Beautiful
Yeah, it’s been a while. Working full time and taking grad classes doesn’t leave much time for blogging. BUT STILL…how can I neglect my blog when the class I’m taking has homework like visiting farmers markets?? So, as I visited a farmers market I’ve never attended before today, I had an idea.
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Four Steps to Glowing Post Summer Skin
Summer skincare can create multiple personality disorder in even the sanest of people. While we want to bask in the sun while at the beach, on the lake, or just a great outdoor festival, even the most conscientious skin care aficionado can come up short. So what do you do if you’ve overindulged in the sun on a beautiful day, or worse your sunscreen came up short? Here’s a list of 4 steps you can take now to get your skin back to glowing and radiant in no time!
Step 1:
Gentle Cleanser - Switch to a mild cleanser, or even a soap free cleanser. Using a mild cleanser will help leave beneficial oils on your skin and help your sunburn heal faster. Don’t exfoliate until after any peeling has occurred. Over exfoliating can cause major trauma to the skin and leave you with red (and even scarred skin) long after your burn has healed.
Step 2:
Moisturize - Use the right moisturizer. Look for more emollient creams to help keep your skin hydrated as the weather heats up. You want something light and quick absorbing, but still effective. Avoid products with water listed as the first ingredient, and instead look for products with aloe as the main ingredient. This will help your skin heal faster as you are replacing the lost moisture. Other beneficial ingredients to look for are: Shea butter, sea buckthorn oil, raspberry seed oil, and pomegranate oil. All of which will add moisture back into the skin and help repair damaged, sunburned skin.
Step 3:
Exfoliate - Once your skin has started to heal, its important to start to adding exfoliation back into your routine. The key is to start with a gentle exfoliator and build up. So look for an exfoliating scrub with jojoba beads or a sugar scrub (not salt scrubs as these are too harsh and will sting the skin). Start with exfoliating only 1 - 2x’s a week and build up from there. Once your skin is no longer peeling, then you can add in a glycol serum or a enzyme mask. However, don’t use a harsh mask or peel until your skin has returned to its pre sunburn state. While these mask are great for getting glowing skin, they can aggravate raw sunburned skin. So ease back into exfoliation.
Step 4:
Refresh with a Mask - Finally, once a week apply a deeply hydrating mask (preferably immediately following your exfoliation). Look for masks with fatty acids like evening primrose oil, black currant oil, or rice bran oil. Adding moisture back into your freshly exfoliated skin will leave you with a dewy, well rested look and take advantage of the color that has now developed as a result of over exposure. However, make sure you practice moderation, as masks with thick ingredients like these can cause breakouts if overused. So shoot for one time a week, and no more than two depending on sensitive or acne prone your skin is.
That’s it, your skin should be dewy and glowing in no time!
What’s your post-summer skincare routine? How do you get the glow back when you’ve spent to much time in the sun? Comment below, we’d love to hear from you!
Ten Things To Do When You Feel Like Crap:
1. Have a really hot, long shower. Cry if you need to. Sit on the ground. Feel sorry for yourself. Let the steam soak into your skin. Let the hot water wash your face clean. But the moment you turn off that water, you are done feeling sorry for yourself. Make a decision to move on from that sadness.
2. Clean. I know, cleaning is boring and annoying - but how about that feeling you get when you are finished? The smell of the vacuum. That feeling of accomplishment? Who knows, you might even find money along the way. Totally worth it. It’s like starting with a clean slate.
3. Call a friend you haven’t spoken to for a while. If your first choice doesn’t pick up, choose someone else. Ask them all about how their lives are going and tell them about yours. Not only will it take your mind off whatever crappy thing you have been plagued by, but you will laugh with them! Laughing triggers endorphins and endorphins make you happy!
4. Go for a run or a walk. This get’s your endorphins and dopamine going crazy. You will get more energy and more happiness just because the chemicals in your body are running around!
5. Stop and take it all in. Walking in the night? Stop and look at the stars. Breathe in the cold air. Feel alive.
6.
Stop whining. Ever heard the saying “love life and life will love you back”? Or, the idea of the power of attraction? It’s true! If you sit around saying “why me, waaaaa waaaa” then bad things will happen to you. You’re already defeated. If you start saying, “I will be happy, I will accomplish my ambitions, I will find love, I do look amazing, I am a great friend” etc., then not only will you start to believe them but you will be amazed at what amazing things start to happen.7. Drink tea. This always works. Not a tea fan? Try hot water with a slice of lemon and some agave syrup.
8. Make a conscious decision to stop holding certain grudges. We all have people we have held grudges on in the past. Let them go. If you feel like you owe this person an apology, don’t be too proud. Send them a sincere facebook apology. Sincerity is in the intent, so even if it’s a 2 sentence apology - as long as you mean it it’s worth it.
9. Cook some really nice, warm food. Stimulate your taste buds with anything as simple as two minute noodles or as lavish as a three course garlic bread, pasta bake, chocolate mousse triple combo.
10. Write down a list of goals to achieve for the week. As simple as “buy insect repellent” or as large as “jog for 25 minutes non stop” and tick them off when they’re done. You will feel very accomplished and that alone will help pep up your mood!
