In my years on this earth I have  had a long history of skin care.  I’ve used various products, some good and some not so good for your skin.  Read on for my illustrious history.

Caress

The old time bar soap which is still available is what I first used for skin care after I graduated from a simple wash cloth and water.  My mom loved this soap and used it daily in the shower.  Caress is advertised thus:

“Want to feel irresistible every day?

Indulge in the irresistible decadence of Caress Daily Silk, a silkening beauty bar infused with the scent of lush white peach and sweet silk blossom that will transform your shower into an everyday? retreat. The freshness of the white peach adds a crisp zest to the fragrance that brings out the luscious sweetness of silk blossom. At the base of this Caress fine fragrance beauty bar sits sandalwood and musk – these are rich scents that round out and soften the scent, and leave you with delicately scented skin, all day long.”   

Let’s face it.  Scented and Beauty Bar usually do not go together and are probably bad for your delicate skin.

NOXZEMA

Later on in my teenage years I graduated to this tried and true classic cleanser  Who could forget how it gave your skin that glowey feeling when you put it on. That’s the Noxzema tingle at work on your face reaching deep into your pores to remove dirt, oil, and makeup, leaving your skin soft and smooth.  It is made with made with eucalyptus, soybean, and linseed oils.  It, Deep cleans without over drying, Removes dirt, oil and makeup. (I wasn’t wearing makeup at the time) .Leaves skin feeling soft, smooth & healthy-looking and is Dermatologist tested. It really was a godsend for this teenage girl.

Sea Breeze

Later in my teen years I feel in love with Sea Breeze Astringent.  Sea Breeze was an amazing product and felt great to put on your skin.  Unless you had an open cut on your face, then it stung.  At the time to me an astringent and a toner were interchangeable.  What I didnt’ realize, at the time was that stripping your skin of all it’s oils only made more oil get produced as a result. The astringent family includes alcohol, cider vinegar and witch hazel — a plant used for a variety of medicinal purposes and known to reduce inflammation. They can be applied directly to the face to help tighten the skin; however, if undiluted, these liquids can cause excessive drying.

A Toner  is milder than astringent, contains glycerin and some form of glycol at its base (generally not alcohol) and can help balance the skin’s pH.

I recommend if you need a toner to shrink pores use a low tech option such as Witch Hazel.  It works well.

Ivory Soap

For a very short period of time I was using Ivory Soap.  Ivory soap has been around since the 1800’s.  Doesn’t make it fantastic for you.  It has a  high pH of 9.5. Normal skin is naturally acidic with a pH in the range of 4.2 to 5.6.  Most traditional soaps considered “mild” have a pH of around 9.5 – 11 which is too alkaline and may cause excessive dryness and irritation.  These soaps traditionally remove the natural acid protection and extract the fats from the skin as well. So no more go on Ivory.

Neutrogena

For a while I used Neutrogena clear bar soaps or the liquid soap .  Neutrogene is a decent product and is a  glycerin-rich facial bar contains no harsh detergents, dyes or hardeners. It removes excess oil and then rinses clean —without leaving any pore-clogging residue. It did a fantastic job and rinsed clean off your face and wasn’t trying.  I have no idea why I stopped using it. It is also very affordable.  Here are some benefits of Glycerin:

• It is a key molecule in skin physiology, in terms of being a primary humectant and because of its important biosynthetic functions.
• Glycerine deeply hydrates the stratum corneum, and studies have shown that it forms a persistent reservoir in the depth of the stratum corneum, thus reducing the evaporation rate of moisture from the skins surface.
• Not only is it extremely effective in the treatment of dry skin conditions, new research is indicating that glycerol has a repairing action on the barrier function
• So having a real understanding the mechanism of glycerine’s actions, and how it supports a number of conditions associated with dry skin such as, ichthyosis, atopic dermatitis and winter xerosis, is key when treating the skin.

More Recently I discovered Tea Tree Oil and thus started using The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Cleanser and tea tree oil .  Tea tree, also known as melaleuca, is well-known for its powerful antiseptic properties and ability to treat wounds. Tea tree oil (TTO), the volatile essential oil derived mainly from the Australian native plant Melaleuca alternifolia has been widely used throughout Australia for at least the past 100 years.

Some of the many traditional uses for tea tree include healing:

• Acne
• Bacterial infections
• Chickenpox
• Cold sores
• Congestion and respiratory tract infections
• Earaches
• Fungal infections (especially Candida, jock itch, athlete’s foot and toenail fungus)
• Halitosis (bad breath)
• Head lice
• MRSA
• Psoriasis
• Dry cuticles
• Itchy insect bites, sores and sunburns
• Boils from staph infections

The Body Shop Tea Tree Cleansers, moisturizers and BB cremes are great. and I used them for at least a year and still keep them around for really bad skin days when they inevitably come and cannot otherwise be controlled by my current skin care regimen.

These days I use all Limelight Products. These products are all natural, Good for your skin, using what nature has to offer products for your unique skin type.  I use many of them and love them so much! Here is my skin care regimen.

AM

• Quench Cleanse
• Sotox
• Calm Balm

PM

• Dream Clean (to wash the day and make up off my face)
• Skin Therapist (mixed with)
• Must Dew (or sometimes One Drop Wonder)
• One drop Wonder on my lips
• Forty Cure Cream mixed with a drop of One Drop Wonder of my hands.

Used Weekly:

• Skin Polish
• Masque of Zen

You can check out these products and more HERE: