Dealing with Acne Struggles in my 20’s

In my early 20’s, I began to experience blemishes, breakouts, and red, splotchy skin. This turned into a difficult and embarrassing time for me and I became increasingly self-conscious. In an effort to take control of the situation, I tried many different soaps known to be “good for acne”, tea tree spot treatments, and other things that I thought were supposed to help. At my wits end, I scheduled an appointment with a local esthetician. During my initial consultation with her, she informed me that my issue was dry skin, and all of the things I had been trying were actually driving me further down the rabbit hole instead of giving my skin the help it was asking for. I learned that dry skin can lead to occasional blemishes just like overly oily skin does! This revelation saved my skin and my sanity.

I walked out of that appointment with hope and hundreds of dollars’ worth of skin care products. And while those products did help, the life lesson gleaned from that experience was that you don’t treat the symptom, you treat the cause! I have brought this approach into my herbal and natural skincare practice and it has proven true time and time again. I digress…

While I was now on a path to healthier skin, the price tag of those products was not sustainable for me right out of college. So, I hit the books (again) to find different ways to better hydrate my skin, and I discovered the wonders of oil-cleansing. This worked wonders for a really long time, but I was still experiencing a lack of balance. My skin did want soap, just not daily. That’s when I came up with this golden foaming facial wash recipe! It’s made with tonifying rose hydrosol, deeply hydrating oils, and just a little soap.

The foam not only feels nice, but also allows me to use less of it. It’s just the right amount of soap for my dry skin. It is gentle enough to be used daily, but I found that alternating between this formula and oil cleansing created the balance I was looking for. I hope that this luscious recipe offers you exactly what you need so that you can feel the best you can in your skin.

Foaming Rose Facial Wash

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic white rose hydrosol
• 1/4 cup organic castile soap
• 1/4 cup organic rosehip seed oil
• 2 Tbsp. organic pomegranate seed oil
• 2 tsp. Non-GMO Verified aloe vera gel
• 1 tsp. Non-GMO Verified vitamin E oil
• 1 tsp. organic vegetable glycerin
• 5 drops rose absolute (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a sterile quart size glass jar.
2. Gently shake to incorporate.
3. Fill bottle with a sterilized foam dispensing top.
4. If you have any left over, keep in refrigerator until you’re ready to top off the bottle. Be sure to label and date so you remember what it is later!

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To Use

1. Moisten face with a warm, wet towel.
2. Pump 1-2 servings into hand and massage into the face for one minute.
3. Moisten face towel with warm water and remove soap completely.
4. Turn water to cold and finish by splashing cold water on the face. This will help the pores to shrink back down.
5. Follow-up with your favorite moisturizer.

Pro tips:

• Although this recipe contains oil, you’ll still want to follow up with a moisturizer.
• If you don’t plan on using this recipe daily, you can cut it in half to maintain optimal freshness.
• It's important to use clean sterilized tools and containers to prevent contamination. 
• This soap also makes a lovely hand soap or shaving soap!