Love your skin, and it will love you back.
Gone are the days of using soap and water to clean your face, and then rolling out of the house without even so much as a lick of sunscreen. The older one gets, the more “care” you have to use when it comes to skincare. Sunday is the perfect day to treat yourself–and your skin–to some TLC. Here’s a quick look at my skincare regimen:
CLEANSER
I start by oil cleansing with basic coconut oil. For my skin, simple is best. Oil cleansing works for me not only because my skin prefers simple ingredients, but also because it tends to be dry. I follow this up by washing my face with the Charcoal Soap Mud Bar from Love Yourself All Natural. It cleanses deeply and removes impurities without stripping the skin. (As a non-skin-related benefit: the company is a small, Black-owned, women-owned business, so you gotta love that.) If I’ve been wearing makeup, I might follow this up with some micellar water.
TONER
To be honest, I’m not as consistent with my toner as I should be, but especially as one ages, it becomes even more important to not skip steps in one’s skincare regimen. I alternate between regular Witch Hazel, and Love Yourself All Natural’s Antioxidant Facial Toner.
TREATMENT
If complexion perfection comes is a bottle, it’s in a bottle of Sunday Riley Good Genes. Like its name suggests, it gives you glowing skin that looks natural, and not “done.” And isn’t that what we all want? Good Genes is a glycolic serum that soaks into your skin, leaving it looking refreshed, rejuvenated, and glowing. Price-wise, it’s a little steep, so if for that reason alone I would not suggest using it every day.
MOISTURIZER
Guess what brand I’m going to mention? That’s right: Love Yourself All Natural. And no, this is not sponsored content, I just genuinely love the brand, its origins, and the gentle effectiveness of its products. I either use one of their Hair and Body Buttercreams (the scents are DIVINE), or their No.72 Moisturizer And Toning Facial Cream.
MASSAGE
One day, after watching me basically drag lotion over my face, my mom admonished me in horror, telling me to “Rub UP!!” I didn’t fully get it at the time (ahhh, the ignorance of youth), but I listened, and (big surprise) she was right. A daily face massage can help to reduce puffiness, improve circulation, soothe away stress, and encourage a youthful appearance. It can be done the old-school way with your fingers, or you can use a jade roller. It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: please don’t do this on fully dry skin. Use an oil to give your fingers some slip.
SUNSCREEN
Black don’t crack, but Black skin can get sunburned like that of any other ethnicity. Our melanin only protects us to a certain degree. So: wear sunscreen consistently. For now, I’m still using my go-to from Kiehls, but when that runs out, the next one I plan to try is Black Girl Sunscreen. If I can #buyblack, and protect my skin, it’s a win.
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Text and images ⒸLisa Hurley/@happyhappyphoenix