Natural Skin Care

There are plenty of reasons why it's important to me to try to use natural products on my skin, but at the end of the day, I use them because of how they make my skin look and feel. I have naturally dry skin. It doesn't matter how much water I drink or supplements I take, my skin is always on the dry side. Using harsh cleansers only irritates it and causes breakouts for me. Here are a few of the natural products I use to keep my skin clear and moisturized.

Face

Black Soap- I first heard about black soap at a farmers' market in Whitefish. The guy selling it mentioned that after using it regularly for a couple of weeks, whether you skin was oily or dry, your skin's natural oils would balance out. I'm not entirely sure if that's the case, but my skin never looks better than when I use black soap. It smells a bit weird and it's kind of messy, but I love it. You can find black soap at Alora Boutique. They often set up a stand at Market Collective or you can find their products at these stores.

Shea Butter- After washing my face at night, I use shea butter to moisturize. At first I thought it would be too greasy, but it's exactly what my skin needs. I find it too heavy to use during the day under make up, so this is a night time only routine. Occasionally on the weekends, i'll moisturize with coconut oil as well. It takes longer to absorb, but it's a big treat for my parched skin. Shea butter is pretty easy to find. I typically buy mine at Community Natural Foods.

Body

Dr. Roebuck's Pure- I've used both shea butter and coconut oil as moisturizers for my body as well, but I find coconut oil too greasy and shea- in it's solid form- can be inconvenient to deal with in large quantities. I was sent a sample of Dr. Roebuck's and was immediately sold by its thick, luxurious texture and fast absorbency. Dr. Roebucks has an entire line of both face and body moisturizers and washes. It's now available at Shopper's Drug Mart. Read more about their story here.