We hope you’re all staying safe, staying healthy, and staying home! During this time, we want to provide a few of our favorite tips for focusing on our skin and developing good habits. Here’s what we’ll be trying to do:
tip #1: don’t pick!
More time at home means more time to stare at the mirror, overanalyze your skin, and pick at it. Don’t do it! As satisfying as it may feel in the moment, picking at your skin can cause irritation, inflammation, and even breakouts.
If you feel the urge to pick, try swiping on a little of our turmeric stick instead. it’ll help unclog pores, reduce signs of inflammation, and keep you from picking, lest you get turmeric all over your hands.
tip #2: take a break from makeup
Once or twice a week, taking a break from makeup will help your skin breathe, and also allow you be extra gentle to it during your skincare routine (since you’ll be able to skip the products you’d usually use to remove makeup).
That being said, if wearing makeup brings you joy or helps you maintain a sense of normalcy during this time, we say keep doing what you’re doing!
tip #3: mask like it’s your WFH job
Your skin deserves all of the TLC in the world, and masking is a great way to purify, nourish, and pamper it.
We love masking with our chlorophyll mask because it comes in a powder form and you can customize it to your skin’s specific needs. Mix it with rosewater to balance, cleansing oil to draw out impurities, avocado to hydrate - the list goes on!
tip #4: steam!
Steaming your skin once a week or so will help soften any dirt or buildup in your pores, making it easier to remove when you cleanse. It’ll also help increase your skin’s permeability, so your essences, serums, and moisturizers will be able to absorb more effectively.
You can find a facial steamer for around $30 online!
tip #5: try gua sha!
Gua sha is the ancient Chinese practice that helps improve blood flow and reduce puffiness in the skin. We recommend applying a moisturizer like our chia facial oil or golden elixir and then using a gua sha tool to work it into your skin. You can find these tools online for $20 or less and check out our gua sha highlight on Instagram for a tutorial from P.
If you don’t have a gua sha and don’t feel like purchasing one, you can also just give yourself a little facial massage right after moisturizing to boost your blood flow and circulation and decrease fluid retention. When massaging your face, make sure to always use upward and outward motions to avoid dragging or pulling your skin down. Here’s what we recommend:
- Start at your forehead and press your fingers upwards, moving from the top of your eyebrows to your hairline. Repeat a few times. You can also gently press with your palms - whatever level of pressure feels best to you!
- Gently press the tops of your cheekbones with your fingertips, alternating pressure with your index, middle, and ring fingers as you press up, from your cheekbones to your temples.
- For your cheek area, make a peace sign with each hand. Place your index finger just above your upper lip and your middle finger just below your lower lip. Smoothly and gently pull both fingers toward your ears.
- Use your thumbs to gently massage the edges of your jawline, concentrating on the spots right below your ears.
tip #6: drink more water + eat more fatty acids
Drinking water is just low-hanging fruit at this point! It’s no secret that staying hydrated inside and out is great for the skin.
Fatty acids, which can be found in foods like olive oil, fish, chia, and flax, help support the skin’s natural barrier function, which is key to having hydrated, healthy skin. If you don’t get enough fatty acids in your diet, your skin can become dry, red, overly sensitive, or all of the above.
tip #7: don’t forget about your scalp!
The skin on your scalp deserves some loving too! Using an oil as a scalp mask can help nourish, moisturize, and soothe dryness or irritation.
We recommend using our cleansing oil, which is formulated with lavender and tea tree oils that help cleanse your scalp’s pores while also hydrating and calming the skin.
Here’s how we do it:
- Gently massage 1-3 pumps of cleansing oil into your scalp, working in circular motions.
- Let sit for at least 30 minutes before rinsing out with shampoo and conditioner.
- Repeat 1-2x per week!
You can even leave this mask on overnight and remove it in the morning - just make sure to sleep on a towel to avoid staining your sheets!
tip #8: don’t forget about your hands and feet!
You can replenish moisture on your hands and feet with a nourishing cream or balm, like our one-for-all balm. For a hydrating overnight mask, try coating hands and/or feet with a generous layer of balm and putting on gloves and/or socks before going to bed.
tip #9: reapply!
If you feel your skin getting drier throughout the day, don’t hesitate to reapply your oil or moisturizer! When working from home, we’ll often find ourselves reapplying twice or even three times a day.
tip #10: SLEEP
Believe it or not, sleep can have a huge effect on your skin. Not getting enough sleep has been proven to promote stress throughout the day, which can then trigger a spike in cortisol levels. Increased cortisol can cause skin to produce extra sebum and oil, resulting in clogged pores and breakouts. It can be tough, especially in a stressful time like this, but do your best to always get 7 or 8 hours of good, restful sleep at night, for the sake of your skin, body, and mind.
We also recommend making the most out of your beauty sleep by using a nourishing overnight mask, like our resurfacing sleep mask, a few times a week. This product revolves around bakuchiol, a gentle, plant-derived retinol alternative, which helps reduce the look of dark spots, discoloration, uneven tone, and premature fine lines. It also uses plant-derived beta-glucan to lock hydration into the skin, so you can wake up with nourished, glowing skin.
we hope you found this helpful and that you’re on your way to building great skincare habits! for more skincare info, tips, tricks, and tutorials, make sure to subscribe to our emails below :)
