Hey, so I want to start by saying sorry. I haven't posted in months or really been active in TeamSugar because I've been dealing with personal issues =(, but now that I'm getting my life back in gear I wanted to start posting again. Anyways Martini just did an excellent review on BPJ and I felt guilty about not doing any reviews myself.
I get a lot of compliments from you guys on my skin, but I have such dry horrible Winter/Spring skin. Seriously, you have no idea. In my battle with moisturizers and mild eczema in hot spots all over my body I've become very sensitive to ingredients. Everyone thinks that if you have dry skin you don't break out and while that is mostly true in the summer, dry thin irritated skin is even more susceptible to bacteria and bumps than cleansed oily skin in my opinion.
I've come to realize that even the tamest mildest cleansers and scrubs tends to have alcohols in it. Same thing goes for a lot of moisturizers. People often strive for that super clean feeling after they wash their face. A feeling that frankly is unnecessary and not an accurate measure of how clean your face is. If you have oily skin it's fine cause you'll naturally replenish that oil, but if your like me (the moisture I leave the house with is the same level of moisture I have when I come back) then you're screwed. Same goes for my hair and skin on my body. So in come these products.
So, I owe my life to Origins. I use the Origins 'Clean Energy' Gentle Cleansing Oil. I think I've mentioned this product before, but it leaves my face clean without feeling tight and doesn't suck my face of my few natural oils. It cost about $18-19.
Another Staple is Dr. Bonner's Peppermint Liquid Soap'. It's Fair Trade and check the ingrediant list:
INGREDIENTS: Water, Saponified Organic Coconut*, Organic Palm* and Organic Olive* Oils (w/Retained Glycerin), Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Essential Oils**, Citric Acid, Vitamin E
* FAIR TRADE Ingredients
** Available in Peppermint, Lavender, Almond, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Unscented Baby-Mild, Rose and Citrus Orange
Nothing in this is going to dry your skin out and to anyone whose ever tried this, you know how clean you feel after you use it. It's not oily at all. I use the peppermint because I love the intense smell (warning: you do have to dilute the peppermint before placing near your va jay jay or face =O). It's cheap. The $9 bottle will last months and it's multi purpose.
Now, I use such an expensive conditioner...and Ojon is worth every penny, but I didn't want to shell out for an equally expensive shampoo. All I wanted was a sulfate free (I hear those are bad right?) shampoo that would cleanse my hair, but not cause any damage...and voile like a miracle I turned to my Dr. Bonner's' again. It's an excellent natural soap, that makes a wonderful shampoo. It even lathers, though no lathering agents have been added. My conditioner even seems to take to my hair better, though that could just be my gung ho imagination.
Next on my list is my Burt's Bees 'Peach and Willowbark' Deep Pore Scrub. I had been meaning to try the C.O. Bigelow Sugar Scrub and I still will, but for now I really like this and at $8 the price is right. In fact I would still probably keep this on even if I liked the face polish. I think this is probably going to be more frequently used than the polish. The Ingredients are...
Ingredients: Water, grape seed oil, stearic acid (vegetable fat), vegetable glycerin, peach stone, coconut oil, sodium borate (natural borax), fragrance, willow bark extract, chamomile extract, goldenseal extract, hawaiian white ginger extract, bladderwrack extract, xanthan gum (natural thickener), sucrose stearate (sugar emulsifier), glucose oxidase & lactoperoxidase (natural preservative).
It's a sulfate free scrub that isn't harsh, your face just feels smooth and nice. It does leave behind natural moisturizers and I hear some people miss the ultra clean feel, but I like it. You can go to bed with our without moisturizing you skin afterwards. Sometimes I feel like scrubs tear apart my dry skin, but I don't with this. The Philosophy and Ole Henriksen scrubs and peels make my face red and irritated and this kind of scrub is better suited for me.
Toners...dry skin please pass on traditional alcohol based toners. If you really want this step I suggest Aveda for a nice rose toner or C.O Bigelow. It's refreshing? These toners are nutrient and vitamin based.
Lately I've really been into C.O. Bigelow. Their products feel a lot like Philosophy...except better and half the price. Their All-in-One Protective Day Cream SPF 25 - Normal to Dry, feels like Hope in a Jar for Dry Sensitive skin, except that is has an SPF (that isn't greasy like their other formulation) and smells a bit better. I really like. It works, doesn't break me out and it $19. I raved before about before but their Incredibly Moisturizing Face Cream - For Dry Skin saves my skin when it's feeling really dry. I use it on an as needed basis. I've recently added their Eye De-Puff Gel - Hydrating Formula and I'm going out to get their Brown Sugar Crystal Face Polish For All Skin Types. After I try those for a while I'll get back to you guys.
I love how their products range from $10-$25. Nice, but affordable. They use simple, high quality ingredients and my face agree with it. Also because they are sold at Bath and Body Works you benefit from the frequent sales. Right now is buy 2 get one free on the C.O. Bigelow face products.
At the end of the day I learned that my dry face, hair and skin really appreciates products that are alcohol, sulfate and chemical acid free. A lot of mild acid and astringents can be found naturally, oils make excellent cleansers and my face can be super clean, without the super clean feeling. It's amazing
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