Category Archives: Cleanser

Home Treatment 01: Many Layers Peel

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Here you’ll find a guide to giving yourself a thorough home facial. If you’re reading this website, I’m guessing you’ve got a nice collection of products you can use to do your own version of this treatment.
Here’s how I did it:
Sit in a hot bath, the hottest you can handle, until your face starts to perspire a bit.
Splash water on your face a few times.
Cleanse with Avalon Organics Vitamin C wash
by massaging it into your skin for a few minutes. Really take your time with this and get to know your face thru two handsful
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Melvita Cleansing Jelly

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Because the right cleanser can make all the difference, I tend to review them the most. Plus, it’s the one product I need to buy rather often and it’s hard for me to stick to just one (even if I do call it my favorite). This Cleansing Jelly is by the brand Melvita, which pulled me in when I was working at Burke Williams in the Westfield Mall. Melvita had posters advertising their natural products all around the mall and I had to check it out.

Here’s how I use it:
– Dry Skin: 3-5 pumps of the gel, massaged into skin while adding water bit by bit until rinsing. I do this when my skin is especially oily or dirty.
– Wet Skin: 1-2 pumps of the gel, massaged into skin until a light foam forms and then rinse. I do this after the above or if I’m feeling cleaner that day.

The upsides:
– The scent is a light and fresh barely there citrus.
– The texture is silky smooth and feels great on the skin and makes the skin feel soft and smooth cleansing.

The Company
– Melvita was founded by a Beekeeper and Biologist, Bernard Continue reading →

Avalon Organics CoQ10 Facial Cleansing Gel

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I love Avalon’s other cleanser, so I thought I’d have an easy go of it with this one but I really didn’t care for it.

Here’s how I use it:
– Like any other cleanser. Wet face, 1/2 pump, massage thoroughly into skin, rinse. Easy.

The upsides:
– It’s affordable. (less than $15 on their website or at your local health food store or apothecary)
– It’s gentle. (Chamomile is listed in the ingredients – that’s soothing for most skin)
– It comes in a pump and measured doses help maintain the veracity of the above two points.

The not-so-upsides:
– The scent is not my favorite. It’s not disagreeable, but I don’t Continue reading →

NUDE 4 piece sampler

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I got a sample set of NUDE Skincare products and I’m already in love and ready to settle down and make 10,000 babies with these products (and I’ve only used four little packets!)
I’m so in love with this company and its products that I’m breaking my standard “upsides/not-so-upsides” form.

The sample kit I got came with four little envelopes of product:
Cleansing Facial Oil (love)
My first experience with cleansing oils was in Esthetic school when we used Dermalogica’s PreCleanse in every facial. I may write about that one someday but for now I’ll say that I fell in love with cleansing oils back then and I still really enjoy them. Nude’s version is fabulous. You apply it to your skin without water and massage it in for a while. Bit by bit, you add water and watch it emulsify into a watery, creamy substance. This gets the skin super clean by attaching the cleansing oil to the oils on the skin and then rinsing them away with the water. Plus, it leaves the skin feeling conditioned and fresh and not dried out.

Advanced Eye Complex (feels wonderful)
It’s hard to say much about eye cream from a sample except for how it feels.

Age Defence Moisturiser (not too heavy, feels lovely)
Same as eye cream. Worth purchasing more of it to really see
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Avalon Organics Vitamin C Refreshing Cleansing Gel

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I first tried Avalon Organics about three years ago. Of course, it was cleanser that first drew me in (favorite product). I’m also a big fan of Vitamin C use on the skin so when I saw their Vitamin C Refreshing Cleansing Gel I got very excited. (Y’all didn’t have to hear about me getting “very excited” about a cleanser to know how much of a nerd I am about products, did you?)

Here’s how I use it:
– 1/2 pump [yes! I love pumps and I love measured doses (and spreadsheets and organizing – it all falls in the same nerdy category to me)] massaged into wet skin in the morning and evening. I use it over my eyes and it works great at getting eye makeup off without irritating my sensitive eyes.

The upsides:
The Scent
– I’ve used products in the past that look like they’re going to Continue reading →

Pevonia Combination Skin Cleanser

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In my quest to find natural products that are effective, I started researching Pevonia products by attending a seminar that they hosted. At the end of the session, I ordered some products to try for myself since this was my first time learning about them. The cleanser I ordered was their Combination Skin Cleanser.

Here’s how I use it:
Technique 1: 13 pumps (yes, I counted every time. yes, I tested more pumps and less pumps and found this to be just the right amount for me) massaged onto DRY skin for at least a minute and then rinsed with water.
– I found this to be the best way to get soft, smooth skin that felt clean.

Technique 2: 13 pumps massaged onto WET skin for less than a minute.
– I did this when I was tired or lazy (or both). I definitely didn’t feel as clean as with Technique 1 but it did the job.
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Aubrey Organics Sea Buckthorn Cleanser

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This Aubrey Organics cleanser Sea Buckthorn & Cucumber w/ Ester C Facial Cleansing Cream for Combination Dry Skin has a mouthful of a name but is quite a simple and straightforward cleanser.
I purchased this creamy cleanser due to a co-worker’s suggestion that I was over-drying my skin with cleanser for combination oily skin. I figured I’d see if she had a point. It took me a while to find how well this worked for me but once I did, it turned out to be okay.

Here’s how I use it:
– I had to try different ways of using this cleanser. The best clean I got from it was by applying it to dry skin and massaging in for a bit before adding a little water. This technique got my skin feeling soft and clean and got completely rid of my makeup.
– Alternatively, when I applied water first, it didn’t quite get all of my eye makeup off or get my skin feeling clean enough.

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Zia Fresh Cleansing Gel

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I’ve been on a cleanser hunt lately. A couple of years ago, I found one I really love but when I recently inquired about it’s many months of absence from the shelf at Rainbow Grocery, I learned that they may be reformulating – sigh – so it may not be my favorite after it’s return.
Nevertheless, I continue on in my joyful hunt for the ever elusive perfect cleanser. Since I recently decided to try more Zia products, I figured I’d give their Fresh Cleansing Gel a shot.

Here’s how I use it:
– Dry method: without wetting my face, I apply about a nickle sized amount to my face and massage in, adding bits of water as it dries. I continue to add water and massage until I’ve essentially rinsed it off. This method leaves my oily, makeup covered face (and eyes!) super clean and smelling great without feeling tight or dry.
– Wet method: I wet my face and massage about a dime sized amount into my not so oily or makeup covered face (and eyes!) and rinse. This works well when I’m in a rush or it’s morning and I don’t need a super deep clean.

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Zia Men HydraClean Face Wash

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My boyfriend has really great skin and doesn’t usually need any of my help. Sometimes, however, he feels dry or wants something to wash his face with that isn’t as intense as whatever I’m using at the time. We were at Rainbow Grocery and I thought that this Zia product HydraClean Face Wash, for men, would work out for him. And it did for a little while.

Here’s how he uses it:
– Only in the shower and not for shaving. Just a quick wash with his hands.

The upsides:
– It’s got a lot of natural ingredients.

The Company
– It’s made by a San Francisco company that was started by one woman in her kitchen (power to the people! power to the women! power to local products!).

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Humphreys Non-Drying Cleansing Gel

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I like to spend time in the product section at Rainbow Grocery just looking at the options. I’ve noticed Humphreys Non-Drying Cleansing Gel a few times and finally decided to try it. They make a witch hazel toner which I haven’t tried but I like witch hazel toner so I figured I’d give it a shot.

Here’s how I use it:
– 1/2 a pump lathered up a bit and massaged into the skin in the shower.

The upsides:
– I like the bottle – it’s blue (tho plastic, which I try to avoid buying new), it’s got a pump (which I love because then you can regulate your dosage), there’s a picture of a lady by a stream on the front. Not very valid upsides, I realize, but that’s why I chose to actually *buy* this cleanser in the first place (when I was trying to decide between several similarly formulated, similarly priced cleansers).

The not-so-upsides:
– The scent really bothers me and I’m not sure why except that it reminds me of a laundromat from my childhood.
– It doesn’t work well enough for me in terms of getting my skin clean. I thought that since it was a gel made for sensitive skin, rather than a cream, it would foam up and get my skin

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