A Daily/Weekly Beauty Regimen

Like most girls, I have at least a mild interest in keeping my skin clear and soft, my hair clean and shiny, and my hands and feet free of cracks and maybe even my nails painted. For a long time though, I didn't really care about any of that stuff. I think that feeling sad and generally unhappy with my body led me to just say to hell with all of it and do the bare minimum when it came to beauty routines. Now though, with my life going in a direction I'm really pleased with and the weight starting to melt off, I'm finally feeling happy and comfortable in my own skin again. It's wonderful. I think the very BEST part is looking in the mirror and, despite still having quite a few pounds to lose, being happy with the way I look right now and not wishing certain parts of me would change or disappear. That's a perspective I rarely had even at my lowest weight in high school and it feels like such a blessing to have it now... but more on that later.

A new-found interest in maintaining my health and appearance along with my desperate search to remedy my awful snow sunburn from last week has led me to really look into what I should be doing to look and feel my best at all times. I've been rubbing vitamin e oil into my face a few times a day to help relieve/speed the healing process of my burn and I was excited to find out that it can actually be used as a toner and moisturizer AND it prevents wrinkles and fine lines. I'm definitely going to add it to my daily routine even after the burn is gone.

This morning, while deciding there had to be a way to remedy my dry, limp hair, pondering the validity of Tyra Banks' sworn approval of Vaseline, and feeling particularly productive, I typed up a full breakdown of my ideal daily/weekly beauty routine. I'm not the kind of girl who wants to spend her whole Saturday clipping, buffing and filing nails while simultaneously slathering her skin and hair with masks and scrubs and moisturizers and I'm definitely not the kind of girl who will pay someone else a bunch of money to do it for me. Salons make me uncomfortable. That's why I didn't get my hair cut for a year and a half. SO.. I'm hoping maybe I can tackle one or two of the 'weekly' categories  a day, excluding days I have lots of school or work. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hopeful that that way it will be fairly easy to maintain and I won't feel overwhelmed with my beauty routine.

If you are interested in looking over and/or trying some of the things I'm going to try, here are a few things you should know about my beauty routine that may be different from what you are used to:

• I try to minimize my use of store bought products. When I was younger I thought the more product the better, but now it worries me that most lotions, cleansers, etc are full of lots of chemicals and ingredients that I don't recognize or understand. I'd rather use natural, wholesome ingredients so that I know what is getting absorbed into my skin. A lot of my scrubs, masks, etc are homemade.
• I have no problem putting oil and vaseline directly on my face and I do it daily. This weirds some people out, put it doesn't make me break out and it makes my skin feel soft and smooth.
• I don't wash my face, at least not with facewash. I use only a neutrogena makeup removing/cleansing wipe at night (which I will often rinse off afterwards), and merely splash my face with water in the morning. I have a pimple maybe once every 6 months and my skin has been consistent (not oily or dry in any spots)
• I only wash my hair once a week. I used to do the no-poo thing, which I still recommend if it works for you! It worked for me for a while, but with the dryness this winter and Tucson's hard water, my stylist recommended I stop and instead use an all natural, biodegradable moisturizing shampoo. Since I don't use a lot of product, once a week is plenty to remove buildup and cleanse my hair. 

Beauty routine

Hands

Daily

·         Rub hands with Vitamin E oil at morning and night

Weekly

·         Clip and/or file nails

·         Remove nail polish with acetone free remover

·         Buff surface of nails

·         Soak in warm water with a drop of soap. Scrub under nails if necessary

·         Exfoliate hands with a scrub made of sea salt or sugar and natural oil (such as olive). Mash in a strawberry if desired

·         Apply cuticle cream and gently push back cuticles

·         Use a q tip swabbed with nail polish remover to remove oil from nails

·         Apply a base coat to nails

·         Apply 1-2 coats of polish, waiting 15 minutes between each coat

·         Apply designs if desired

·         Apply clear top coat

Feet

Daily

·         Rinse feet, rub with Vaseline or olive oil, and put on socks immediately before bed

Weekly

·         Clip and/or file nails

·         Remove nail polish with acetone free remover

·         Soak feet in a basin of water with ¼ cup lemon peppermint foot soak

·         Dry feet and use pumice stone or ped egg to remove callouses and dead skin

·         Exfoliate feet with a scrub made of sea salt or sugar and natural oil (such as olive). Mash in a strawberry if desired

·         Rinse feet. Use orange stick to gently push back cuticles and remove dead skin if necessary

·         Using Vaseline, olive oil, or vitamin E oil, massage each foot for 5 minutes

·         Use a q tip swabbed with nail polish remover to remove oil from nails

·         Apply a base coat to nails

·         Apply 1-2 coats of polish, waiting 15 minutes between each coat

·         Apply designs if desired

·         Apply top coat

Hair

Daily

·         Brush hair at morning and at night

·         Style hair as desired, applying minimal product as necessary. Minimize heat use

Weekly

·         Heat olive oil in small dish and massage into scalp for 10 minutes

·         Moisten hair with spray bottle. Apply hair mask to entirety of hair, adjusting ingredients for desired effect

·         Put hair in bun, wrap in plastic wrap, and then wrap in a heated towel. Let sit 30 minutes, changing towel as necessary

·         Wash hair, focusing on the scalp and massaging in circular motions to lift build-up. Rinse and repeat, if necessary

·         Condition hair

·         Towel dry hair gently and comb with wide tooth comb

·         Spray with lavender rosemary rinse and let air dry

Face and teeth

Daily

·         Morning

o   Brush teeth well

o   Floss

o   Rinse with a mixture of antiseptic mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds

o   Splash face with warm water

o   Rub Vitamin E oil into face and neck

o   Use q tip or tissue to wipe any remaining eye makeup off face

o   After oil has been completely absorbed, splash face with cold water, pat dry

o   Apply a light facial sunscreen

o   Apply makeup

·         Night

o   Remove makeup with cleansing wipe. Rinse with warm water if necessary

o   Brush teeth

o   Floss

o   Rinse with a mixture of antiseptic mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds

o   Rub Vitamin E oil into face and neck

o   Apply Vaseline or coconut oil to eyes and lips

Weekly

·         Remove makeup and dirt from face using cleansing wipe and/or water

·         Exfoliate face with a gentle scrub (such as greek yogurt and oatmeal or baking soda and water)

·         Steam face over a bowl of scalding hot water. Add essential oils or citrus slices if desired

·         Apply face mask with varying ingredients for desired results. Leave on for 10-20 minutes Use cucumber slices or wet black tea bags over eyes

·         Rinse face well

·         Rub Vitamin E oil into face and neck. Let absorb completely

·         Splash face with cold water. Dry gently

·         Apply light facial sunscreen. Continue with typical daily routine

Skin

Daily

·         Dry brush skin at morning and night, starting at feet and brushing towards the heart

·         Moisturize skin with Vaseline and/or coconut oil and/or stretch mark removing cream at morning and night

·         In the morning, apply SPF 30 sunscreen to any skin that will be visible

Weekly

·         Dry brush skin, starting and feet and brushing towards the heart

·         Take a shower

o   Cleanse skin completely with a gentle body wash or soap.

o   Shave armpits and legs

o   Exfoliate entire body (concentrating on knees, elbows, and areas with stretch marks) with a scrub, such as one made with sugar, lemon juice, and olive oil

o   Shave legs again

o   Rinse well

·         Pat body dry with a clean towel

·         If necessary, apply Vaseline and/or coconut oil to moisturize, concentrating on knees and elbows

·         Apply sunscreen to skin that will be visible