Why I am putting Ghee on my face... or rather, why my skin is itchy and dry and I'll try anything...

I have a dear friend from college (we have been friends for 10 years! whew time flies) who lives in Seattle, and is a fellow clean living/clean beauty person, and we frequently exchange long facebook messages about things were are doing/want to try/ have had success or failure with, etc etc, in the beauty and lifestyle arena. Mostly we talk about skin stuff, sometimes in conjunction with diet stuff, and basically lament that we don't live in the same town anymore because we could create an awesome business out of what we make for our personal body care products. ANYWAY, she mentioned that her skin, in particular her face, was feeling really dry lately and the oils she had been using have just not been cutting it. She described it like "I put a good amount of oil on in the am, and it seems to be just sitting on the skin, rather then absorbing like normal, and my skin still feels dry and uncomfortable". Well, wouldn't you know, I was having the EXACT same problem. I noticed a few days ago that I was having the same problem- lots of soothing oil that I normally love on my face was just not cutting it. It also happens to be freakin' freezing in Santa Cruz right now (literally), as it is across most of the US (and the entire Northern Hemisphere, really), so I am sure that A. my skin is reacting to the very cold and very dry air, and B. I am probably not alone here. She and I chatted about the various options to treat this, and I told her I have been putting on oil, then a thick face cream, and then sunscreen. It has been helping, but my skin is very sensitive, and if I put too much on it, it tends to get reactive- which it has been starting to do, as I glop on all this stuff to keep my face from being super parched. I suggested Tallow, (rendered fat- I know it sounds gross but it supposed to be a miracle on dry skin), since she and I are both on board with humanely raised meat consumption and other uses. I have heard that Tallow can be amazing for dry, chapped skin, and have been thinking of trying it. And then, while I was mulling over buying some Tallow, I thought "hey, what about Ghee instead?" I had a pot of fresh Ghee popping away on the stove already, so I sat down to do some research and see if slathering Ghee on your face was a legit thing or I was just the crazy lady thinking of putting butter on her face. After a little internet sleuthing, I found out I am not crazy! (well, at least not for wanting to put Ghee on my face). Ghee has been used for thousands of years as food and medicine, and is apparently amazing for skin issues. Ghee made from pastured cow milk is high in vitamin A (the main ingredient in all those retinol products people use for anti aging) and vitamin D (which is having a huge moment in skincare right now), and is very high in fatty acids to moisturize, nourish and soothe the skin. So, I decided to do a little experiment. As you may already know, I eat a lot of Ghee- in my tea, in my food, a big tablespoon first thing in the morning (in Ayurveda, it is thought that a spoonful of Ghee in the morning followed by warm water gets rid of toxins, stokes the digestive fire and gets things *moving*, if you will)... so putting it on my skin wasn't huge jump for me- I make a big batch about every week, and always have it on hand. I decided I am going to try a week long Ghee experiment, where in the morning and evening, I put Ghee on my face (and nothing else). I washed my face last night and slathered it on (and went a little overboard and had to wipe some off), and then waited to see if any red bumps or flushing would occur (my sensitive skin reactions)- and neither of those happened, and in fact my skin felt amazing- cool and soft and yummy. I let it soak in for about an hour before bed, and I didn't notice any coming off on the pillow when I finally laid down. This morning, for the first time in awhile, I didn't wake up with dry, itchy skin- woo hoo! So I am going to give it 7 days of twice a day application and see how my skin likes it. I'll update you when the experiment is over. Let me know if you try it!

Enjoy this cold winter weather, stay warm, and eat (or wear) some Ghee!

Oil cleansing

So today, I thought I would talk about some skincare stuff. As my friends know, I am pretty obsessed with my skin. I have had struggles with it in the past, mainly when I was super sick and on gluten, and then when I went off the pill (hello cystic acne on my chin for the very first time!). Once I changed my diet*, learned some tools to deal with my stress, and started getting my hormones back in balance, my skin has gotten much better. When I did the major "chucking everything with any kind of crazy horrible chemical in it", I got rid of 99% of my body products, which is a lot (my husband will tell you- I am a body product junkie!). And then I went, "well shit, what do I use now?". So I started researching. I had used oils on and off when I was living a gluten heavy life, and they had worked for me, so that was the direction I went. There are some great clean-ish bath product companies, but I am very very staunch about putting no weird chemicals on my bod, so even those were out. I like to frequent healthy living blogs, and was realizing that I was going to have to start becoming a body product chemist (which is cool 'cause I love chemistry) in order to make stuff for my skin that was chemical free and worked for me (I do use some things from the Annmarie Gianni and Pratima lines, which are both amazing and satisfy my need for fancy face stuff). And that is when I stumbled upon the "oil cleansing method". What is the oil cleansing method, you ask? Well, it is exactly what is sounds like- you wash your face with oil...

Ok, I know to some of you that is going to sound crazy- those of us that have grown up any time in the last 40 years or so have been sold a bill of goods, being told that in order to get rid of acne we have to dry the hell out of our faces with intense astringents and chemicals. Now we know this is bull. If you use the right oil for your skin and the time of year, it actually cuts down on the skins production of its own oils (think about it- if you dry out your face really badly, your skin wants to make more oil to help with the dryness. Hence, more acne). Oil cleansing is super easy, and my skin LOVES IT. Overnight I felt a difference, and I have been doing it for 6 months and haven't looked back. I don't think I could buy face cleanser ever again. The oil is also the best makeup remover I have ever used, so if you wear makeup this is a plus (I am addicted to mascara). So, without further ado, here is how to Oil Cleanse:

(all oils should be Organic and cold pressed- you don't want to put chemicals and pesticides on to your beautiful face!- I love Mountain Rose Herbs oils)

Castor Oil
Other oil of your choice:
         -For dry skin: Olive oil, Macadamia nut oil, Avocado oil (think nice of yummy fats)
         -For oily/combo skin:  Grapeseed oil, Jojoba oil, Sunflower oil, Rosehip oil
          (Rosehip oil is great if you have sun spots, it helps to lighten them)
         -Oils that are good to add if you have dermatitis: Evening Primrose oil, Borage oil
Depending on your skin, mix the Castor oil and other oil as such:
         -Dry skin: 1/3 castor oil to 2/3 other oil
         -Combo skin: 1/2 castor oil to 1/2 other oil
         -Oily skin: 2/3 castor oil to 1/3 other oil.

Mix the oils in a glass container with a pump, and every night pump a little bit onto your fingers and rub it all in your skin. Don't take your makeup off first, since the oil will get it all off. When you feel like it is all nice and rubbed in, take a hot wet washcloth and put it over your face and let the steam work its magic. I usually "re-hot water" my washcloth a few times, to really open up my pores. As you do this, the Castor oil works to pull dirt and bacteria out of your pores. Then when you are done, simply wipe off the oils and you are fresh and clean and your face won't have that weird tight feeling like when you strip it of all it's happiness with soap. Viola! You look gorgeous! and your skin will thank you.

Let me know if you try it and what you think, and if you have any questions! 

*If I over indulge in dairy, which I did other night with homemade clam chowder (do you know how much dairy is in clam chowder??!!), I have a breakout the next day. I can also feel increased congestion in my body, so it makes sense that it would increase my skin congestion. But mostly my skin likes my diet of lots of veggies, good protein and no gluten, as long as I go easy on the parmesan.

**a note on coconut oil- I have used coconut oil before, and in the summer sometimes still use it because it does have a small amount of spf occurring in it naturally, but I find that for many people it makes them break out due to the medium chain fatty acids (which make it so yummy!) so use caution on your face with it at first if you choose to try it.