I didn't want anyone to touch my face. Not Jas, not the children.  I would cringe.  It grossed me out to think of someone else being grossed out by all the oil they would find there.  

Because I already had so much oil on my face, I couldn't stand the thought of moisturizing my face.  Purposefully adding oil to my face?  It made no sense to my simple mind.

But I kept reading it enough, that I finally decided to try it.  I purchased a Wally world knock off of Oil-of-Old-Lady.

A move in the right direction?  Ummmm, not really.

I finally wised up several years ago and realized that the coconut oil that I swore by in my kitchen would also make a fantastic skin care product.  

Again:  If I can't eat it...I shouldn't put it on my skin.  

I definitely would not have put that store-bought stuff in my mouth...but I put as much coconut oil in my mouth as I can!  

And as it turns out - my skin is not truly oily.  

I was stripping my skin of its natural oils.  Over-washing.  Over-cleansing.  And in return it was over-producing oils to try to keep up with what I was taking away.  

I scooped some of our coconut oil from our stash in the kitchen into a little container to keep in my bathroom.







Every morning and every night I smooth some of this on my skin.  In cooler weather the oil will be in a solid state.  No biggie, I just scoop some up and it melts instantly as the heat from my face melts it.

Coconut oil's melting point is about 76-78 degrees, so in warmer weather when the temp in here is above that, the oil stays in more of a liquid state, which is just even easier.

I just smooth a little on and it soaks right in.  If I happen to put a little too much, then I might blot it 30 or so minutes later to get the extra off.  

My skin has never looked better in my entire life.  I get compliments now.  And I've had one blemish in the whole past year.  It sticks out to me because it was so strange, and it prompted me to think, "Come to think of it, this NEVER happens anymore!"  

And the cherry on top is that this is cheaper than store-bought moisturizing products.  I bought probably the cheapest stuff out there, and this is still cheaper (not to mention healthier).  But we all know how very expensive women's facial products can be.  

But my homemade moisturizer meets my three criteria:

Healthy

Cheap

Easy

I used to feel safe believing that if a product was on the shelf, that must mean it is safe.  And that...was a myth.  

The American government doesn’t require health studies

or pre-market testing of the chemicals in personal care products.  (source)

This may seem self-explanatory, but the FDA regulates Food...and Drugs.  Not cosmetics.  

Read more about cosmetic safety myths HERE.  

Want to see if your favorite beauty product is safe to use?  Check out the EWG's Skin Deep website.



**UPDATE 6/2015**

Instead of coconut oil, I now use straight Jojoba oil on my face.  I buy it at wholesale prices through our co-op, but you can also find it through amazon.