5 Steps to a Thrifty Face

I have really nice skin, I can proudly say that now because I used to have horrible problems with it - terrible acne that covered my whole face and lots of flaking and oil and well...you get the idea. I tried all sorts of expensive products and crazy routines. (At one point I was smearing my face with toothpaste and espon salts every night.) Then I became a hippy and found that the simple, least expensive items worked the best! :-P

This is what I've been doing for years and my face really has never looked better, it's rare that I get a blemish. Of course this is just what works for me, every face and body is different but don't be scared to try a really simple routine.

Step One: Throw your make-up away! 
Ok, ok you don't really have to throw it away* but give some thought to trying to go all natural as much as you can. Make-up is hard on the face! And, this is just my opinion, but it's not needed. Women are beautiful all on their own and I don't think they need to cover their face to look attractive. I used to slather that stuff on every single morning but one day I was looking at my husband and just realized "Hey, he looks fine. In fact all men look fine with a bare face. And you know what...thinking of all my female friends...they all look fine with out makeup too." So I really did throw it all away and never looked back. I honestly find women with a bare face more attractive than ones with a bunch of make-up. A bare face is real. Of course if you are going out on a date or to a special event there are better options if you want to dress up your face once in a while.
Mineral Makeup being what all my friends have been raving about of late.

Step Two: Wash you face less.
Again this is what works for me but I've found that by only washing my face when I shower makes my face happy. I usually shower every night because I work out at night, so my face is washed once a day only, any more than that and it will dry out and get red spots. I don't wash my face when I wake up or if I shower in the morning I don't wash is again at night, since I don't have to worry about washing off make-up this is easy to do.It's not like I'm rolling around in the mud all day and have a layer of grime to wash off and in fact washing your face too often strips away the natural oil your face produces and causes it to dry out, which causes your face to produce more oil to try to fix the problem, and then your face breaks out even more! Give your face a break from harsh washings!

Step Thee: Exfoliate
While I am in the shower I place a few tablespoons of baking soda in my wet hands, rub them together, and then lightly scrub my face, lightly! This gets rid of all the dead skin on your face and makes it baby butt smooth. My face loves baking soda but I know lots of women who use sugar instead. Try both and see which one works for you.


Step Four: Cleanse
I know you will laugh at me, everyone does, but I use honey to wash my face! Honey offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant, and cleansing properties! I love how soft it keeps my skin. And no, it's not sticky, as soon as you put a glob in your hand and start rubbing it all over your wet face in the shower it becomes like a lotion. I keep mine in the shower in a squeeze bottle. You'll have to tell your kids that's it's something else though as they will try to eat it while you are not looking!

Step Five: Moisturize
There are a lot of natural face lotions out there. For this step you will have to find what works best for you but the two most popular ones are coconut oil and jojoba oil. I love coconut oil and use it for just about everything except my face, as it tends to break me out but others swear by it. My face prefers jojoba and it works wonderfully and goes a long ways.


Now smile because you've just saved tons of money because baking soda, honey, and oil are way cheaper than those expensive beauty products you were buying before! And they are better for your face too!

And here's a bonus beauty tip...throw out you deodorant* (I'm not an expert but I've never thought it was a good idea to be rubbing chemicals that close to your breasts.) and get a bottle of Phillips Milk of Magnesia. Yes, the laxative. Get the original kind as the only ingredients are Magnesium Hydroxide and water, you don't want the flavored kind. Now I don't know the science behind why this works, I just read about it in an old folk remedies book, but it's the best deodorant I've ever used - natural or normal. All you do is shake up the bottle (Don't skip this step, you want to make sure your cotton ball gets all those little white bits on it.) and then place a cotton ball over the top and pour a little onto the ball. Then just smear it around under your pits, there will be white bits on your underarms but they will go away after you get dressed. Since I started using this I've never once had a smelly armpit, even if I have to miss a shower for a few days it still works days later! And it's cheap! A bottle is around $7 and lasts for months and months. 

Ok, I'm done talking about thrifty beauty produces now. :-P

*You know I really don't want you to throw usable items away! I'm all about freeing up space in landfills! Instead of throwing out your unwanted make-up or deodorants please take them to a woman's shelter. While you are at it feel free to donate any other supplies that a woman without a home would need.