I’m often asked about my skin care routine, especially for my face, so I thought I’d write about what I do, and how I do it. Here we go!
I figure I’ll start with an overview of what I’m working with. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and it’s pretty darn dry there all year round. As a result, I tend to have dry skin. I’m not dry if I’m somewhere humid, but I’m usually not, so there you have it. My hands and lips are generally the driest.
Acne-wise, my face is fairly well behaved. It can be provoked, but it doesn’t seem to pick fights, so that’s nice. You might find what I do doesn’t work well for you if your skin is very acne prone. My skin is also fairly middle-ground on the sensitive scale, so you may find some things I love don’t mesh well with very sensitive skin.
We’ll start with the every single day stuff. Lip balm is pretty much the only thing I know I’ll use every single day. I love my Naked Lip Balm, my Peppermint Cocoa Lip Balm, and my Rose Spearmint Lip Balm right now, but all my lip balms are pretty darn awesome.
After lip balm, the closest thing I have to an every single day thing is argan oil. I might apply it two or three times a day in the winter, and I might miss a day in the summer if it’s particularly humid. I love argan oil as my all-purpose moisturizer. I find it helps heal up zits and booboos faster than usual thanks to its high Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada) content, and it leaves my skin hydrated and happy, and not at all greasy.
For washing my face, I generally choose between a clay bar or a cleansing balm. I’ll also end up testing various concoctions I’m developing, so my face washing routine is hardly consistent. If I’m having a particularly zitty time, I break out the African black soap, which is incredible for all things zit related (I’m looking at you, backne). I’ll also just use some all-in-one soap if I’m in the shower and I think of it.
I always make a point of doing a weekly clay face mask—the type where I’ll make a paste with some kind of clay and some kind of liquid, and leave it on for twenty minutes or so before rinsing it off. I have lots of recipes for different clay masks on my site, and that’s evidence of how I rarely use the same mask twice. As long as it’s clay + liquid the basic effect seems to do the trick for me.
If I do get a zit, I have quite the arsenal of weaponry to come at it with. I try to keep things on my chin and nose at bay with my silver powder. Drying lotion is brilliant for zits that are just starting to rear their ugly heads, especially if I can manage to leave them alone otherwise. I’ll often also try whatever it is I’m currently developing for a new recipe.
For the rest of my body, I tend to use whatever body butters and lotions I have on hand for dry skin (you can get a fairly good idea of what those might be by looking at the recipes for those things I’ve posted in the last six months, haha). I’ll use a sugar scrub if I’m feeling particularly dry, and a good foot soak is wonderful in the summer when I’m running around barefoot. Tiger balm is fantastic for sore muscles, and it also does a good job of taking the itch out of bug bites. I wash with whatever homemade all-in-one bar of soap I happen to have in the shower.
And I think that’s about it! I’m pretty low maintenance, and the vast majority of what I use is handmade by yours truly. Large parts of my skincare routine aren’t consistent because I’m constantly testing new things, but when I find something I really love, it stays on the list.
So, that’s me—what do you love?
At night I use Argan oil and a 20% dilution of Frankincense in jojoba oil. I use Pangea Organics products in my shower, facial cleanser, and cream moisturizer. I’m working on a DIY substitute for the PO cleanser at the moment and I’m going to tackle my first soap batch at the end of the month!
Ooh, this sounds decadent 🙂 What have you noticed that Frankincense does for your complexion?
Oh my gosh! What hasn’t it done?! Let’s see… I went from having chronic cystic acne to practically no cysts – I’ve had two in the last 2-1/2 months since I added the frankincense, and those were both the day before my period, so totally hormonal (and they were less painful and didn’t hang around long enough to collect rent). The little bit of acne that I have now is so small and “normal” that most blips clear up within 24 hours and easily covered with just a light coat of mineral powder foundation. My skin is less red. Less sensitive. My scars have started to fade – my hairdresser of 18 years actually spent 15 minutes on Tuesday looking at my skin and wouldn’t stop commenting on how amazing it looked! I wish I had found frankincense sooner 😀
Ok, you’ve convinced me! I added a couple drops of each frankincense and cardamom to my daily argan oil a couple weeks ago. I’m not sure I’ve noticed any differences, but I do like the way it smells 🙂
Why cardamom? Any benefit other than smell? I added just a “touch” of tamanu oil to my argan oil bottle (like… a dropperful to a 2oz bottle) because of your most recent post and that made my face crazy soft and smooth. The BF loves it but not so keen on the smell, so if there’s a benefit to adding the cardamom other than smell… I might add that to my bottle too!
I grabbed it off the shelf on a whim after adding the frankincense as I thought they’d pair nicely 🙂 I’m sure you can find a laundry list of benefits somewhere on the internet and choose one that works, but I was just going on scent blending haha.
Where is your tamanu from? My first bottle was from NDA and it smelled wonderful and nutty, but this bottle from Saffire Blue smells quite dusty and green.
Good to know about the frankincense and cardamom pairing – I wouldn’t have thought of it!
I got my tamanu from Mountain Rose Herbs. It’s very green smelling, almost overwhelmingly so. I tried a few other sources for tamanu before I settle on MRH – the others smelled more nutty, but I noticed that the greener smelling oil was giving better results as far as scar healing. (My sister has had two major surgeries to remove uterine tumors, as well as a T-cesarean, so we tried lots of things to heal scars. She is a very patient test subject!)
Just to report back—so far I’m really enjoying the addition of frankincense. I added more to my latest re-fill and it just might be helping things! Maybe I’ll add a drop or two of tamanu as well next time 🙂
I’m the absolute laziest when it comes to skin care. And I’ve only just now settled in one spot to really experiment with diy skin care. But the one day product that has stuck with me the whole time is a honey face mask/face wash. I keep a squeeze bottle of organic honey in the bathroom, infuse it with essential oils (tea tree and peppermint currently) and use that for my face wash. I’ll use the same honey when making a clay mask too.
I’ve only just started using moisturiser on my face/body. I used to live on an island off the coast of BC, and I had no issues being too dry, or oily. Living in Chicago now has me reevaluating the products I use. I’ve never had to use hair conditioner before, but it’s so humid here in the summer that now I’m dreading experimenting with products that leave my hair sad and lifeless, or crazy frizzy.
It sounds like we’re cut from the same cloth, Becca 🙂 I have to see some pretty serious pay off from every part of my routine or I decide it’s simply not worth the effort! And I can definitely relate to the climate changes wreaking havoc with your skin and hair—I spent a month in Costa Rica earlier this year, and while my skin loved being there, I’m not sure it’s forgiven me yet for coming home…
Thank you for sharing! You are blessed to have well behaved skin =) I am in love with African black soap! I use it daily after removing my makeup (Your recipes!) with my gape seed oil makeup remover. It really does wonders for blemishes without drying the skin and irritating it further. I love my argan oil too, my current bottle is mixed with a little tamanu oil. I like rosehip seed too but my skin likes argan the best. I will definitely be trying out some more of your recipes for lip balms and maybe even soaps! Do you have a lip balm recipe that is small, perhaps for only a few tubes worth of product?
Thanks, Ashlynn 🙂 If you want to make a smaller batch of lip balm I’d recommend getting yourself a scale that measures down to 0.1g—that way you can halve any of my recipes easily. Ones that use 4–5g of beeswax after halving will make about 4–5 tubes 🙂
Thank you Marie this was very helpful! I found myself a scale and I am eagerly awaiting it’s arrival! All of my skincare products and even makeup (minus mascara) are all DIY’s inspired from YOUR blog! I am loving it too. Not only is it fun to make, but they are effective on my skin! Thanks so much and keep doing what you’re doing! <3
Yay! I love hearing stuff like this, it gives me the warm fuzzies 🙂 And, if I can make a confession… I’m still hooked on store bought mascara, too… there’s just so many kinds! And they can do all kinds of magical things! I’m working on a better formula than the one I currently have, but yeah… 😉 Thanks so much for reading, DIYing, and supporting my blog—it is hugely appreciated!
Coconut oil is quickly becoming a favorite for me. I can use it to remove eye makeup, mix it with a little baking soda to brush my teeth, then rinse my face with warm water, and the little bit of oil in my hand keeps my face from drying out. I’m getting ready to make some of your recipes, though, and I know I’m going to find some favorites.
Coconut oil is a favourite all over Pinterest for a reason 🙂 I’m in love with the scent in lotions and body butters… mmm!
I had no idea you were Calgarian! It is also the city I’m from 🙂 small world
Love the blog xx
North of Bloom
How cool! Always awesome to meet another Calgarian 🙂
Hi Marie,
I am curious to know if you use suncream when you go out. I detest wearing it as it feels like it is doing my skin more damage than good, though sometimes there is no avoiding wearing it in the harsh Aussie sun. Have you tried to make your own?
Hi Michele! I usually wear a hat, keep covered up, and aim for the shade here in Canada, but if I’m going to be in the sun here, out comes the proper sunscreen. Down under? Proper sunscreen every single day, everywhere. I’ve written about why DIY sunscreen is not a good idea here.
Thank you for posting this! Over the past year or so, I’ve moved towards making almost everything myself, inspired mainly by you. 🙂
I love your yucca micellar water cleanser, and your willowbark toner, too. I use those almost daily, and they’re helping replace the drugstore astringent that’s been my go-to cleanser for years. Also, your argan silk milk in the morning.
I also use my own version of calendula healing salve for any cuts or sores.
Hi Diana! I’m so thrilled I’ve helped you transform your skincare routine 🙂 I love hearing which recipes of mine resonate with my readers, it’s so neat—it definitely motivates me to keep creating as sometimes things that don’t become my favorites become reader favorites. Thanks so much for reading and DIYing with me!
How has you routine changed since this original post?
Holy moly SO much. I think this is the most recent video I’ve done on it: https://youtu.be/vVAWgwuv3ms. Right now I’m mostly doing oil cleansers for eye makeup, foaming cleanser for everything else, The Ordinary’s 10% Niacinamide, some sort of vitamin C (usually The Ordinary’s 23% vitamin C), and then some sort of cream—currently Cicaplast Balm B5 Repair Moisturizer because it’s amazing. But it does change quite a lot depending on what I’ve been making, what I’m testing, and how ambitious I’m feeling 🙂