I’ve always had super sensitive skin, and in my senior year of high school, I really struggled with acne. I do believe that I was breaking out because of the products that I was using. I even saw a dermatologist, but nothing really worked to clear up my skin. In fact, the regimen my dermatologist gave me destroyed my skin barrier and made my skin worse. That’s when I started looking for a more natural skincare routine, hoping that not putting any more chemicals and artificial ingredients on my skin would help to clear it up, and ultimately, it did! I now make my own face wash, toner, and moisturizer. I feel confident in my skincare now because I know exactly what ingredients are in them and what is going on my skin.
Our skin is our largest organ, and using products with chemicals and synthetic ingredients in them can lead to hormone imbalance, weakened immune system, damaged skin barrier, breakouts, and possibly other health problems.
Face Wash
The first recipe I’ll share is my face wash which is only four ingredients and simple instructions.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- foaming pump bottle
- 1 cup distilled water
- I just boil filtered water and then let it cool to distill it
- 1/4 cup unscented castile soap
- 5 tbsp jojoba oil
- 10-15 drops of each essential oil of your choice
- I use tea tree, frankincense, and lavender
- I also sometimes use 5-8 drops of peppermint because it’s strong
I recommend doing your own research on the ethics and sustainability of essential oils to determine what brand you want to use.
Here’s how to make it:
- Boil water and then let it cool. This is making the distilled water rather than buying a bottle of distilled water that comes in plastic.
- Pour one cup distilled water into your bottle
- Add the 1/4 cup castile soap and then 5 tbsp of jojoba oil
- To finish it just add in your 10-15 drops of your chosen essential oils
Toner
My toner recipe is something that took a little longer to adjust to fit my sensitive skin and I’ve learned that less is more when it comes to using it. This recipe is really simple with only being two ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- container of your choice
- I use an amber glass bottle
- distilled water
- again, I just boil filtered water and then let it cool
- apple cider vinegar
- this needs to be raw and say “with the mother” on it
Here’s how to make it:
- Add 2/3 parts distilled water to your container of choice
- Then add 1/3 parts apple cider vinegar. Depending on how sensitive your skin is you might add more or less of the apple cider vinegar. I tend to do a little more than 2/3 parts distilled water, so that there’s a little less of the vinegar due to the acidity of it on my sensitive skin.
- I have found that I only need to use this 2-3x a week to reap the benefits without damaging my skin!
Moisturizer
This is another very simple recipe, containing only two ingredients. I have combination skin, but it’s on the drier side of that so this oil-based moisturizer has been a lifesaver for my skin! Jojoba oil is very similar to our skin’s natural oil, sebum, which means that it works with rather than against it. This is important to maintain our skin’s natural oil production.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- a small container of your choice
- I use a 4 oz amber glass bottle with a roller ball
- jojoba oil
- essential oils
- again, I use tea tree, frankincense, and lavender
Here’s how to make it:
- add the jojoba oil almost to the top of your bottle
- add in 8-10 drops of each of your essential oils