My Daily Skin Care Routine & the Products I Use

My Daily Skin Care Routine & the Products I Use

We’ve been talking about the cabin a lot lately, which is great and exciting. But let’s take a little break and change gears completely to talk about something totally different: skin care. I thought it would be fun to share the things that work for me, and I’d love to hear from you what products and routines work for you!

I’m not going to pretend AT ALL to be a skin care guru. For years I had really bad habits (not washing my face every night!), and I certainly haven’t tried every product or know what all of them do or how to use them, but I know what works for me. I’m in my 40s now and my skin is dryer than it used to be, but about ten years ago I was struggling with annoying adult acne, like just frequently enough to be annoying and like, shouldn’t I have grown out of this by now?! I suddenly I had an epiphany that changed everything about my skin: wash longer and moisturize more. Life changing!!

1) I discovered I need to wash my face longer. I was just sort of rubbing soap on my face and splashing it off, in a rush, and, duh, makeup is supposed to stay on. Waterproof, sweat-proof, long-lasting formulas are literally designed not to come off in a splash of water or bit of soap, so when I wasn’t spending long enough really rubbing the soap in, I wasn’t really washing all of the makeup, dirt, and grime off at all.

2) I needed to moisturize more to combat oily skin. From my teens to early 30s I had oily skin with dry patches, and I was using all of these drying soaps and creams to try to get rid of it. The second I switched to oil-based cleansers and followed up with a good moisturizer and lots of it, I noticed an instant improvement and total change in skin type. My skin had been overproducing oil to make up for the fact that it was actually overdry, not the other way around! It seemed so obvious once I realized it. The breakouts completely went away and my oily skin went away too.

So here are the products I use on a regular basis:

And bonus — almost all of these are available at my local Target!

At night:

My go-to night-time face wash is good old-fashioned organic coconut oil! I literally just buy it at the grocery store in the cooking oil aisle. I often wear waterproof mascara and for years wore a waterproof liquid liner daily, and coconut oil is the only thing that removes them completely with absolutely no harsh scrubbing or toxic chemicals. It’s cheap, super easy, smells good, isn’t full of gross chemicals, and I find the routine very relaxing. I scoop out some of the hardened coconut oil from the jar and rub it between my fingers to turn it to a liquid, then gently rub it all over my face in circular motions. Then I soak a washcloth in very warm water and use it to gently wipe off the coconut oil. I love to let the warm/hot washcloth sit on my face for a few extra seconds of just bliss, like when you sit in first class on a plane and they give you that hot towel for your hands and it’s kind of too hot but also feels great. Sigh. So good.

I follow up with Acure Organics Brightening Night Cream. It says “a little goes a long way” on the packaging, but, nope, I like to put it on thick, all over my face, neck and down my chest. It makes my skin sooooo soft and smooth. I also like that this is a clean, nontoxic product.

About once a week or every other week, after I cleanse I wipe on Pixi Glow Tonic with a cotton ball, which is a gentle exfoliator that makes my skin feel really smooth and glowy. I follow up with moisturizer as usual.

A couple times a month or so, I use Teddy Organics Rosehip Oil after I cleanse instead of my usual moisturizer. Rosehip oil is supposed to reduce fine lines and discoloration. I had a little bit of faint malasma after my second baby, and this really helped to fade it quickly. This is fairly oily but not in a gross, sticky way (if that makes any sense!). I like the way it feels and it’s super moisturizing.

In the morning:

On days I take a shower, which is basically every other day (#momlife), I wash my face in my morning shower using Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser. I’ve tried switching to other things, but I always go back to this foaming cleanser in the mornings because it’s gentle and makes my skin feel clean and fresh but not stripped dry.

A couple times a week I wash my face in the shower along with my exfoliating Quiver Sonic Facial Spa by Primal Life Organics. It’s a silicone brush that uses high-frequency sonic vibrations (8500 per minute!) to exfoliate dead skin cells, open up pores and deep clean skin. It isn’t harsh at all, and makes my skin absolutely baby soft and smooth. If I don’t exfoliate regularly my skin can get flaky in spots, and this takes care of that without any irritation or redness.

On the days I don’t shower, I wipe my face with cotton rounds dipped in Micellar Water to remove any oils that accumulated over the night. Right now I’m using the Up and Up (Target) brand but it’s a bit greasier than the name brands I’ve used, like Garnier. I also use Micellar Water on the nights when I’m way too tired/sick/over-it to actually take the time to wash my face with coconut oil.

For my day moisturizer, I have used Olay Complete UV365 Daily Moisturizer for years and years. It’s lightweight, absorbs quickly, is a great base to put under makeup, and I like that it has SPF 15.

Now that it’s Spring (and I have a wedding to go to next week where my arms and legs will be out in the open for the first time in months!!), I’ve started including a sunless tanning lotion in my routine. After my morning shower I apply Vita Liberata Gradual Sunless Tanner all over. On my face, I mix it half-and-half with my moisturizer. I really like this sunless tanner. It’s all organic, nontoxic, doesn’t stink, isn’t sticky, and gives my skin a really natural glow quickly.

My go-to body moisturizer is kind of a funny one: California Baby Everyday Lotion. I mean, it’s safe enough for babies so it’s safe enough for me, right?! It’s non-greasy, not perfumey and absorbs quickly.

So that’s my routine! Years ago I shared by daily makeup routine, if you’re interested, and it’s probably about time for an update since a lot has changed!