I’m not going to lie: I tried it all… including all the crazy chemical-ridden skincare regimes and yes, the infomercials made me believe that celebrities really did use those products and got perfectly clear skin while I was looking in the mirror at irritated, dried out, pimple-filled skin. Sad, right? I grew up in the school of thought that the more ingredients to zap those zits, the better… and I slathered on serums and creams and prescriptions to try and clear it up only to wake up in the morning with dry, red, irritated skin that became a breeding zone for zits that I would only cover up with heavy makeup.

After my second miscarriage, I met with a doctor to begin to dig into different ways I could help ready my body to “try again.” One thing she challenged me with was removing as many toxins from my world as I possibly could, including anything I was putting on my skin. Skin is our biggest organ and here we are slathering it with chemicals that our body is absorbing. When I started to read ingredient labels on my skincare and makeup, I was shocked. Not only are there tons of chemicals but those chemicals can be hormone disrupters, i.e. they can cause hormone imbalance.

As I was sharing what my doctor was recommending with my followers, many recommended switching to natural skin cleanser, deodorant, and more…. that was when Primally Pure entered my life two years ago. The products were all-natural, contained zero toxins, had less than 10 ingredients, contained ingredients you could pronounce and were essentially safe enough to eat. I made the swap and I’ve been hooked ever since. Today I want to share my cleansing routine with you, something that’s entirely different than my past methods of scrubbing and covering my skin in chemicals.

I’ll be the first to admit, I still don’t have perfect skin. Pregnancy brought on melasma and hormonal breakouts, both of which are slowly fading away but I’m in no hurry to run out and bleach my skin with chemicals or grab tubes with promises and ingredients I can’t pronounce. I’m sticking with non-toxic skincare and the products that not only have healed my skin but are also safe for life: zero worries about using them while pregnant or nursing.

Let’s talk about oil cleansing:

Putting oil on your skin seems counter-intuitive, I get it, but travel allllll the way back to high school chemistry class with me and remember this fact: like dissolves like. This is the simple premise behind the concept of oil cleansing. In fact, using harsher cleansers and products strips our skin of the oil it needs and so it is then forced to produce more of it, putting us in this vicious cycle of removing excess oil and your skin working double time to replace it. What if instead, we used a more gentle way to care for our skin with a natural product?

It’s the best way to purify + nourish the skin (natural oils are SO powerful in their ability to beautify and heal) while still keeping its natural moisture barrier intact. Oil cleansing works for all skin types! And the ingredient list? Well, it’s only 9 ingredients and contains: sunflower oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, pomegranate seed oil, essential oils of orange, lavender, geranium and peppermint… can you just close your eyes and smell these? I can. Like I said, you could literally eat this, it’s that safe.

There are three simple steps to incorporate oil cleansing into your skincare routine. The Primally Pure oil cleansers smell amazing and there are 3 options: normal, dry and oily. I switch between the normal and dry depending on the time of year and if we are in Minnesota or Hawaii! People also always ask how long one 4oz bottle of the cleansing oil lasts and for me, it lasts about a month! If you’d rather watch this process, click here to see my Instagram highlights! 

Step 1: massage the oil into your dry skin

Take a dropper full of oil, pour it into your palms and start to massage it into your skin. You can put the oil directly onto your face with makeup… there is NO need to use a makeup remover first so this oil can essentially eliminate one entire product from your arsenal and one step from your current cleansing routine, cool, right?

I start in the middle and massage upward and outward.  I always make sure to get my neck area, as well. Facial massage is important because it helps increase blood flow, helps you relax your facial muscles, and can help your products absorb better.

Step 2: Take a hot washcloth and place it on your face

This is my favorite step! It will seriously make you feel like you’re at the spa. If you had makeup on, you might want to have two washcloths ready for you! The first one will be used to help remove the oil along with all of your makeup, so just get a makeup friendly washcloth. Rest a hot washcloth on your face and wait until it cools, then wipe the oil away.

This step removes makeup and dirt and is a far gentler way to cleanse than stripping your oils using a traditional makeup remover! After you’ve removed all makeup, you can go over your skin with a clean washcloth if you feel you need to. You can also double oil cleanse if you feel like your skin needs an extra clean (recommended if you have on heavy makeup!) Just use a clean washcloth for the second round.

Step 3: Moisturize as needed

Sometimes oil cleansing is all my skin needs at the end of the day, and sometimes it’s a little drier and needs additional help.  I love Primally Pure’s Everything Spray, so I always do a few sprays after cleansing to tone and balance my skin’s PH (feel like you’re in biology class again?:) and then follow up with a few drops of the Fancy Face Serum to even out my skin tone and help prevent wrinkles. These steps add a little extra moisture if my skin needs it.

Truth be told, when I travel, I am able to travel light and I only bring this oil with and use it both as a cleanser and a moisturizer. I oil cleanse once a day, only in the evening to remove my makeup and impurities from the day. Some people find it works better if they do it every other day or even just once a week, but for me, it’s my nightly spa date.

You’ve been asking

A ton of people are asking me about what moisturizer I use and to be honest, I don’t need one like I used to because my skin absorbs the oil overnight and isn’t left feeling dry so most days I’ll wake up and throw on a few spritzes of the Lavender or Neroli mists and call it good, if my skin is feeling a littler drier, I’ve been stealing some of Conley’s baby oil which is heavenly and putting it on my face BUT you can also just use a few drops of the cleansing oil as a moisturizer (no need to wipe it off!) I go bare most days but if I do leave the house and need makeup, then I’ll go right to a primer and put on my make up (don’t worry, a clean makeup post is coming SOON!)

Don’t freak out if you initially break out, this is just your skins way of bringing toxins to the surface and your skin will balance out super quickly. I’ve never been happier with my skin and every time I use these products it feels like a trip to the spa and I can rest easy that I’m not putting any harsh chemicals on my skin.

So what do you think, will you give it a try? It’s no better time to give oil cleansing a whirl because Primally Pure is offering 10% off! Take advantage of their biggest discount and maybe throw in some of my other favorites like their all-natural deodorant (that actually works) or dry shampoo with code JK10!

 

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