Want your skin to glow? You won’t find the solution in any bottle or jar. Glowing, vibrant skin is…well, its skin that is healthy and glows all by itself!
We may feel that washing our face every morning and giving it a quick rinse at night is enough to satisfy our skin’s needs, but while our skin does us a great service by always producing new cells, it needs our help in getting rid of the old, dead cells. Yes, that glowing skin that you want is underneath all your old, flaky, dry-looking skin!
Exfoliate. That is the answer to uncovering enviable skin. OK, so you are going to reach for a harsh exfoliant, right? We do NOT recommend apricot scrubs as the edge of a shattered apricot is like a knife. We want to gently remove dry skin, not lacerate our faces in the process. So, try an exfoliating cloth like unbleached muslin, or a turkish washcloth. Both are gentle enough to exfoliate your face, as well as your body.
Our favorite way to exfoliate is to use bentonite clay. We make up a paste of it, slather it wherever we want, let it dry, and then use muslin wrapped around our hand to help wash it off in a bath or shower.
The clay pulls toxins, deposits skin nourishing minerals into your skin and helps lift dry skin right off your body or face. The muslin gently helps the microscopic clay particles to remove the last of the stubborn, dry skin.
Sugar is a gentle scrub if the grain is fine. Mix a little olive oil or coconut oil (both nourishing!) into some fine sugar and gently apply to your face, neck and other dry body areas. Rub gently and then rinse the sugar off in a bath or shower. A tiny, almost imperceptible sheen of oil will remain behind….a natural and nourishing moisturizer!
If you can get to a sauna, hop in! Heat and sweat help your body to purge toxins, pesticides, chemicals and dry skin. After emerging from your sauna, cool off a little and then get into a cool/warm bath of sea salts. This helps get the last of the toxins out of your body. Gently wash your face and body with a turkish washcloth or muslin wrapped around your hand…and you will wash dry and polluted skin down the drain.
Clay, muslin, heat, steam, natural oils and a commitment to gently exfoliate on a regular basis will give you clear, glowing and naturally healthy skin that no bottle or jar can compete with. Your makeup will go on smoothly, your skin will look and feel like a baby’s and there will be a genuine glow that will be noticeable.
This season…or any season, help your skin: exfoliate on a regular basis. For those with oily skin, you can exfoliate daily. For those with sensitive skin, once a week might be all that is necessary. Exfoliating routinely is key though, no matter your skin type. Now get out there and GLOW!
