Unhappy Face, Part 2 AKA Skin Therapy

So this morning I tackled Project Cranky Skin — under the shower I was thinking about how I know how to listen to my skin, and that just researching and buying a new product may not be the way to go. I mean — it’s cranky — why would a new product make it necessarily better, when I know what usually works for it — i.e. uber-gentle exfoliation and varying levels of moisture, and ingredients like lavender, honey, chamomille etc etc. That formula was not changing, no matter how cranky it got. The congestion was worrisome however — I very rarely get congested skin, even when I use too heavy a moisturizer.

Ultimately two parts laziness and one part self-confidence prevailed. I decided that I was not going to spend the morning researching ideas on the internet. I already knew that my skin needed something a little more intense than usual — i.e. a mask type situation. But I did not want to get on the internet because I would either

1. buy a new product, plus the weather sucks so why leave the warm apartment or, worse yet, have to wait on a package and put off gratification longer.

OR

2. decide i wanted to make some homemade mask and have to measure things and read opposing versions of how much yogurt versus honey to use, or which kind of sugar etc etc. and agonize because I had no chamomille tea to make compresses with.

Instead, I looked in the mirror, looked at my products, and settled on the following plan of attack: short homemade organic yogurt mask with organic honey and sugar followed by 100% Pure Organic Lavender Seafoam Facial Cleanser.

In case you are wondering how I picked the organic yogurt/honey approach it was because I had yogurt in the fridge, and a bottle of organic honey that was almost finished, and sugar, and that was all I could think of. And the 100% Pure Cleanser had all the other ingredients that usually work on my stressed out skin — namely lavender, clay, green tea and other goodies. Now that cleanser alone had not worked that well lately, but I was hoping that the pre-treatment of yogurt would help.

I picked Lifeway Organic Kefir over Fage because the Lifeway had some fat in it. I filled half a dixie cup with it, added a generous squirt of honey and a small handful of sugar. I immediately figured out it was too runny to use as a mask, but figured I would exfoliate and see how my skin felt. Ok, no irritation, no burning, this is good — rinse — and …

Wow — not bad — my skin is already feeling velvety and better than it has in a while. I decided to repeat, this time with more sugar and more honey so that it’s less liquid. I leave the whole mess on about 2 minutes, mainly because it’s dripping (and making me hungry). While the two minutes pass, I scrub my lips with just sugar and honey as I have no idea where my lip exfoliant went (I use it only about twice a year anyways).

I rinse off, and am pleased. The redness is already better, and the skin texture is amazing — velvety and now very fresh. The crazy part is how clean my skin feels despite the fact that I have not used any type of soap or cleanser — just the mask and some water.

Then I figure that the redness could benefit from the 100% Pure Cleanser. I apply it on a dry face, then suds up with water. Rinse and tone with 100% Pure Organic White Rose Tea Facial Tonique as I figure that my skin might benefit from my pore tightening and soothing after the workout I just gave it.

Now comes the verdict — all the tightness in my face is gone, my pores appear a lot cleaner and that awful feeling of congestion is finally gone. Yay! I apply eye cream and wait and see how my skin feels. Only a very very slight tightness, which is kind of impressive considering how deep cleansed it is. I opt for a touch of jojoba oil because it’s non-greasy and will absorb quickly.

It’s been an hour since I finished. I just have two blemishes left (all the other tiny breakout marks are gone), and they have shrunken. My face feels velvety and happy, and the redness and dry spots have basically disappeared.

So instincts are good! I am going to go enjoy time on the couch with the DVR and my books and journal now.