A Week In The Life of Crunchy Betty’s Face

I get the best emails, people.

The best emails, and the best comments, and you guys give me fantastic ideas.

Like Mari Jo, who recently emailed and said this: “I’d love to see a post about your daily (morning and night) and/or weekly regimen to see how you find time to get all this food on your face!!! And determine what items to use together.”

Well, Mari Jo – would you believe I’d been thinking about sharing my (sometimes haphazard) regimen and you’re just the person who gave me the push? Thank you for being the synchroncity in my cat-filled, surrounded-by-hippies universe.

And your question is exceptional. It combines my two favorite things – food on your face and talking extensively about myself.

Kudos.

I do offer this as kind of a blueprint for all of you – though I want to be clear: Even I’m not 100% faithful all the time. So don’t fret if you can only sneak one thing in a day – or if you start your own regimen and forget to do something for a week.

It’s all baby steps. And every teeny, tiny step counts.

Start the Morning with a Clean Slate

I mean that literally and figuratively. You get to decide how to do it figuratively (but I think it has something to do with not letting those yesterday worries creep back in and muck up your new day.)

Literally, here’s what I do after I roll out of bed:

I wash/exfoliate with an oatmeal scrub. Right now, I’m using one that’s an adaptation of this scrub recipe. What’s in it?

• 1/2 c. finely ground oats
• 1 Tbsp kaolin clay (which you can find at a natural foods store or Mountain Rose Herbs)
• 2 Tbsp finely ground lavender buds
• 2 Tbsp finely ground chamomile

That’s just a sample recipe for you – be sure to visit the no-nonsense daily scrub for any skin type if you want other ideas. I do have to say, though, since starting this on a regular basis (the last month), I have had ZERO pimples pop up and my skin has been exceptionally youthful feeling.

Here’s How I Do It: First, I rinse my face with lukewarm water, just to get it damp. Then I take approximately 2 tsp of the scrub and pour it in my hand or a small dish. I add a mixture of water and witch hazel when my skin is feeling oily – or just water otherwise. You want to wet it just until it turns into a paste. Let it soak up the liquid for about 30 seconds, and then gently scrub your face with it.

Rinse well with clean, lukewarm water. And that’s it.

Est. time: 2 minutes (start to finish).

Next, I use a gentle toner.

I do love to use plain rosewater as my toner in the mornings (and I’ll spritz it on my face throughout the day, as well). You could use witch hazel or a diluted mixture of apple cider vinegar and distilled water if your skin is oily, rosewater if your skin is normal or dry, or a homemade toner that you keep in the fridge (like my personal favorite – the corn milk and lavender toner).

Here’s How I Do It: Just wet a small scrubby or a cotton pad with your toner of choice and swipe across your face gently, whisking away impurities and whatnot.

Est time: 30 seconds.

Occasionally: When I’m feeling puffy or need an extra wake-up, I’ll use an ice cube made from strong green tea as my toner.

Lastly, Moisturize Lightly: I don’t like to use a heavy moisturizer in the morning, so I’ll use a very sheer mixture of 1 tsp glycerin, 3 Tbsp distilled water, and 2 tsp jojoba oil (that I put in a small bottle and shake up) as my moisturizer.

I’ve also heard wonderful things about using coconut oil as a daily moisturizer – and that will offer a small amount of sun protection as well.

Any of these ideas are fine for all skin types. Light enough for oily skin – but moisturizing enough for dry skin.

Est. time: 30 seconds.

Total Time Spent on Skincare in the Morning: 3 minutes. Not bad!

Nighttime is for Speed

I’m not a big fan of spending all kinds of time at night on my face. I know that makes me weird. But here’s what I do:

If I’m Wearing MakeUp: I will use the oil cleansing method. It’s the best way I’ve found to get ALL the makeup residue off my face. Here’s How I Do It: I pour 1 part castor oil to 2 parts avocado or grapessed oil into the palm of my hand. Then I slowly massage it (upwards) all over my face. Let it sit for a minute or two. And then, with a very warm and moist washcloth, wipe all the oil off your face. It might take a rinse or two of the washcloth to make sure you’re getting all the oil off.

But you’ll be able to tell when you’re done.

If there’s still eye makeup left: (And sometimes there is) I put a small amount of avocado or olive oil on a cotton pad and gently wipe away the eye makeup. It works like a charm.

If I use the oil cleansing method, I typically don’t moisturize afterward.

Est. Time: 5 minutes (start to finish).

If I’m Not Wearing MakeUp: I skip the sink all together and just go for a toner. At night, I’ll often use the Apple Cider Vinegar toner (it’s not just for acne!). And then I moisturize well.

Now, unfortunately, my nighttime moisturizer is a complicated mixture of a whole bunch of carrier and essential oils (here’s a small sampling: Jojoba, avocado, apricot kernel, vitamin E, chamomile EO, lavender EO, rose absolute, frankincense, carrot seed … and the list goes on). I don’t even have a recipe for it – I made it 6 months ago and never thought to write it down.

So for the purpose of this little blueprint, I’ll just say moisturize well with whatever moisturizer you typically use. And some day soon I will make up a new batch of nightly moisturizer and share it with you.

Est time: Toning and moisturizing: 3 minutes.

Weekly Extras

Once a week, I exfoliate with baking soda and water.

How To Do It: Starting with a clean face (before you moisturize) just put a small amount of baking soda in a dish, add water until you have a thin paste, and scrub VERY lightly over your face – avoiding the eye area – for 5 minutes. Rinse well. Then moisturize.

Once a week, I’ll also use the Mocha-Frappuccino Coffee Mask, especially just before I get ready to go out in the evening.

And once a week I’ll use a fruit-based mask, just for fun. And I tailor that to however my skin happens to be behaving that day.

Granted, I tend to do a lot more than this – for this blog. But if I wasn’t constantly trying and writing and taking pictures and finding the good stuff for you, that would be it.

That would be all I do for my face on a weekly basis.

Not so hard, right?

You can do this.

And you can love it.

What do you think?