So last Sunday I embarked on a skin care challenge inspired by Veronica of the My Natural Me Beauty Blog, and was whole heartedly excited about getting into the thick of it, the week proved to be a bit too busy so I didn’t get started until Thursday.

On Thursday afternoon I began my regimen with a cleansing scrub using my apricot scrub which left my skin feel ever so luxurious.  Once that was done I applied my kelp mud mask and allowed it to set for a half hour.  Since the directions for the mask instruct me to wait at least an hour before applying toner or moisturizer, I allowed my skin to air dry and set about co-washing my hair.  What’s amazing is, by the time I was done with my hair I found I didn’t need to apply my astringent or moisturizer to complete my facial.  My skin was properly hydrated and exfoliated and my natural oils were popping like Lil Mama’s lip gloss so the dry patches I “complained” about were minimal.  There wasn’t even a cause to apply moisturizer on Friday either, which would be my “off” day per my usual routine anyway.  Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of the before or after, but there really wasn’t much difference from the image in my initial challenge entry.

Yesterday morning, because I had a meetup event to attend, I washed with my apricot scrub but left the astringent out of these equation because I didn’t want to dry my skin (I find that the warmer the weather becomes the less I need to use toner, especially since my astringent of choice contains alcohol) but applied very little of the “beauty fluid” since I was planing to wear a bit of make up to the event.  The above picture was yesterday’s results.

NOTE: I do not wear foundation, just a triple shadow, mascara and eyeliner, blush and neutral lipstick.  I also keep my colours on the “earth tone” side.  And while I admit the picture is a bit “fuzzy”  cause my camera sucks, that is the true complexion of my skin. I’ll be sure to try and take “clearer” pictures in future updates.

Now, with the second facial cycle I am finding that whether I use moisturizer or not, the “cleaner” my skin is the more oily it tends to be.  Mind you, it’s not abundantly oily but it is oily enough for me to notice a few “pimple-like” bumps on my forehead and on my cheeks where the dry patches were (which was pointed out to me by a complete stranger who recommended I get  a “liver flush” ).  So more than likely I am going to have to use toner and moisturizer each and every time I cleanse in order to balance the oils out.  However, I no longer want to use my normal astringent, so I’m considering switching to apple cider vinegar for my toning needs from here on out.

When I reconsidered taking the challenge I took a real hard look at the products I’d committed to using.  Although they had all served me well in the past, I grew more interested in using “natural” products for my facial needs.  With that in mind, in addition to my toner switch, I picked up a bar of Kirk’s Fragrance Free Original Coco Castile Soap and will be using it in place of the commercial apricot scrub to see if it balances my oil production.  The routine will be the same: basic cleanse and tone every other day with an added mask once a week.  I’m not exactly sure what I’ll use for moisture, if it becomes necessary to use it with this regimen, but I want to move away from the “beauty fluid” because it contains a few undesirable ingredients (shea and coco butter prove to leave my skin too greasy).  I guess I’ll report more on that in my next update.

Sad to say, my water intake has been rather low this week, which may also account for the increased oils, so that will be tackled more aggressively in the next week.

So there you have it.  My first week of the challenge wasn’t a total wash-out (pun intended) but I do need to be more diligent with caring for my skin, and drinking water as an overall rule.  I might even consider that liver flush thing at some point in the future. *shrug* Whatever keeps the skin and system in the pink, right?

If you also have taken up the challenge, or deciding to do so now, I’d love to hear your progress by comment here or via Email at amichelle@journeyback2me.com.

Healthy Hair (and skin) Wishes,