An All-Natural Skincare Regimen

This article was originally posted at savvybrown.com.

I’ve been doing a bunch of research about the Korean Skincare Method and have been revamping my natural skincare regimen. Skincare is approached much differently in the East vs here in the West. In Asian culture, the emphasis is on having beautiful skin through diet and skincare, or even facial exercises. The emphasis here in the West is primarily spot treatments and covering up flaws with makeup. In many parts of Korea and Japan, girls and boys are taught how to take care of their skin from an early age. On the one hand, Asian women, like many women of African and Indian descent have genetics on their side, but the reality is that some Korean women use up to 20 different products on their faces and many have some seriously questionable ingredients. (Pig collagen or snail mucus anyone?)

The Korean skincare craze has now invaded the West and everywhere you look there are BB creams and moisturizing creams and cushion compacts and a million other things. But if you’ve ever been to a department store beauty counter here in the US and asked about skincare, you were probably given a version of the standard American cleansing routine. Cleanse, Tone, and Moisturize. Well, the KSM expands that routine and changes it up twice a day. To learn more about the intricate steps Click Here. The one thing that attracted me to this method of skincare was the focus on the skin, blood flow and the connection between what you eat and how your skin looks.

What I was looking for was a way to change up my routine so that I could moisturize the dry areas of my combo skin, stick with my favorite anti-aging products and brighten NOT whiten my skin a bit. Below are the steps I’m now using to keep my skin clear and I will admit, although it’s a few more steps than I was used to it’s WORKING. I can actually see the difference on days when I don’t do the routine.

Night Skin Routine

1. Oil cleanse – This is actually similir to the OCM method I was doing before, but instead of being the only step, it’s the first. I use a mix of jojoba oil and organic argan oil to remove my makeup and prep my skin for the rest of the routine. I use a damp washcloth or cut up old cotton tshirts as makeup removers.
2. Foam cleanse – I use a foaming pump dispenser which I fill with ⅛ cup of organic lavender castile soap, 1 tbsp of organic rosewater and then I fill the rest of the container to the rim with purified water. (I shake before each use). Just one pump and I can clean my whole face with gentle foam and get rid of the excess oil
3. Scrub or Mask – Depending on the day, I either use my DIY Facial Coffee Scrub or a DIY Clay Mask for this step. But I don’t scrub everyday. Only once or twice a week
4. Tone – I use my alcohol-free DIY Aloe vera Juice Toner or Anita Grant’s Organic Rosewater to make sure that there absolutely no more makeup, scrub or any other residue on my face. Sometimes I spray it directly on my face, and other times I apply it with an organic cotton pad.
5. Vegan Hyalauronic Acid – THIS NOT RESTYLANE OR ANYTHING INJECTIBLE. While my face is slightly damp with toner, I use 2 drops of this vegan hyalauronic Acid on my whole face (like an ampule).
6. DIY Eye and Throat Serum – I use two drops of organic argan oil and two drops of organic rose hip seed oil and massage it into my face and throat and around my eyes
7. Moisturizer – I’m still using Acure Night Cream (because it works!)

Daytime Skincare Routine

(Similiar to the night routine)

1. Oil cleanse
2. Foam cleanse
3. Tone
4. Moisturize – Yes. I put night cream on my face during the day
5. Sunscreen – Goddess Garden Organics Sunscreen

• What do you think? What’s your skincare regimen?