Here is a question being asked every week in my business. The answer is (of course): It depends.
Let me explain and start with some premises.
Your skin is in a constant state of maintenance. As such it needs nourishment, repair and protection. The quality of the results for these three processes can be influenced by three sources
Food, lifestyle and skincare.
Food, 'Let it be your medicine' said Hippocrates. We shall simplify here today by describing it as balanced and sensible including good quality water.
Lifestyle, we know is the best when we strike a balance between work and relaxation, enjoy meaningful relationships, cultivating daily feelings of happiness and fulfilment.
Now, the skincare. First of all, do yourself and the planet a favour, choose a natural skincare free of toxin. You owe it to yourself as it prevents you absorbing toxic chemicals which can affect your health in the long term.
Recently I came to a realisation: your skincare products are like the equipment in your kitchen, the garden tools in the green house, the spanners and screw drivers in the garage.
We need different ones for different purpose.
Voilà! It is never too late to have one of those "AH!" moment.
Now, let us expand a little on this (radical, or not) concept.
In your kitchen you have different type of knifes, saucepans, presentation plates, serving spoon, mixing, whisking, flipping implement. Right?
What we need for our skin follows the same approach. Our skin needs vary from day to day, week to week, season to season. Our skin gets expose to different atmospheric conditions being humid, hot, sunny, dry, cold, cloudy. Consider also that, like us, our skin might be more "hungry" one day or one week and not so the following week.
One rule for skin nurturing and repair:
The driest the skin, the richest the moisturiser,
the slower it absorbs bringing the most benefit to the skin.
In the light of these premise it makes sense to have a few different product which fulfil different purpose. Here are the ones which have proven excellent for my clients bringing them visible results. As such they are essentials.
1. Facial Oil
Everyone benefits greatly by having (and using) a facial oil. Choose one which is light and absorbs quickly (our certified organic, bio-dynamic calendula oil does just that). Use it on its own as a moisturiser at anytime of the day. Apply it in the morning after a light water cleanse and you are ready to apply make up or ready to go out. At night, you can repeat the application. If your skin needs some more moisturising, follow the facial oil application by your moisturiser.
2. Facial Moisturiser
Have a few different level of moisturiser going from Ultra Light and quickly absorbing to Light, to Rich, to Extra Rich.
Observe how your skin feels. Does it need a light moisturiser? Has the weather been dry or cold and your skin need more nourishment from a richer formulation applied for a few days or night?
Generally speaking:
3. Hand cream
A lotion is a light skincare with a higher water component compare to a cream. A lotion does wonder to apply good quality oil to your skin and its absorption is generally fast.
A light cream does excellent work on the skin as well as a rich or extra rich cream. It depends on the state of your skin and the texture you enjoy so you use the product.
Here is a little known piece of information. The difference between a facial product and a body product lies in the percentage of essential oil which are allowed. For the face the percentage is low. For the body or the hands, the percentage is higher. This means that a product designed for the face can also be used on the body and on the hands. The reverse, of course, is not true.
So if you have a face cream which you enjoy the scent and the texture, you can use it also as a hand cream.
For cuticule, best to use a super rich skincare like a balm.
4. Foot cream
Now generally our feet get quite a workout and they can develop dry part. In this case I highly recommend an extra rich skincare such as a very rich cream or a balm. Best, if you can, to soak first (such a pleasant time to relax and care for yourself), followed by the application of a rich balm. Put on your cotton socks and sleep like a baby (recently I have been told by a new mother that babies don't sleep. Oh well!). Repeat this care a few times per week and enjoy your soft, renewed skin.
This conclude this blog. I hope it is helpful in understanding a bit more what would be essential in your skincare cabinet. If you have any question, feel free to email me at lise@theherbalgardener.com.au.