By Carly Mathiot
Harsh chemical facial products can be damaging to your skin, and natural remedies may have many more benefits to your health and your budget.
When I used store bought products such as biore, neutrogena and other facial products such as these, I began to notice that my pores were very large and I produced a lot of facial oil. My skin was very dry. I kept switching products trying to figure out which one was best for me, but everything I used hurt my skin and dried me out.
So I did some research; I looked at what the store bought brands were doing to my skin scientifically and here is what I found; The harsh chemicals of the products were stripping my face of every kind of oil and bacteria, good and bad. Oil is actually your skin's way of keeping itself conditioned, soft and smooth.
When you strip your face of all oil, your skin opens up its pores and over produces oil then your pores get clogged from being open. When you have large pores it doesn’t necessarily mean they are clogged like the pour strip companies would have you believe. Just a side note. When your face over produces oil, you think, “i better wash my face again,” so you start the vicious cycle of stripping your face and making more oil and getting more acne.
Even if you put moisturizer on, that will only clog your oversized pores, causing blackheads and more acne. I did some research on alternative ways to clean my skin without stripping my skin of its natural oils. There are so many cheap alternatives. My morning routine is a honey masque which is full of antioxidants.
It is extremely moisturizing and soothing, so it helps create a glow. Honey is clarifying because it opens up pores making them easy to unclog.
I also make my own gentle exfoliant that won't tear my skin, causing scarring and infections. Its made of olive oil, more honey, and sugar. I usually like to use brown sugar because its even more gentle than granulated white sugar.
Now my face has stopped over producing oil and my pores have closed. I very rarely have any acne. It took quite a while for my skin to realize it did not need to produce so much oil but slowly and surely, I am healing my skin.
If you notice you have extra dry, flakey skin, then you may think about putting on s molasses masque. Molasses that is unsulfured gently removes dead skin cells from the surface of your face and reveals the new skin underneath.
I’ve also added up the cost for natural vs store bought products according to cost per month lets say you only have to buy one container of each every other month and you use them every day. my mixture is made up of a half cup of sugar, half cup of honey and a tablespoon of olive oil. it usually lasts me up to a week and a half.
- Great Value pure cane sugar 5 lbs 2.68
- Great Value 100% extra virgin olive oil 51 Fl Oz $9.98
- Mountain Ridge 100% pure honey 35 Oz $8.96
That is over 21.62. thats at the end of two months, not just one. In a year you have only spent over 129.72 dollars.
lets say you use store bought facial products and you run out every month.
- Oil-free acne wash by Neutrogena 6 Fl Oz $5.27
- neutrogena all in one acne control 4.2 Fl Oz $6.97
- Neutrogena's oil free moisture $9.97
- clear pore astringent by Neutrogena 8 Fl Oz $4.97
- Biore’ pore strips 14 strps $8.47
$35.65 dollars per month plus taxes, and a dry acne covered face. at the end of a year you have spent over $427.00 dollars (not including tax) and you could have gotten a new laptop.
In conclusion, natural remedies for cleaning your skin is better, cheaper, and healthier for you.
