My Skincare Routine : January 2015

Winter is when you pay tons of attention to your skin!
The more you hydrate, the more it shines! ♥

During summers, my skin gets quite oily; especially around the T zone. But I’ve never had that urge to follow an ideal skin care routine as I stay at home most of all the time! I wash my face like twice to thrice a day and I am done with the routine! But say WINTER!! It sucks out all the moisture; leaving my skin dry, unhealthy and not-so-smooth.

So that is when I realized I, being a normal-oily skinned girl need to follow a moisturizing routine in winters, too! As I am soon going to hit 20, I am already seeing changes in my skin type. It is leaning towards a slightly drier side! I hardly had the need to layer on moisturizers when I was in my teens. And now that it is coming to an end, a routine is a must!

It has been a long time since I paid attention to my skin. I was doing well with my hair care routine due to the hair growth challenge however, my skin lacked that nourishment! For the last one week, I am taking good care of my skin and things are back on track! Today, I will be sharing my current skin care routine with you all. And I’ll try to update the same every month!

Cleansing with Milk : The first thing I do every morning after waking up is using ‘milk’ as a ‘natural cleanser’ to clean my face. I take few spoons of pure full fat milk and dab it over my facial skin using a cotton pad. I leave it on for 2-5 minutes and once it turns slightly stretchy, I wet my finger tips (with the milk, again) and give a mild facial massage, followed by a cold water wash. I’ve been religiously following this for the last few days and I must say it has made my skin visibly smooth. The process took care of the dryness around my chin area as well.

I doubt if I can follow the same during summers! (As my skin breaks out if excessively moisturized) however, the milk cleansing method is the most loved by my skin these days! I sometimes even use fresh milk cream to massage my face, in case of excessive dryness. It works wonders!

Shower + Scrub : Baths are time consuming and hardly possible during weekdays, when I have got a lot of work to do before the clock hits 12. Hence, I take a warm shower using the Palmolive Crushed Coconut Body Wash (Sorry, I forgot to include it on the photos!). And then, I apply a mixture of milk, honey and sugar to my body to scrub away the dead skin cells. It leaves my skin smooth and glowy. Withing two days of usage, I noticed a glow on my body skin. The tan has reduced a bit too. I’ll be following this twice a week to notice further results. (Everyday scrubbing is not advisable!)

During my shower, I cleanse my face once again. This time, I use the Faces Cosmetics Hydro Cleanser. It is very mild, gentle and doesn’t strip off the moisture from your skin.

Sunscreen : I picked ‘Nature’s Essence Sun Ban’ from a local department store when I was out for a mini-shopping. I’ve liked Nature’s Essence products in the past. Their Lacto Tan Clear is a hit among Indian women! Though I’ve stopped using the tan clear (due to the missing ingredient list!) I made up my mind to give a try on this sunscreen which says it has SPF 40. Though I rarely step out of my house, I read somewhere sunscreens are a must even when you stay indoors. (The windows, radiation from your PC, etc!) So I am using sunscreen indoors for the first time in my life. Let me see how well it works.

The Nature’s Essence Sun Ban is light, non-tinted lotion and it doesn’t leave that scary white cast behind unlike the regular over the counter sunscreen lotions. Be it sunscreens or any other skin care/makeup product, I hate when it artificially shows your face too bright/white! I am glad that this lotion sinks into my skin in a jiffy leaving it smooth and oil-free. I use it on my face, neck and hands. For my body and legs, I use the Himalaya Baby Lotion.

For my lips during the day time, I am currently using the Maybelline Electro Shock Lip Balms as they are handy, hydrating and tinted! Nivea Lemon Olive Lip Balm makes a good lip balm too if you are not into tinted ones! (I lost it somewhere!)

Non-SPF Moisturizer : After 5 or 6 in the evening, I cleanse my face once again. (Again with the Faces Hyro Cleanser or very rarely, with the Ponds Face Wash that comes in a black tube). This time, I won’t be needing a sunscreen lotion, but a simple moisturizer come day cream. (without SPF) For that, I use the Himalaya Fairness Cream. (new improved formula!) Though I was VERY skeptical about trying it on my face, (It says ‘fairness’ and lately I am totally disliking whitening/lightening products as they contain harmful chemicals such as hydroquinone, bleaches or something else your skin cannot tolerate) I convinced myself to use the product as it claimed not to contain bleach or paraben. And also for the fact that I liked their older version of the fairness cream. It is just a day cream, which sets into a matte finish moisturizing your face very mildly. It tackles the oily T Zone well.

Thankfully, this product does not settle into a white layer on your face unlike the other fairness creams! I am still liking the previous version better and anytime may stop using this one due to the ‘lightening’ factor. From foundations to day creams, these brands have just started adding the ‘lightening’ factor to everything.. Sigh!!

Night Shower + Milk Nourishment: I am lately experiencing sleeplessness at its peak. I am doing my utmost to overcome it and this relaxing warm shower is a part of it! Cold night, warm shower and a glass of milk with almonds induces sleep like anything! It also helps my skin stay clean, clear and smooth!

For my night shower, I again use the crushed coconut jojoba body wash from Palmolive. For the face, I use the Faces Cleanser and then scrub my face gently with the Himalaya Herbals Apricot Scrub. (I limit facial scrubbing to only twice a week!)

After that, I take cup of milk and apply it over my face and body skin leaving it to work for 3-5 minutes before rinsing it. This way, I let the milk nutrients condition my body skin after cleansing it. As a conditioner for hair, a conditioner for skin makes it more healthier! (I experienced the same after following the procedure for a week!)

Moisturization before Sleep : Last but not the least, this is one of the very important steps of your everyday skin care routine. You need to moisturize your skin to not let it become dry till you wake up in the morning. Dryness = Unhealthy skin! So I slather the Mannequin’s Vitamin E Lotion on my neck, hands, shoulders and arms and let it sink in. It has helped me removing the stubborn uneven tan up to a great extent just within a week. I once used this lotion on my face and experienced mild skin irritation; hence, stopped using the same on my face and now continuing to use it as my night time body lotion! It is very light, gets absorbed quickly without leaving any oiliness behind. I think I will also be using this on summers! (Absolute favorite!)

For my legs, knees and other parts of the body, I use the Himalaya Baby Body Lotion. It has almond and olive oils and works pretty good on my dry legs. It takes a bit more time to settle unlike the Vitamin E one I use for hands. However, it works best in eliminating the slight dry patches on my legs (caused due to dryness). I also use it on my feet instead of a foot cream. I am yet to buy one! Any suggestions? (I gave away all my unopened cosmetics, moisturizers, foot creams, foot soaks etc to people when I was not following a routine!)

For my face, I apply the Omved Gotu Kola Night Cream and instead of an eye cream, I use pure Vitamin E oil around my eyes. It is very light, hydrating and not at all greasy! I’ve previously been using the Avene Dark Spot Corrector instead of my night cream; however as I completed 30 days using it and already experienced very satisfactory results, I stopped using it and switched back to the Omved one I was using earlier. The former contains retinol and I am not sure if that can be used for a long time! (My review on Avene D-pigment corrector will be up soon!)

I dab a thick layer Suganda Sweet Orange Lip balm on my lips before I go to bed. (It was a part of My Envy Box – 2014 December Edition) It has considerably reduced the pigmentation on my lips and I am totally loving the sweet mandarin fragrance it carries!

Overall, I am more than pleased with the skin care routine I current follow! My skin looks a lot more smoother and healthier! I can see the difference in a very sport span. Other than the things mentioned, I often re-apply the lotions on my skin and put on the lip balm whenever my lips feel dry. This helps me to stay out of dryness and dull skin.

I’ve also been taking a health enhancer drink (specially meant for skin, hair and nails) for the last 30 days! It is the one from ‘ReeVeda’. I shall soon share my experience with it!

Do share with me on the comment section below – the current routine you follow, the products you use and few of your winter skin care tidbits that you’d love to share with the readers of MABH! Happy Winter!