Last week, I wrote Angela at Oh She Glows an e-mail whining about my sallow, uneven skin tone and breakouts. "I’m 25!" I wrote. "Shouldn’t my skin be more… adult?!" She asked me to describe my current skin care routine, and I must admit I blushed when I described my daily face scrubs with a bar of Irish Spring soap:
Yes… I use a bar of man’s body soap to wash my delicate, lady skin. As a result, my face currently looks like this:
That’s me sans makeup — not terrible by any means (you should’ve seen my teenager face!), but check out the dull, blotchy, and uneven skin. No ‘glow’ like Angela. I begged Angela to prescribe me a Oh She Glows skin routine and promised I would follow it for a whole month.
Project Glow: 30 Days to Healthier, Glowing Skin
Here is Angela’s excellent program for beautiful skin from the inside-out:
What You’ll Need:
- St. Ives Apricot Scrub
- St. Ives Apricot Scrub Blemish Fighting Cleanser (For Oily/Acne Prone Skin)
- Exfoliating Gloves
- Neutrogena Daily Moisturizer (SPF 30/45) OR Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti Wrinkle Cream in SPF 15
- Optional: Coconut Oil for body moisturizing (Found at health food stores or bulk stores)
- Optional: Oil Blotting Sheets
I purchased the St. Ives Apricot Scrub Blemish Fighting Cleanser, but I could not locate the body scrub, so I’m using an Olay Ultra Moisture body wash.
I also chose to use the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti Wrinkle Cream in SPF 15 because… well, let’s stop those wrinkles before they start!
Skin Care Regimen
- Morning Face Wash: Remove any leftover racoon eyes. 🙂 Put on one exfoliating glove and wet. Place a quarter sized amount of St Ives Apricot Scrub on wet glove. Gently exfoliate your face with circular motions. Pay close attention to problem spots where blackheads form: around the nose, chin, etc.
- In the Shower: Use exfoliating glove and some more St Ives Scrub to exfoliate entire body. When you get out of the shower pay dry and while skin is still damp, apply Coconut oil everywhere except your face. On your face, use Neutrogena moisturizer when skin is still damp. If you are applying concealer or foundation, apply it when moisturizer is still a bit damp. It will go on smoother.
- Before bed: Remove eye make-up. Use St Ives Blemish Fighting Cleanser. Be sure to clean entire face well. It really makes a difference if you wash face well and get all the dirt out. Pay dry and apply your favorite night cream. Be sure that the night cream won’t clog pores!
I will use two new products in addition to Angela’s recommendations:
The Juice Beauty line is an all-organic line of beauty products. Juice Beauty uses freshly-squeezed organic juice concentrates as the base for their products, not water. Organic juices are rich in potent antioxidants, essential vitamins, vital phytonutrients and powerful hydroxy acids. Antioxidants help prevent the signs of aging, thus bringing back the skin’s natural radiance. Juice Beauty products are pH balanced and formulated for even the most sensitive skin! YAY, Organics!
I’m using the Juice Beauty Organic Rejuvenating Mask and Moisture Concentrate. The Moisture Concentrate will serve as my night-time treatment, and I’ll use the mask several times a week.
Glow From the Inside Out: Food for Healthy Skin
As part of the challenge, Angela directed me to drink 1 Green Monster everyday, with increasing amounts of kale or spinach, both of which are full of Vitamins A and C!
- Week 1: 1-2 cups of kale or spinach
- Week 2: 2-3 cups of kale or spinach
- Week 3: 3-4 cups of kale or spinach
- Week 4: 4 cups of kale or spinach
- Note: The more greens you use, the more liquid you need or your smoothie will be too thick- ick! 🙂
- For Green Monster recipes, check out Angela’s Recipes page.
Also, Angela has asked that I try to limit dairy, especially heavily processed dairy like cheese and ice cream. Angela says that in some studies, dairy has been found to cause breakouts. "Whether this is true or not is a personal thing, but it is worth trying out for yourself," she wrote. "If you know that dairy doesn’t cause you problems, by all means go on eating it!"
Additionally, I need to try to eat lots of vegetables and fruits! According to Angela, the more V + F I eat, the less processed foods I will eat, which means less breakouts. YAY!
Also, I’m going to try to:
- Drink 1 cup of green tea each day.
- Drink lemon water when possible.
Reduce Stress
Stress causes breakouts and dull, sallow skin. Angela has asked that I target what is making me unhappy and write down a game plan how I can do to improve the situation. Other healthy ways to deal with stress include exercising, read, sleeping, meditating, stretching, listen to music, laughing, etc.
Some Final Tips From Angela:
- Always wash face before working out if you have make-up on. Don’t worry about it if you are working out first thing in the AM though. Give your face a quick wash post workout with St Ives Blemish Fighting Cleanser. Moisturize if necessary.
- If you have sensitive skin you may not want to exfoliate every day. It is fine for ‘tough’ skin, but everyone is different! You are the best judge of your skin type.
- Disclaimer: The above tips are what has worked for Angela’s skin and may not work for you. Try this regime at your own risk! 🙂
I’m so excited to try this challenge and (hopefully) achieve a beautiful, healthy GLOW! Anyone want to join me?
NOTE: Mrs. LC just pointed out that the St. Ives Scrub contains WALNUTS, which is important to know if you have a tree nut allergy or are just allergic to walnuts (like me). I will be conferring with Angela on a replace product and will update everyone soon! Thanks for the feedback (God, the blog world is wonderful!) 🙂
TO READ THE RESULTS OF PROJECT GLOW, CHECK OUT this post.
what a great challenge!
I use the CLINIQUE three step system: face wash, lotion and toner. It is catered to different skin types and it great!
Good luck with this!