Natural Skincare

Over the years, I’ve been asked to recommend/share beauty products, hygiene products, what I use on my kids, on my hair, etc. I’ve never known how to answer as I’ve always been experimenting and trying to find a regime that is safe, natural, made with fair-trade products, and ultimately works. I’ve always had sensitive, dry, eczema-prone skin and my kids all inherited my skin type rather than their father’s problem-free skin. Three years ago I started looking into natural, homemade products that worked to balance and nurture our skin. I started incorporating oils and unrefined butters as moisturizers and started making my own SLS and SLES-free soaps as well shampoos and oils for the scalp and hair. Starting this January we have completely switched over to homemade skin and haircare products and it’s made such a huge, visible, difference in our skin.

Yesterday I made a huge batch of our two kid-friendly, family-friendly soaps – neem & turmeric (kasthuri manjal) and oat & chamomile. The neem soap is made with dried, powdered neem leaves, turmeric, and tea tree and camphor essential oils. It’s detoxifying, deodorizing, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and great for dry skin. The oat and chamomile soap incorporates powdered organic oats known for its soothing properties, dried chamomile flowers, raw honey, and lavender essential oil. This soap is great for irritated, eczema-prone, and sensitive skin. We use both soaps equally, and interchangeably based on what the skin requires. Because these soaps are moisturizing on their own, a few drops of warmed coconut oil is all that’s needed to moisturize the skin after bath.

During the winter months, I whip up a batch of all natural body butter to help keep our skin nourished and moisturized as more moisturizing is needed to combat the drier, colder air. We use it daily during the winter months to treat our extremely dry, eczema-prone skin and as needed during the rest of the year. It incorporates a combination of nourishing butters and oils – one of which is a homemade saffron infused oil – and vetiver essential oil to hydrate and heal the skin. This body butter is definitely thicker than the ones you would typically find in commercial stores, however it has a higher percentage of the the good stuff, melts on contact with skin and glides on effortlessly leaving the skin looking nourished with a healthy glow.

Have any questions about our natural skin/hair-care routine? Let me know in the comments below.