Women Blazing Trails

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As I get older and wiser, I’ve realized that making your own skincare products really is beneficial. Today, I want to share a few homemade skin care tips and routines with you.

Grab your coffee or wine (or tequila), and let’s get started…

**Disclaimer: Before starting this article, I should probably tell you that we all have very different and unique skin types, so your skincare regime and homemade skin care cream or potions will be unique to you. My skin type is slightly oil, with no dry patches, age spots, acne scarring, wrinkles, or enlarged pores. With that said everything I’ve used is safe for my skin type.

If you have sensitive or dry skin, please research to see what essential oils and other natural ingredients are safe for your skin. Though I was in cosmetology for over 25 years, my expertise is with hair, not skin. I have some knowledge of this, but I am not a certified esthetician or skin care expert.

I’ve had to test, test, and test some more to see what worked for me and what didn’t. You will have to do that as well.**

What my skincare routine used to be

I have had bad skin my entire life. I can’t ever remember a time when I had glowing or clear skin. Never happened to me. I always had zits, and I was a constant face picker, so I always had scars.

To be honest, my skin is a mess.

Now, at 60 I’m desperately trying to reverse all these years of damage. I keep trying and keep believing there’s hope for my skin. I actually think there is, to be honest!

What I used to do to care for my skin was whatever the latest teen magazine told me to do. If they told me to put butt cream or Pepto Bismol on my face, you can bet I was going to. I would wash my face with acne soap and put on whatever cream I thought I should.

Then, one day I read toothpaste worked, so of course, that went on my face. Then they said to make scrubs with baking soda and cooking oil. Ok. The end result was always me putting on a ton of foundation to cover up all my zits and scars.

Did anyone else go through all that too?

Every decade, it was a new thing. I had a love/hate relationship with the skin care aisle at Shopper’s Drug Mart. So many products for skin like mine. They all claimed to do miraculous things at ridiculous prices.

But none of them worked.

I had troubled skin. And then I started aging. I threw the towel on drug store products and dug deeper into homemade skin care.

Moving on to anti-aging skincare

I was no longer troubled by the zits that I still get. The wrinkles, scars, and age spots were starting to get bad. Real bad. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I’m not 25 anymore.

I’m not into plastic surgery or other cosmetic procedures.

Oh, I tried them. Botox once. A filler once. Hated them both. The results weren’t that great, and I wasted all that money on those treatments when I could have bought way more important things like dog food for the street dogs here in Guatemala.

Lesson learned.

Moving into my 60’s, I’m really starting to take better care of myself. Honestly, it’s been more so this past year.

I’m eating better, started working out again, drinking more water, fasting, and just really trying to heal more naturally and trying more homemade recipes for my aging skin.

All natural ingredients for DIY skincare

So, I’ve been experimenting an awful lot lately. Everything I use is natural! Even the essential oils. And let’s talk about those for one minute-essential oils.

In case you didn’t know, you can actually use them on your skin, yes, even your face, albeit very carefully.

Many essential oils for the skin, like Tea Tree Oil and Eucalyptus Oil, are super strong, so you must dilute them with another oil. I use either almond or flaxseed oil to dilute mine.

~side note: things you read will tell you coconut oil is great for the skin, but that’s not entirely true. Check your skin type. It might not be the best for you. It wasn’t for mine

Use what works best for your skin type. I’m also going to start testing other oils. I’ve been meaning to try Jojoba Oil, and I just noticed that you can buy it in my small town, though pretty pricy, but whatever.

Here is a small list of essential oils and carrier oils (to dilute with) that are safe to use on your skin.

5 Best Carrier Oils for your DIY skincare

While most carrier oils can be found right in your very own grocery or health food store, Amazon also has a nice little collection. Here are five that are good for all skin types and can be used for your homemade skincare routine and for many other health benefits.

Jojoba Oil – healing and moisturizing, good for all skin types

Coconut Oil – rich in Vitamin E, a great hydrator

Avocado Oil – good for dry skin, fights fine lines

Grapeseed Oil– loaded with antioxidants, great for acne, restores collagen

Rosehip Oil – good for dry skin

While I’ve only listed five carrier oils, there are so many more. This blog will give you more information on carrier oils.

Best Essential Oils for Homemade Face Moisturizer

If you don’t already have essential oils at home, Amazon has an amazing collection of them or you can now find them at most health food stores.

You don’t know what you’re missing if you have never used essential oils for anything other than a diffuser. I even use a couple of oils to help with migraines. I’ll tell you which two later!

In no order of importance or health benefits, here is a list of the best essential oils for homemade skincare

Tea Tree Oil – anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial-very strong, only a couple of drops needed

Lavender Oil – helps fight acne and reduce wrinkles (great for migraines!!)

Peppermint Oil – great for tightening pores and fighting acne

Eucalyptus Oil – anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory-good for wrinkles

Rosemary Oil – anti-inflammatory and good for enlarged pores (great for migraines!)

Frankincense Oil – good for acne and reducing fine lines

Neroli Oil- helps fight sebum

Lemongrass Oil – great for acne

Myrrh Oil – rich in antioxidants

Clary Sage Oil – reduces the appearance of fine lines

Now that we got some of our natural ingredients for our homemade skincare out of the way, let’s get to some recipes that I’ve whipped up and love. I think you’ll love them too. In any of these masks, you can add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil or a drop of each of your favorites. Careful, though, not too much. Some essential oils are super strong.

I also gotta tell you that I’ve even started adding a couple of drops of essential oils to my body moisturizer (which isn’t homemade, by the way). I love the lavender and sweet orange.

A word of warning if you are thinking of doing this. As much as I love lemongrass essential oil, it doesn’t mix well with body moisturizer, and you end up smelling like a walking can of Pledge furniture polish.

Ooph. One more lesson learned!

Recipe One for Homemade Face Cleanser

Now, remember these ingredients I’ve used that work well for me and I love. I love how they smell and how my skin feels after I wash them off. I use this one every second day. Right after I rinse my homemade face cleanser, I apply an aloe vera mask that is super light and airy, so I don’t bother rinsing that off.

Aloe Vera has amazing healing properties for every skin type and every ailment under the sun. Do a test to see if your skin is too sensitive for it.

Using aloe vera on the face can help moisturize skin. Regularly applying a small amount of aloe vera to the face can help treat various skin conditions, including acne, eczema, and sunburn. A person can use the gel directly from an aloe vera plant or buy a bottled variety from a health store. Source: Medical News Today

All natural ingredients for recipe 1:

2 tablespoons plain all-natural yogurt (0 sugar or additives)

1 tablespoon Turmeric powder (great for skin lightening)

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon ground coffee (not instant)

1 small leaf from an aloe vera plant (two teaspoons of aloe vera gel)

1 or 2 drops of tea tree oil and peppermint oil

Mix all ingredients in a blender and blend as fine as you can. The coffee may still be slightly granular to give an exfoliating cleanse. Apply a thick layer to your skin and let it sit and dry (up to 30 minutes), then wash it off.

You can store this in the fridge for up to two weeks.

All natural ingredients for recipe 2:

2 tablespoons regular oatmeal –exfoliating

1 teaspoon honey- antibacterial

2 tablespoons plain all natural yogurt-moisturizes

half cup mashed avocado-increase collagen

1 or 2 drops of your favorite oil

You want this to be creamy, not runny, and not too thick so you can easily apply it to your face, so play with measurements a bit here. These are measurement suggestions. These recipes can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks, so adjust the amounts accordingly.

The kitchen is a gold mine for powerful and amazing ingredients to make homemade skincare. Items like:

- bananas

- papaya

- olive oil

- tomatoes

- egg whites

- lemons

- apple cider vinegar

And this is a small list!!

What goes in comes out

Now, I don’t mean like when you go to the bathroom…haha! What you eat and drink daily will show up on the surface of your skin. If you have a crappy diet, don’t expect glowing, beautiful skin. If you drink and smoke, well, expect even more skin damage.

I’m not judging you. That’s a fact.

I recently revamped my diet, started intermittent fasting, and have completely cut out sugar (lord Geezus help me). I also don’t eat bread or pasta anymore (my Nonna is rolling in her grave). I drink at least eight glasses of water daily, and the results truly have been amazing.

I have more energy during the day. Instead of my usual 3-5 cups of coffee a day, I have one and a half in the morning, and then the rest of the day is water or cold jimaica tea (it’s a Guatemala thing, but it’s like rose or flower leaves).

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I cheat. Oh, hell ya, I do.

Occasionally, I fall off the ‘look at me, I’m so healthy’ wagon and have French fries or chocolate glazed donuts. I’m still, and always will be, a junk food junkie. I have to learn to curb it now. And I do. And yes, it’s hard. Really hard. But I manage.

Learning to take care of yourself

It’s important to take care of yourself, inside and out, especially as we get older. Our bones, muscles, skin, and everything else around us are getting weaker daily. It’s up to us to make them stronger and stay healthy. Inside and out.

But not just physically. Emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, too (no, that doesn’t mean becoming a religious fanatic). Some of the things we haven’t healed from emotionally will manifest physically—back pain, headaches, stress, etc. Remove all toxic negative things, people, and habits from your life, and have a more optimistic and loving look at life and things around you.

Summary of homemade skin care and other tips

I hope you enjoyed this post and you got some great ideas from it. Remember to Google natural ingredients for your skin type. If you are making a creamier homemade skin face cleanser, feel free to use it daily.

Ensure you use fresh ingredients and that the essential oils you purchase are 100% pure and natural. Good luck and here’s to your beautiful glowing skin! mad love

ox iva ox