Skin - Editor's Choice

I've been playing with cold water showering and head-soaking and face washing and just generally splashing it everywhere BUT I was also working on a super simple face scrub/fask/skin food thing so I thought, why not combine the two?!?!

Super easy, 1/4 cup of coconut oil (or in any amount), 1/8 cup of L-ascorbic acid powder (half the amount of coconut oil). That's it! Stir it up. It doesn't take much, just enough to get a scrub as you massage it into your face. Then leave it on while you get ready to shower and when you're ready, wet a washcloth - OR old cut up piece of t-shirt if you're re-using and recycling - first with pretty warm water, place it over your face to open the pores so the coconut oil and vitamin C can soak in, then wipe your face with it. THEN wet it with COLD water and hold THAT over your face.

Tips - the L-ascorbic acid is made from actual fruit so you can use the scrub on your lips and it will taste good if you lick it off - if you want, LOL, and for the cold water, you may want to use water from the fridge for the summer since your water might not actually be very cold. Ours is about 77 degrees which is basically the temp of a heated pool so - it's cold enough for a full on shower in one's first few cold showers but I'm going to have to keep a jug of water in the fridge for when I get used to it and want something colder. And that's what I've been using with the coconut oil scrub, too. As it feels much less cool when it's just on your face.

That's' it! Coconut oil, half that amount (by volume) of L-ascorbic acid, a washcloth or piece of an old t-shirt or some other clothing that's basically rag material and a shower or a sink. SUPER smooth skin. And, personally, I think the cold water actually works the facial muscles. it almost certainly "exercises" - I.e. dilates and constricts - the blood vessels. Plus, with the refrigerated water, you just feel sort of INVINCIBLE after! Like doing a whole teaspoon of super hot cayenne in a shot of water! WOW!

I didn't really get any guidance on how much to expose my body to. Internally or externally. But I bet I have been ingesting far more than I read here.

Now don't do this yourself without competent guidance. By competent I mean don't necessarily believe everything that you hear & read. Just because someone has a website or a blog, doesn't mean they can be reliable. Like everything seek out people who are truly knowledgeable. So what I am saying is don't necessarily go by this.

I love the taste of the unrefined, expeller pressed oil. So I take a spoonful whenever I have it out. I take a spoonfull of it with fresh lemon juice, baking soda, & warm water in the morning. I read where you put it in coffee. That tastes pretty good. I usually have 3, maybe 3 cups of coffee. I have experimented with it as a margarine substitute. On top of that I scrub my face with it & a tiny portion of baking soda. I've been putting it in my hair. I use a mixture of honey & coconut oil on my face at night & in the morning I also use it as a moisturizer after I shave.

So no telling how much I have used in a day. Like I said I didn't know exactly how to use it.

I have not had any diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues.

Now the strangest thing has happened. I noticed 4 days ago my face had these bizarre white streaks. Coming down my forehead, collect around my eyes. Then the next day it was much more pronounced. There were indications of circulatory patterns in different areas on my face larger portions of my face looked like fresh, clean, brand new skin. There was a a kind of diffused light reflection, but there were still marked differences in the hue & texture of various places on my skin.

I could tell that these white areas were pronounced around the top of my eyebrows & the orbit of my eye sockets. It's like the fluids of the head & face gather & flow through the the eye sockets. I would say that 75% to 80% of the circulation of this white fluid flows through the orbit of the eyes & down the nose. The rest of it flows dawn the sides.

2 days ago things were weird enough that I took pictures, trying to give a visual. Naturally the digital image did not pick up the difference in color hue & contrast.

Now moving quickly forward, I did not change my intake. I still used a great deal moisturizing & cleaning my face. By now I feel like I have a new face. Almost every wrinkle is gone or much less pronounced. The texture color is uniform. I am not stark white.

But I feel like I look like I have New skin. I've never felt my face feel this way to the touch.

I am convinced that what I experienced was the detoxification of my facial skin. There were 2 patches the looked like there were blemishes but they are gone. The places where I was exposed to the sun are gone. My face is uniformly, healthy white in appearance. I am saying it that way because I want to make a distinction between ghostly white, unhealthy white & this. I guess that's what they call dewy skin.

So at first I thought it concerning to see triangle areas of my skin looking like it alway has.

I still plan to talk with my primary care physician to be sure I do no harm to other systems. I am more careful about how much I ingest but I am still using coconut oil in place if the usual Nivea lotion I normally put in my face.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Or similar?

Anyway I wanted to share that.

Every other day I use a turmeric mask. 1/2 tsp turmeric, glob of honey, 1/2 handful of sugar, few drops of milk. Let it sit for 15 minutes, rinse and tone with H202 a few times to get the orange off. This has cleared my acne, and my skin is as soft as my baby's. All from ingredients in my kitchen!

I have always had perfect skin... and then I had my baby who's now 2 years old...and suddenly I have skin like a teenager. This has been pretty rough for me, considering I am over 30 years old. I've always had great skin and suddenly having to deal with this has been difficult.

When I became pregnant I more or less swore off all the store bought skin care. Which is ironic because I am a cosmetician and make-up artist.

Oil Cleansing has been AMAZING for me...it took a little while to find the right combinations of oils for my skin. I have pretty normal skin that borders on slightly dehydrated. I'm a make-up artist, so I wear make-up almost every day. I'm not a fan of concealer/foundations so I rarely wear those but I ALWAYS wear at least mascara and blush. I hate having to use a make-up remover and then a face wash - I want it gone in one step. I've also always had black-heads on my nose. Tiny little black/brown/grey dots on the sides of my nose...driving me crazy.

So my mix (in a 3 oz bottle) is approx. 40% Castor Oil, 30% Olive Oil, 30% Coconut Oil, a few drops of Rose Hip Seed Oil, 3 or 4 drops of Lavender Essential Oil, and about 10 drops of Sage Essential Oil. I put about 3 pumps of this oil onto my dry face and massage for about 3-5 minutes. Then I soak a washcloth in hot hot water and squeeze out the excess. I bring it to my face and let the steam rise up out of the washcloth and as the washcloth cools I bring it closer to my face until I have it pressed against my face while still hot (but not too hot). I leave it there for about a minute then gently wipe the oil off. I repeat this process another 2 times until all traces of oil are removed from my face.

The week before my period I will add an extra couple of drops of either Sage Essential Oil into the mix in my hand or a couple of drops of Lemon Essential Oil for extra deep-cleaning.

After I pat my face dry I will use ACV as a toner. I moisturize with a mixture of about 60% Jojoba Oil, 39% Coconut Oil and 1% Sage Essential Oil. I use pure Olive Oil or Jojoba Oil around my eyes, and then seal that in with an organic home-made lip balm (you can use a store brought brand, just make sure it's all-natural/organic and free of mint).

I am completely wrinkle free, have an even and bright complexion. I don't wear sunscreen (as I don't believe in those chemicals), except when I go to the beach, in which case I *may* wear an all-natural sunscreen that uses Physical Sunscreens (Zinc Oxide/Titanium Dioxide) and a wide-brimmed hat.

The break-outs I've been dealing with are clearing up, THANKS TO THIS WEBSITE. I have been doing the Turmeric Masks, drinking ACV as well as using it as an astringent twice a day, I just started incorporating Blackstrap Molasses into my routine as well (internally AND externally). I just started with Organic, High-Lignan Flax Seed Oil from the refridgerated section. I am drinking at least 8 cups of water a day (I have been for a while) and am a pretty healthy eater...most of my meals are cooked at home from scratch and we rarely eat junk (we follow the 80/20 rule - healthy at least 80% of the time).

Thank you Earth Clinic (and everyone who contributes) for teaching me how to holistically take better care of me and my skin!