I just wanted to share with you my absolute favorite beauty products (besides makeup)! These are all tried and true by me, and I'm so happy with how they've been working out.
Coconut oil is hands down my favorite thing ever. You guys, it is positively MAGIC. It smells amazing, and you can use it for everything. Cooking, shaving, moisturizing, deep conditioning your hair, taking off your makeup, sexy lube, massage oil, cleaning your teeth/mouth, and I'm sure many other things!
I use it for pretty much all of the above haha.
Let me tell you why I love it so much: In high school, and starting college, I had terrible acne! I don't know that my skin was clear for even just a day all those years. I was incredibly self conscious about this. No matter what I did, no matter what expensive products I used, it just never went away.
I tried everything from ProActiv, to Sensaria, to Clinique. I honestly did like Clinique's acne solutions line; it was much less harsh than ProActiv, less expensive, and there were makeup options to choose from too. However it still didn't really solve the problem. Besides, I really wanted to switch to more natural options for my skin care-I hated using all those chemicals.
I read an article a while ago about washing your face with essential oils, and how it's supposedly amazing for your skin. So I looked into it some more and discovered that coconut oil is fantastic for your skin!
I read up some more tips for it and started using it religiously.
Here's what I do:
- Face (I have combination skin type)
- I take a tiny, tiiiny bit (you really don't need a lot) and rub it on my eyelids and around the eye area to facilitate in taking off the makeup (and it seriously just melts off basically. No more scrubbing my eyes to get that ridiculous liner/mascara off!)
- After I finish taking off my makeup with the Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes, and Clearasil, I put a very small amount on my whole face and neck, as a nighttime moisturizer.
In the morning my skin is silky smooth and radiant! It really works wonders, and my skin is a million times clearer than it has ever been! Sure I get the occasional blemish, but it's nothing compared to my previous pizza face.
- Body
- I mix it with some sugar (it doesn't matter the grain really, fine or coarse work equally well) and use it as a body scrub! It exfoliates and moisturizes simultaneously! (You could also mix sugar/salt with Johnson's Cocoa Butter Baby Oil, it's very similar, cheaper, and I like it too. I just prefer the coconut oil because it's all natural)
- You can rub a little bit of oil wherever you want to shave and ta da! All natural silky smooth shaving "cream".
- If certain areas of your body are a little dry, just rub a teensy bit of coco oil on and you're good to go!
My skin all over is so so soft since I started doing this. Zach has definitely noticed the difference, and he loves the smell! Bonus!
Oh and I use the sugar scrub on my face too in the shower! It's not going to hurt your face at all and only tastes yummy if you accidentally get it in your mouth.
- Hair (I have ridiculously thick/coarse long hair. Needless to say it gets a little dry/damaged easily)
- Whenever I feel my mane needs a little damage control, I saturate it in coconut oil, wrap it in plastic (I usually just use a grocery back or saran wrap) and blow dry it on high heat for a couple minutes. Then I'll let it sit for an hour or so, sometimes overnight, and then wash it as usual. Afterward it's like brand new hair! Super soft, vibrant, and the ends look a whole lot better.
I deep conditioned with coconut oil like 3 times a week when I was preparing to dye my hair back to blonde-I don't know that it would have survived the transformation had I not!
When choosing a coconut oil, make sure you look for one that has been cold pressed, made without pesticides, GMOs or hexane. You also want it to be virgin, and non-hydrogenated. This is the one I'm currently using and I have no complaints so far! (the link is to Amazon, but I think my mom purchased it at Costco for roughly the same price)
It is a little expensive, but I promise you, it is worth it. Because otherwise you'd have a million different products doing the same thing that coconut oil does!
Also, it is solid at room temperature, which is a little weird, but it melts instantly in your hands/on your body.
Burt's Bees Sensitive Facial Cleansing Towelettes. Love. I mainly use this on my eye area, after I put the coconut oil on. It's just a way to wipe off the makeup and leave your skin feeling fresh.
I've tried many different makeup wipes in the past, and these are my favorite because:
- They're 99.1% natural (according to Burt's Bees)
- They're fragrance free
- They're hypoallergenic
- They're super gentle! I'm not scrubbing my face to get makeup/dirt off, they make it so easy
- One pack lasts forever it seems! I only use a small portion of the towelette each time
I'm just a big Burt's Bees lover in general. They're inexpensive, a more natural product than most, and they feel great on my skin. I also use their lip balms religiously, and their Peppermint Rosemary body wash.
These bad boys are awesome for when you get an ugly breakout. They work to clear your skin super fast, smell fantastic, and feel exceptionally fresh. The only downside is they're just little chemical pads. So because of that, I recommend only using them when you need to, and try not to make them a daily habit!
When you do use them, make sure to put coconut oil on afterward, because these will dry you out!
Pearatin! Oh how I love thee.
Honestly, I haven't really researched this product. It's made by Loma Organics, a stellar organic hair care brand. And that's about all I've looked into-but I promise, you won't be disappointed by it!
I've been using it forever and it is without a doubt my favorite hair product. In fact, it's the only "styling" product I use! It's a little expensive, but absolutely worth it.
I use it when my hair is almost completely dry, yet still slightly damp. I just apply it to the ends and a little all the way throughout and call it good! It moisturizes, repairs split ends, protects any artificial color, and protects your hair against heat (styling tools).
And it smells AMAZING. Think of the best smelling hair product, and multiply it by 6!
You don't want to put too much in your hair, and especially none near your roots, otherwise your hair can end up looking greasy. Just a little near/on the ends will work wonders!
It's different from just using coconut oil in that when you put the coco oil on your dry hair, it immediately looks greasy. This is way lighter than that, and I use it pre-styling, whereas I use coconut oil for deep conditioning purposes.
This is one company that I am becoming extremely passionate about. If you can't tell, I love a natural product! Whether that be for beauty, nutrition, or medicinal uses.
doTerra specializes in essential oils. Seriously go check them out, their products are pretty phenomenal. Read stories/reviews! I really hope more people start using essential oils in their daily lives. They help with everything from depression to stress relief to actually healing ailments!
I only have a few sample bottles right now, including Wild Orange, Frankincense, and Clary Sage.
The Wild Orange is an energy booster! I rub a drop on my wrists every morning and throughout the day I am invigorated and have plenty of energy. You can also use it aromatically to fill your home with it's bright citrus scent, and get the revitalizing benefits!
Frankincense is one of my favorites. I am pretty susceptible to depression, but hate taking medicine of any kind, including anti-depressants. Ever since I started using Frankincense, my mood is so much better! I don't know what it is, or how it does it, but a drop on my sternum every day helps immensely. It doesn't cure it, but it's the closest I've come!
Clary Sage is very similar to Frankincense (and wayyyy less expensive!) It also helps with symptoms of PMS! I often alternate between the two oils, and have found I love them both!
I have researched many of doTerra's oils and I plan to test out many more. But so far I LOVE what I see!
Seriously, I rubbed melalueca oil on a bug bite once and it immediately stopped itching and pretty much disappeared by the next day. Magic? Yeah I'm gonna go with that.
So there you have it! A few of my favorite "beauty" products in a long blog post (sorry about that!). They're all part of my daily routine, and I love them all! If you try any of them out, I'm sure you'll love them too :)
xo haleigh
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