Sorry it’s taken me so long, but here they are.
I use a botanical hair conditioner to clean my skin in the shower, and have done that for many many years now. And I should note that about a year after I had made this my routine, I mentioned it to a dermatologist I had just interviewed for an article that I was writing about his research on eczema (atopic dermatitis). I don’t have eczema, but I have very sensitive skin, and I have asthma and hay fever. My skin used to be so itchy and dry in the winter, and this had disappeared after I changed my approach to cleansing. When this guy heard my “new” routine, he said it was perfect—that is cleanses the skin effectively and doesn’t destroy its essential protection—and that he wished it would become common practice.
The primary principle in cleaning ourselves is to do no harm. And that translates to not removing the protective fats that our skin makes. And then we can add things that add to this protection. So avoid anything that foams, because foam is enabled by surfactants, and the process that underlies this destroys your endogenous protective ceramides. In the shower, I use the Lavender & Biotin Conditioner by Andalou Naturals. Then once you towel dry, you have to apply a product to your skin to prevent evaporation. Your skin absorbs water during the shower (or bath), and if you don’t put something on your skin to prevent it from evaporating, not only will you lose that water, but it will take even more along with it. So I apply a skin lotion that is nice and rich but isn’t greasy, and absorbs quickly. And I like to add a bit of skin oils to it. The skin lotion is the Face & Body Cream by Tierra Mia Organics, a family company that raises goats and uses their milk to create skin care products. I get the one that’s unscented. I buy oils for my skin from Mountain Rose, a company of great integrity with absolutely wonderful products. I like their skin serums (Skin Care Blend Essential Oil, and the Wild Rose Facial Serum). And I also get some of their oils separately and mix my own, or sometimes use them individually—and all of my Mountain Rose recommendations are both for post-shower and for face. Macadamic oil is the closest you can come to an oil that replicates what our skin naturally makes. Also enormously supportive are plantain oil, evening primrose oil, raspberry seed oil, and baobab tree oil. You can also buy dispenser bottles from Mountain Rose, so that you can make your own mix and keep the bulk supplies in the fridge to maintain their activity. And I always keep some macadamia oil on hand separately. Hemp oil is nice too, and I actually use that to take off any eye makeup.
For the rest of my face care, I have products from several different companies. And keep in mind that I have dry (at least, it would be, without these products) skin that’s also very sensitive. I can’t even look at argan oil without getting irritated—among a bunch of items. For cleaning, I use Paula’s Choice Omega-3 cleanser. Before applying my skincare products, I use a hydrosol from Onurth. And I also use several products from Isvara Organics, and also Paula’s Choice Omega-3 serum. And I like Honest’s Hydrogel Cream. As for Isvara, you have to experiment to find what works best for you. And there is a very central factor that actually ties together Onurth, Isvara, and Honest. And that is having had damaging experiences with the commercial stuff on the shelves. The owners of Onurth and Isvara had been in the skin care business, and eventually developed serious irritation problems caused by the products they were using to do facials, etc. So they began looking into the chemistry of it all, and ended up going the botanical route, and in a way that preserves the integrity of their ingredients. Honest is a company started by Jessica Alba—initially just for babies and little kids—after both of her kids turned out to have eczema, and she developed diapers and wipes, etc, that were free of allergens and irritants, and contained skin-friendly things. Paula had become involved in assessing skin-care products, and discovered all of the damaging ingredients so many of them contain to make them look nice and feel nice so women will buy them. And she finally decided to start manufacturing her own products witih the basic premise of truly helping the skin.
So…now you have it all! I hope there’s something helpful. And if anyone wants to know what I specifically use from Isvara and Onurth, just ask.
=sheila