All Natural Face Wash Challenge- UPDATE!!

Well it's been 1 week since starting my all natural face wash challenge!

A lot changed since my initial post.

I use about 1tsp of coconut oil in the morning to wash my face, and I use the same amount at night to wash my face before bed. I also use it throughout the day (if I need to) as a moisturizer. 

I will admit, I was super nervous about using OIL on my face. I didn't want my skin to be left greasy and oily... and since I have such sensitive skin I was ridiculously nervous that I would be left with angry skin, and bad breakouts. Thankfully, that is NOT the case. The oil absorbs into my skin within minutes, and since I've started this, my skin has been so soft and smooth! I've also noticed my skin is FAR LESS oily! Isn't that odd?! Since using OIL to wash my face, my skin is LESS oily! Awesome how that works! 

When I say I "wash" my face with the coconut oil, I really do just that. I get my face wet with warm water first, then rub about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in my hands to melt it, and then massage it into my skin for a couple minutes. Then I rinse my face, but there's always a decent amount of oil that stays on my skin. If you're familiar with coconut oil, you know what I mean. I lightly pat-dry my face, and then most of the coconut oil is off, but there's always a decent layer that doesn't rinse or dry off. I let this soak into my skin, it only takes maybe a few minutes. Sometimes if I notice my skin really absorbing the oil fast, I'll add a tiny bit more, just so my skin feels more moisturized. I do this morning and night, and it's all I do now. I will occasionally use a drop of tea tree oil in my moisturizing coconut oil at night, right before bed, but I don't even feel like it's something I need anymore!

I originally planned on using a combination of baking soda and coconut oil a few times a week as more of a deep clean cleanser- after doing it once, I realized it dried out my skin A LOT. It really left my skin feeling SO clean, and smooth, but the next few days I could tell it dried my skin out more than I liked. So I haven't done it again since! ...and probably don't plan to do it again anytime soon...unless I feel like my skin needs it. I will also probably only use a pinch of baking soda to 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, so it's less abrasive on my skin.

I also thought I would use apple cider vinegar (mixed with water or witch hazel) as a toner a few times a week... but, I haven't even used it once, because I haven't felt the need to use a toner! Before using coconut oil as face wash, I would feel like I needed to freshen up my skin, since it tended to get oily throughout the day... but since using coconut oil, I haven't had that problem, not even once!

I have been SO happy using just the coconut oil on my face! 

It's only been 1 week, so we'll see how it continues, but so far, I love it!

I'll keep you posted!

P.S...upcoming blog posts:

Health(ier) Banana bread

EASY Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

My All Natural Face Wash Challenge

*check out my UPDATED all natural face wash post here*

Well, I decided it's time to finally give this idea a go!

For the past couple years I've been using all organic face washes, moisturizers and numerous serums...but unfortunately, even with organic products, you still have unwanted chemicals and fragrances hidden within them.

My skin is pretty sensitive, and it breaks out super easy.

It doesn't help that I have to suffer through harsh Wisconsin winters... (every winter I question why I live here...) that always end up leaving my skin dry and sometimes flaky. 

I've heard numerous people talk rave about their results with using coconut oil on their faces. In fact, I have yet to hear from one person who tried it, and wasn't happy with their results.

Seeing as how I love all things natural, I'm not sure why I've been putting this on the back burner!

We're also starting to talk about baby #2, so seeing as how a pregnancy may be in my somewhat near future, I try to kick as many chemicals to the curb as possible! 

The past few days I've been using coconut oil to moisturize my face, and I've even used it to wash my face a couple times.

So I figured why not give an all natural skin care regimen a try!

Plus, it doesn't hurt that I have ALL these products on hand, most of them right in my kitchen!

So I decided to share my regimen and results (good or bad) with you throughout this process! 

But here's my overall plan:

To wash with coconut oil I use about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, warm/melt it by rubbing it in my hands, and then just like I would with any other face wash, rub it on my face for a minute or so (ps, it's awesome for removing makeup and mascara especially!). I get a washcloth wet with nice warm water and use that to gently rub it in a little bit more, and to also help remove some of the oil before drying my face off. After using the washcloth most of the oil is removed, so after I dry my face I use just a tiny dab more coconut oil to moisturize my face.

The only thing that's different with the night time routine compared to the morning routine is moisturizing with lavender and tea tree oil mixed in with my coconut oil. I might not do this every night, but most nights I like to give my skin a little something extra. I choose to only add 1 drop of each into about a 1/2 teaspoon amount of coconut oil, and gently massage this all into my skin. Sometimes if it seems like too much, I just rub any extra into my hands, or any where else I have dry skin.  Disclaimer: I have been using lavender and tea tree essential oils on my skin for years, so I know how my skin reacts to them. For some people, even just having the two drops of essential oils in the coconut oil may be too strong for their skin. I suggest reading into essential oils before you decide to use them!! 

I love me some apple cider vinegar (ACV). The list of benefits from this stuff is crazy awesome, and if you're unaware of the awesomeness within that bottle, I highly suggest researching into it a bit! (I swear by the stuff whenever I feel a slight cold, or flu bug creeping up on me... 2 tablespoons ACV in a small glass of cold water morning and night, and the next day whatever was trying to invade my immune system... GONE! No joke, it has worked for me so far every time I've tried it...I will admit, the taste is not the greatest...). I have never tried using ACV as a toner, but again it's one of those things that the people who do use it, swear by it... so why not give it a try right?! I plan to use a 1:1 ratio, equal parts ACV to water or my all natural witch hazel as a toner, and probably use this 3-4 times per week.

I also plan to use coconut oil and baking soda mixed together as more of a deep clean cleanser, as well as a face mask a few times a week. For my sensitive skin I plan to use 1 teaspoon coconut oil and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, mix it together and apply it to my face just with my hands for a more gentle approach. For a bit of a deeper conditioning treatment, I plan to let this sit on my skin for a couple minutes, before rinsing it off with warm water! Again,  I only plan to do this a few times a week.

So if all of this natural skin care interests you, I suggest reading into it, educating yourself on the different options, and giving it a shot! 

I'm super excited to give it a try and can't wait to share my results with you! 

(fingers crossed they're all good results!!)

Hope you have a fantastic rest of your weekend!!!