My Sunday Night Skin Care Routine

Hey Bouquet! I hope you're all well and enjoying the new month. I hope October will be the month of prospering and happiness for you.

My skin has been showing me a lot of respect lately and I'm so grateful. This is why I've decided to share my current Sunday night skin care routine. In my previous skin care post, I shared general tips for healthier skin which was basically my day time skin care routine. This is why I've decided to centre this post around my night time skin care routine instead. I hope you enjoy this post.

Disclaimer: I'm not a dermatologist, a skin care expert or anything else that would qualify me to recommend and prescribe skin care products for anyone. I'm just a beauty blogger sharing tips and tricks that have worked for me.

1. Cleansing

I cleanse using sunlight soap, yes - the green bar used for washing. Someone recommended it to me in highschool and I've been using it ever since. It's not harsh on my skin and it never fails to rid my pimples. It's also very affordable, under R15 at most retailers for two bars.

I've tried using gentle magic soap and it didn't work out for me. My skin broke out and I had a burning sensation on my face for a whole week. However, I've heard so many positive things about it. Try it and see how it goes for you.

Cleansing process:

- I open my pores by rinsing my face with luke warm water before getting into the actual cleansing
- I rub a sufficient amount of soap onto a cotton face cloth and scrub my face (gently)

I use a cotton face cloth to cleanse my face in order to cleanse and exfoliate at the same time

- I then rinse my face using luke warm water
- Before pat drying with a face cloth, I close my pores by rinsing my face using cold water. This protects my pores from being penetrated by anything that could cause acne.

2. Face mask

After cleansing my face, I put on a face mask. Face masksing helps moisturise skin, keep it hydrated and rids acne. I am currently using a lemon and honey mask (2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice). I no longer use the olive oil, honey and baking soda mask because for some odd reason, my skin hates it now. It is recommended that you make the mask and use it on the same day to avoid it catching any bacteria. Unfortunately, there is always an excess of it whenever I make it so I use it more than once.

I've always been buying honey from Dischem for under R50. However, I saw it retailing for under R40 at President Hyper in Vanderbijl Park and let's just say Dischem can miss me from now on. Honey is the crem de le crème of organic skin care products. You can even use it is a mask on it's own. I usually do this when I have an open pimple and don't want the lemon (from the honey and lemon mask) to further irritate the pimple.

I store the raw lemon juice in this little bottle that I got from Dischem.

I apply the mask using my hands, avoiding the eye area. I leave it on for 15 - 20 minutes then rinse it off using luke warm water afterwards. Before pat drying with a face cloth, I rinse my face using cold water in order to close my pores.

3. Moisturising

To moisturise, I use Nivea's sea minerals sensitive body lotion. It is the best moisturiser I have ever tried out. I have combination skin which makes it difficult for me to get a moisturiser that is suitable for my skin. The moisturisers I find are either drying or just make my skin too oily.

I sometimes mix the Nivea lotion with Lemon Life's vanishing cream. Lemon Lite evens my skin tone while Nivea moisturises my skin.

If my skin is not in a good condition (especially in winter), I use Vaseline Blue Seal to moisturise my face. It repairs skin after scarring and moisturises dry skin. I wouldn't use it during the day (obviously, I'm not in crèche) but I'm really comfortable with using it at night.

4. Green tea

I mentioned this in my previous skin care post and I'm standing by it. Green tea is really good for your skin, as well as your digestive system.

You can also use green tea as a mask. It rids dark under eye circles and puffy eyes. It's also affordable, retailing for under R30 for twenty tea bags.

5. Lip mask

I use a coconut oil and brown sugar mask to moisturise my lips at night. I mix a teaspoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of coconut oil. I put the mask on and rub it on my lips in circular motions. I do this for one or two minutes before rinsing it off with luke warm water. After rinsing it off, I use my all time favourite moisturiser, Vaseline.

I no longer tone my skin since it has been quite dry lately. Every toner I've tried homemade or purchased has caused my skin to breakout in some way. Toner is highly recommended though so I suggest you get one that is suitable for your skin. If you find a suitable one, please do share.

The most popular homemade toner I've heard about is the green tea, apple cider vinegar and lemon toner.

Formula:

- half a cup of green tea
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

When it comes to skin care, consistency is key. Constantly changing products and skipping certain steps in your routine are all guaranteed ways to get acne and breakouts. However, we all different genes so this might not be the case for your skin.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Feel free to share your skin care routines with me and if you decide to use any of the products I mentioned, let me know how it goes. Take care.

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