It’s official. My infatuation with all natural skincare is not a phase. Or a personal trend. Yes, I will still give “miracle products” that promise me to have skin like J-Lo a try, and no, my skin is not perfect. I do have smile lines and some sun spots. But you know what? It’s been feeling pretty darn great, and there is also a bit of peace of mind knowing I could possibly eat what is going on my skin (and ultimately in my body), and knowing that it’s not filled with preservatives and chemicals in order to help pay for the product’s advertising budget.
Also, I’m convinced people with perfect skin, like J-Lo, have to have some all natural stuff in their regime, right? Even if it’s just drinking a ton of water or something simple that us peons can relate to.
Which is where what I like to call the natural beauty tricks trifecta comes in.
There are three tried and true, one ingredient skin savers that have had me me venturing to my pantry instead of the nearest drugstore…for what I just realized has been for years now. I’ve written about them before ( aqui and aqui, and they are nothing secret or unknown. But they have worked wonders for me, while also saving time and money. So I wanted to take a moment to reemphasize their awesomeness.
Here we go. Time to give a standing ovation for: The Honey face mask/wash, sugar skin scrub, and coconut oil moisturizer.
They are all so simple that I could probably stop the post here, and you’d still figure it out on your own, but let me expand a bit.
The sugar scrub.
This is my favorite face scrub. Even after trying it for the first time over 5 years ago. Actually, I just realized I haven’t purchased a face scrub since I tried it. It’s just that good.
All you do is this: Get your face damp, put a quarter size blob of sugar in your palm, then rub it on your face. Add a little bit of warm water on your hands and gently scrub until the sugar completely dissolves into a sticky solution. Then keep rubbing for a bit. This sticky solution is now glycolic acid. Cool huh? Rinse it off and you’re done.
I stick to plain ‘ol white sugar, or sugar packets. (Yes I might pocket a bunch at 7-Eleven or coffee shops. Don’t judge.) The chunky raw sugar is a bit too big and grainy for me. I’ve also used brown sugar (the stuff you bake with) and like that too.
Try it, you’ll like it. Especially if you happen to get some on your lips. Not the case with St.Ives Apricot scrub.
Honey Face mask/wash.
Ok, honey is the queen bee of the face food world. It’s hydrating, has natural antiseptic properties, and is just a miracle goop. I’ve been slathering it on once a week for 10-30 minutes as a face mask or substituting it for my face cleanser ever since I forgot to pack my face wash for a trip four years ago and my mom suggested I try just using honey. Thanks mom.
I highly suggest using raw organic honey if you can, which isn’t thaaaat much more that the regular stuff. But I’ve used regular stuff too. I just like the consistency of the raw stuff. It’s thicker/more like a paste or something.
For the wash – all you do is slather a layer of honey on your face. Damp or dry. I’ve done both. You can immediately add more water and use it as a face wash. (A reader recently wrote me saying she switched to just doing this as her face wash and loved the results. So pumped to read that.)
For the mask – just leave the aforementioned honey schemer on your face for as 1-20 minutes. Yes I’ve gotten sidetracked and left mine on for an hour, or more. And my skin was fine. So I’m tempted to say just leave it on for a while and rinse off.
For added bonus points – Add a little bit of water, then gently rub some sugar into the mix. Voila. You now have a honey sugar scrub.
Note: Be sure to have your hair pulled back. Things can get a bit sticky.
Coconut oil hydrator.
I saved the no-brainer for last. Since coconut oil is pretty much a miracle beauty oil. But this is a newer one for me in terms of frequency of use.
I’ve always used it a little here and there for sunburn relief, my hair, etc. But then, Mission: Please God don’t let me get a ton of stretch marks, if it’s possible – struck. So, I’ve been putting it on my belly after I shower, as well as sharing the love with the rest of my body, and mixing it with whatever body moisturizer I’m using that day. And I swear, the more I use it, the better my skin feels. Also, it reminds me of Hawaii, which is alway a good thing.
I was also struggling a bit with hormonal acne at the beginning of my pregnancy, and found an article on some Australian health blog that said using just coconut oil on your face helps with hormonal acne. Oil for acne. Weird, I know. But I started putting it on my face at night before I went to bed, and yup, my skin gulped it up overnight, it gradually cleared up, and is really almost perfectly hydrated. If that’s even possible.
So yeah I sleep with that on my face a few nights each week.
And get MAJOR bonus points when I do what I like to call the pantry beauty trifecta: putting some coconut oil on my face after completing a honey mask followed by a sugar scrub.
Yes that happens.
What can I say, when I’m a fan, I’m a fan.
So, to sum all this rambling up: Honey, Coconut Oil, and Sugar. They don’t take a lot of time or money to try or add to your beauty lineup. Go ahead. Try ‘em separately. Try ‘em together. You’ll like ‘em.
…and you can also put any of them in a cup of coffee if you’d like too.
They are just that naturally awesome.
I think J-Lo would even give it a shot.