Having bad skin was something I always thought I’d struggle with. From as far back as my memory serves me, I remember having acne and feeling incredibly hopeless. From my teenage years up until my mid to late twenties, I pretty much tried everything to get rid of it(so I thought). I tried proactive(which did help a lot to be fair), the rice water cleaners and toners, zit zap cream, Korean skin care, I mean you name it and I’ve tried it! I think the only thing I did not try was Accutane. It was this vicious cycle of having a break out which caused many bumps, to then using makeup to disguise the bumps, which ended up making me break out even more, to then needing more makeup to cover the breakouts, etc. And the cycle continued and what a nightmare it was!
Around 2017, I started looking into my eating habits. This was the year I got saved and also wanted to lose weight before getting married. I had gained a good amount of weight, around 40lbs a few months into my relationship and I started working out to try to gain control of it. The working out helped but the inflammation and a lot of weight stayed on. For some reason, I feel like I have a very unforgiving body type lol. If I don’t treat it well I can end up looking very much like a linebacker lol. So around 2017(the year I got saved) I prayed about this, and I ended up coming across a fasting video(water fast) and the ketogenic diet(I had NEVER heard of this prior to my prayers). I felt like it was genuinely the Lord answering my prayer!
I decided that I had nothing to lose at that point and tried it out! I ate eggs, spinach, salmon, cauliflower, and all the keto snacks(I did not know about the importance of quality ingredients back then) and you know what, it worked. I lost the unwanted weight I had been carrying around and it opened my eyes to reality. The reality of no longer being a young person who can eat whatever I want, drink whatever I want, and live as carefree as I’d been living. Now this isn’t a weight loss chat although I will do one if you’d like, but I mentioned this story because that was the first step to clearing my skin. The first step being, I paid attention to what I put in my body and saw the importance of it.
While I paid slight attention, I was still eating junk, just low carb junk but at least now I was aware and began reading labels. To be fair, I was at a weight I was satisfied with but I still had skin problems. Things got a little better. Fast forward to my late twenties, we moved to a much dryer state and we wanted to try for a baby! Being me, I prayed because I believe it is the Lord who opens or closes our wombs and I tried to do what I could in the meantime(I believe faith without works is dead). I began doing so much research into how to get pregnant and I came across many things including low carb diets, how plastic and other chemicals are endocrine disruptors, and also how exercising could help! I had no clue about endocrine disruptos so being the person that I am, I went down the rabbit hole.
It blew my mind. I found out everything I had in my house was possibly an endocrine disruptor. From my pans to my laminate flooring to beauty products to the plastic containers, they all could be potentially getting int the way of me and my future baby lol. So little by little I decided to get rid of the things I used the most and work my way down and I am still working my way down to this very day. I got a higher quality water filter first and then changed out my beauty products for products that did not have talc and/or fragrance in it(which is almost impossible btw). I ended up finding influencers who not only cared about health to look fit but also cared about living a lower tox lifestyle. Believe it or not it was harder than I thought but I started hashtagging #lowtoxmakeup, #lowtoxliving and was able to find a few trusted accounts. I took a lot of the recommendations for makeup, body care, and skin care and it then it finally hit me. The less ingredients the better, for me LESS IS MORE.
No makeup vs my low tox “no makeup, makeup look”
After adopting this new approach to skincare(makeup is a bit different, although I do opt for cleaner brands instead of mainstream high end makeup which I used to use faithfully), my skin has changed drastically. Not only that but the Lord blessed my womb:) Realizing less is more and paying attention to ingredients has changed the game for my skin. I no longer struggle with consistent acne. Sure I notice a pimple when I eat too much sugar(a whole other story) but after getting back on track to cleaner eating it clears up and so does the hyper pigmentation. Certain people are prone to scarring and dark spots and I am no exception but I notice when I am eating clean and using lower tox products, my skin heals much faster.
You’re probably wondering what products I use, so here they are:
So this face(specifically the kale detox) wash isn’t necessary the simplest as it has quite a bit of ingredients but it was one of the first face washes I used when I was on the hunt for one without fragrance. I used this and I noticed it did not break me out, which was a good sign. I tried the others, colors pink and blue, and I noticed i’d get a pimple. The green bottle is the one that works for me day in and day out so I’ve just stuck with it! I do plan on swapping this for black soap in the near future as that’s way cleaner so I will keep you guys posted if I do.
This is the only thing I used for a few months as a moisturizer before adding in beef tallow and it delivered. This is the ONLY oil I can use on my face, from the ones I’ve tried, that does not break me out and it fades my dark marks as well.
My holy grail. I used this on my stomach during pregnancy and got one very faint stretch mark that is barely noticeable. I know that could be complete luck or the fact that I only gained 20 lbs but I said if it works on my body, let me try my face. And you know what, I notice a glow and overall sheer effect on my face that I don’t see when I am not using it. Some people may find it strange but beef tallow contain many fatty acids that calm redness and also helps with inflammation which has been very helpful for me:)
That is it! ONLY 3 PRODUCTS! I remember using face wash, a serum, a moisturizer, & spf on my face and honestly the more products I used the worst my skin looked. For me finding products that work and are simple is what did the trick! I do occasionally do clay mask and DIY masks using things around my kitchen but it isn’t apart of my regular routine.
If you follow my Youtube channel, I do plan on posting an updated low tox makeup routine using my favorite products that also aid in me having better skin so look out for that:) I’d love to hear some of your favorite products, whether they are clean products or not! Someone else may come across this and need help! What products have you been loving lately? I will say now that I’m in my thirties, I do feel tempted to try retinol which to my understanding is not a very clean product, although I’ve heard it does wonders for the skin. So I’m unsure if I’ll budge and try it out or not lol. If I do, I’ll be sure to let you all know!
Thanks for reading,
Gwen
Off the Beaten Path 
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