Skin Care Basics - Cleansing

Ever since I started thinking about this post I have had Julie Andrews singing Do-Re-Mi on repeat in my head. "Let's start at the very beginning, A very good place to start."

Anyway, taking care of your skin is the first and last step in wearing makeup. Makeup looks best on healthy skin and following a skin care routine to remove your makeup at night ensures the continued health of your skin. Even if you forgo makeup for the day you should be wearing sunscreen (just trust me on this for now, I will have plenty of posts on sunscreen later) and that will need to be washed off at the end day. Best to just get in the habit.

Skin care does not have to be expensive. In this post I will outline a basic routine and suggest some affordable products. While this is just the basics there is still quite a bit of information. This was actually getting rather long so I am going to break it up in to multiple posts. Don't try and take it all in at once. Use this and the future posts as a reference to come back to again and again.

If you are not already in the habit of washing your face every night just pick up some cleansing wipes and use those. They are quick, easy, and better than nothing at all. Great for establishing a habit.

If you are already in a routine do not rush out and buy all new products. It is very important to only introduce one new product every few weeks. Even if they are all the same brand! If you try several new products at once and then have a reaction you won't be able to pin point what caused the problem. Be patient, try one new product at a time and when you are sure it agrees with your skin add another product.

Some of my current products.

Basic Routine: Step 1 Cleanse

Some skin problems can actually be caused and exacerbated by over cleansing. Most people only need to cleanse their skin once a day. In the morning you can simply splash your face with water. At night you will need remove the accumulated grime of the day, your sunscreen, and makeup. I recommend a double cleansing method of using oil first as a makeup remover and then a regular cleanser.

Oil Cleansing

Why: Oil is incredibly effective at dissolving makeup, sunscreen, and grime. Most regular cleansers are not effective at dissolving these things so you end up either not removing them completely and/or physically scrubbing them off. Neither of which are great for you skin. So, using an oil first more completely removes the day's grime and it far more gentle. Oil cleansing is even great for acne prone skin (it will help pull dirty oil away from your skin much better than a cleanser alone) as long you use a non-comedogenic oil. Many people practice oil cleansing as their only method of cleansing with great success. 

How: Gently massage all over your skin and then wipe off with a tissue or warm wet cloth. This will leave a residue, but that is alright. Some people find tissues and wash cloths to be too harsh and use microfiber cloths instead.

With what: I am currently using Pond's Cold Cream to remove my makeup. Cold cream is an emulsion of oil and water and is a bit easier than using straight oil, but also may contain other irritating ingredients (Pond's Cold Cream was recently reformulated and now includes cetyl alcohol and ceteth 20 which can be problematic for some people prone to breakouts). There are many brands available, you don't have to use Ponds. I used to not like removing my makeup, but cold cream seriously makes it so easy. I enjoy using one product that removes both my face and eye makeup.

Many people like simply using mineral oil to remove their makeup. I hear this is just as easy as a cold cream and even more inexpensive. I am actually going to give it a try soon. Contrary to popular belief mineral oil is not at all bad for you skin. I will eventually have a complete post on that myth.

Coconut oil is also a popular choice. However, use coconut oil with caution as it is actually comedogenic (tending to clog pores) for many people. Instead give olive oil, almond oil, or avocado oil a try. The world of oil cleansing is vast and could be many posts on its own, this is just a start.

Cleansing

Why: As I mentioned above, using an oil to cleanse will leave a residue on your skin so now we are going to use a regular cleanser to remove the residue and prepare our skin for exfoliation. Occasionally if I haven't worn makeup that day I will skip the oil cleansing step and go straight to simply cleansing. In the exfoliation section it will become clearer why I am recommending double cleansing. Once you get the big picture you can decide what is best for your needs.

How: Simply wet your face, dispense a bit of cleanser in your hands, gently massage all over, rinse, and pat dry.

With what: If your face feels tight and dry after cleansing your cleanser is too harsh. This is often mistaken for a good clean feeling, but in fact your skin has actually been stripped too much of its natural oil. Which in turn can cause your skin to try and correct the problem by over producing oil.

The cleansers recommend below are inexpensive, good for both oily and dry skin, non-comedogenic, and free of harsh irritating ingredients. Whether you choose foaming or hydrating is more a matter of preference than skin type.

• CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
• CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
• Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser Foaming Formula 
• Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser Cream Formula

Now you have the basics of cleansing. I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions let me know in the comments below. The next skin care post will be on exfoliation.

Intro Post - Titles are not my strong point, but my heart is here.

Hi! And thank you for stopping by my blog. As a first post I thought I would tell you a little bit of how I got into makeup and why I am starting a blog now. This got much longer than I expected. I guess that is what happens when you pour your heart in to something.

So, who else thought they would magically be able to woman when they grew up? Who else was surprised to see the years go by and still not really know how to pick out a lipstick? Or the correct foundation? Or uh... know how to wash your face? Such simple things, right? Yeaaahhh, right. If you are one of the magical unicorns who all this woman stuff just comes naturally too you probably won't learn much here. If on the other hand you are a real live woman like me and need a little help, then you are in the right in the place. Keep reading, we can do this together!

If you know me you probably think of me as more of a seamstress and might be wondering at this new direction. I have always been creative and artistic and have dabbled in makeup since my early teens. Looking back now I was always a bit fascinated with the mysteries of makeup and womanhood. One of my favorite childhood memories of my Mom (who is still very much alive and well, and gorgeous!) is when she would come and kiss me, leaving a deep berry lip print on my forehead or cheek, before going out on a date. When I was maybe 8 years old I remember an out of town friend visiting my mom and touching up her nail polish at our dining room table.

Day after my jaw surgery. The swelling went up for a few days after this.

My personal experience with makeup did not progress much until after my jaw surgery (to correct my bite) in 2012. Then my interest nearly exploded. At first it was just a way to help me cope with the healing process. My face was so incredibly swollen that I played around with bringing more attention to my eyes with different eye shadow and liner techniques. My skin was behaving differently than it ever had before and sent me on a journey for a new foundation and skincare routine. I had also just turned 25 and decided that I was a grown up now and I deserved quality products. It was during this time that I stumbled upon a red lipstick that I felt comfortable in (whereas previously I have never felt comfortable in any lipstick, let alone red) and what began as small interest and coping mechanism was sparked into a genuine love affair

April 2013. Wearing my first red lipstick and my new foundation. 

So here I am in love with makeup and passionate about skincare. I enjoy the artistic aspect of makeup. And I believe that makeup and skincare are not vanities, but real tools to helping people be confident in who they are. I am not dependent on makeup. Thanks to a good skincare routine I am now comfortable enough to go out without makeup, but over the last couple years I really grown to enjoy the little luxuries of makeup. The luxury of womanhood.

I find that a lot of women, including myself sometimes, feel like they are not pretty enough to wear makeup. On top of that, the whole world of makeup is so vast and overwhelming that even when they dare to step a toe in they quickly feel defeated. I would like to change that. Yes, you are beautiful enough! Just by being born you have as much of a right to makeup as any other woman. I want to help give you the knowledge and the tools to demystify and confidently explore this unique luxury of womanhood. I now work in the industry and spend far too much of my free time researching and teaching myself more. I don't profess to be an expert! I just want to share my perspective.

Yesterday wearing a a very orange toned red lipstick.
Something I could not have imagined myself wearing just a year ago!

I understand that many women simply do not want to be bothered with makeup for a number of reasons. That is fine! That doesn't make you any less of a woman. I am not on a mission to makeover every woman. What I do want to do is help those women who are interested in makeup and skincare, but don't use it because for some reason they feel unworthy or overwhelmed. If you are one those women then please join me on this journey because you are worth it.

I want this blog to be useful. I have installed a contact form in the sidebar. Please don't hesitate to contact me! Now that I have finally started this I am very excited! I have got lots of ideas for posts. But of course I'd love to hear what it is you want to know! What keeps you from wearing makeup or taking care of your skin? What overwhelms you when you go to the store? Share in the comments or send me a message!