SIMPLE STEPS FOR A FLAWLESS FACE

Whether you're the occasional-breakout type or always fighting a blemish, some of the simplest ways to achieve clear skin are right under your nose! To the non-skincare-diva my tips may seem a little neurotic. And maybe they are...but it has kept my skin clear for years-- so there's gotta be some truth to them, right? They're not difficult either. They just require some reminding until they become routine for you. I promise you though, once you do make them routine, you'll find that these fast fixes can have a BIG impact on the clarity of your face. 

HERE'S WHAT TO PAY ATTENTION TO: 

YOUR PILLOWCASES: (!!!!) I'm putting all the exclamation points next to this because it's the simplest (and yet, most overlooked) way to clear your skin. How often should you change them? Well.....I might be a nutjob....BUT, I'm also an aesthetician! And I will tell you honestly that I change mine every 2 days. Yes. Every 2 days! No joke. I sleep on one side, flip it over the next night, and then take it off. That may seem like a crazy amount of laundry to do, but the truth is, I stock up on pillowcases from Target. You can buy sets of 2 for under $10. So I have no problem with our house having a surplus of plain white pillowcases. 

The reason for my compulsive case-changing?? It's simple. I use products in my hair. I wear Bio-Oil on my body. I wear serums and moisturizers on my face at night. And we all sweat to some degree in our sleep (whether we like to admit it or not..) Each night, we spend 8 hours with our faces smashed into our pillows.....I'd prefer for mine to be squeaky clean...so that I can keep my skin that way too! 

YOUR WORKOUTS: When we sweat it's best to have clean skin. (Of course you want to wash the sweat off post-workout as well. But I'm pretty sure that most of us like to shower after our workouts anyway.) Since a lot of us go to our workouts straight from the office or school, I understand that you may already be wearing makeup. That's okay. The most convenient way around that is to carry cleansing cloths with you on those days. I personally love the Purifying Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths by Skin Laundry ($15). Even if you work out 7 days a week you'd be covered with a package of these. Plus, they don't leave behind a filmy residue which almost every other brand I've tried does. 

YOUR PHONE SCREEN: We forget that between texting and talking that our phone screens are coming into contact with a lot of dirt and oil. (Especially from texting! Our hands are touching everything. That's a lot of bacteria being transferred!) By using a paper towel or tissue soaked in rubbing alcohol and thoroughly wiping down the surface of your screen, you'll notice a lot less breakouts along the jawline, cheeks, and temples. (Side note: I've had so many clients tell me that this trick cleared up unexplained pimples they were getting in those areas!)

KISSING YOUR SWEETHEART: I love kissing my man as much as the next girl does, but sometimes if I'm wearing gloss, lipstick, or even chapstick, it can get transferred from my lips to the skin surrounding it. It's definitely not the end of the world but I don't like having blackheads anywhere....including near the mouth. So I try to keep my lips sans anything when I know that we could be cozying up. I know what you're thinking..... nothing says "boner-killer" faster than "hey honey, hold on a moment while I remove my lipstick." But it takes 5 seconds. Literally. If that's not possible, no worries. Just make sure to cleanse the area whenever you can. 

CLEANSE AFTER 'CUZE: I say jacuzzi only because I don't know who in their right mind would be taking a dip in the pool in this cold weather. But this technically applies to both. (I'm not the only one who loves soaking in the jacuzzi after a long day of work, am I??) Chlorine has a drying effect on the skin, so it's really easy to think that your skin feels "clean" after soaking in the hot tub. The truth is, however, that chlorine in and of itself can cause acne. Plus there have been multiple bodies in that water...chances are that the chlorine killed off any bacteria from their bodies, but still....

Some of these may seem like superfluous steps but I guarantee that if you start implementing them now, you'll start to see a difference in your skin! It's all in the details! And I didn't mention it in this list, because I've already said it--but make sure you're cleaning your makeup brushes once a week! You can read all about how to do that here. 

Cheers to crystal clear skin guys! Hope you've had a wonderful Monday! 

♥︎, B.  

  

Like White on Rice

 You'll hear nothing but rave reviews from me about Japanese or Korean skin care. One of the reasons being their integration of rice into products. Asian cultures have known for centuries what we as Americans are just now learning… that rice can radically change your skin! 

That's because rice has an extensive list of healing benefits. And it doesn't just stop with your skin. Here, I will show you how to incorporate this beauty-secret-weapon into your routine— and explain why it's definitely something you want to try out. 

FOR CRYSTAL CLEAR SKIN: Wash your face and use the rice water as a toner by applying it in upward strokes with a cotton round. The B Vitamins in the water improve blood circulation on the face, tighten pores, and promotes cell growth (which slows down the aging process.) Rice water also has a property in it that binds to the trace amounts of copper naturally found in the human body— this binding helps prevent the formation of melanin in the skin. Which in short— means that you'll pigment less easily during the times that you are in the sun. 

BODY BENEFITS: Homemade rice water sheet masks can help to relieve chronically dry skin. It can also heal lesions of eczema on the body and soothe the itching associated with it. Just soak a paper towel in cold rice water and apply over the areas of concern for anywhere from 15-25 minutes. You can repeat this 2-3 times daily until healed. You may notice a tingly, cooling feeling as it's drawing impurities from the skin and nourishing the wounds. 

HAIR RESTORATION: After shampooing and conditioning, douse hair in the rice water solution and saturate well. Leave on the hair while washing the rest of your body (or shaving your legs). The rice proteins work to fill in the gaps in the hair shaft. (This is especially great for those of you who use bleach on your hair.) Filling in those gaps helps to repair hair that's easily broken…making it strong enough to grow nice and long. Not to mention, it gives it a killer shine. Don't forget to rinse the rice water out of your hair before getting out of the shower! 

HEALTH BENEFITS: If you can stomach it, drinking rice water actually has tremendous health benefits as well. It's filled with 8 different amino acids, which are essential to muscle repair, energy levels, and tissue regeneration. A great time to try this challenge would be a shot glass of it before going to bed….as nighttime (sleep) is when we do all of our regenerative healing anyway. If anything, it seems to me that it would help to give our ZZZ's a nice boost. 

You can use any kind of rice that you'd like, however, organic is best. I'm personally from a half-Filipino family, so rice is ALWAYS being served at mealtime…and white or jasmine rice is what I usually use just because that's what I EAT. But, there are several different kinds of rice you can choose from. Using black wild rice is actually more beneficial for the skin. I normally choose not to use it because I do not enjoy the taste of it and I hate wasting food. But feel free to try these tricks using black rice or brown rice. Brown rice has more antioxidants than regular white rice…and black rice will have the MOST antioxidants out of them all. In fact, it's antioxidant powers are pretty strong— on par with blueberries and blackberries. So it's really up to your discretion. 

Let me know how adding rice into your beauty routine helps!! And if you like these tips and tricks, don't forget to share them and add them to Pinterest so that you can revisit them often! 

xoxo, B.