It's finals week over here in grad school land which means I'm running on less sleep and more coffee than usual and it's my skin that's been taking it the hardest - it has been feeling simultaneously parched, breakout-y, and dull so as a post study session treat, I made myself a batch of my favorite 3 ingredient face mask.

Papayas are magical.

They are one of the most nutrient-packed fruits you can eat and also make a phenomenal natural face mask.

Papaya is a natural source of alpha-hydroxy, an anti-aging compound that actually increases your skin's production of collagen, meaning wrinkles will dissipate and your skin will just plain look younger. Papaya also contains an enzyme called papain, a powerful exfoliant that removes the build up of dead skin cells from your face leaving a brighter, fresher complexion.

For $2 (the cost of the giant papaya I bought this weekend) you're going to have healthy skin AND a ton of extra papaya for snacking (here's my chili papaya ice cream recipe!), juicing, and/or margarita making.

Magic I tell you!

And its easy magic, too - just scoop the fruit out from the skin and rub the sticky inside of the skin all over your face (use your papaya skin soon after you scoop out the fruit or the enzymes will breakdown and your facial will be less effective!)



Let the gooey-ness sit on your skin for 15-20 minutes to do its thing, rinse, and marvel at your new glowy skin.

In honor of Earth Day I want to share a recent eco-friendly change I've made to my skincare routine.

For the past 2 months I've been washing my face with honey.


Yep, with straight-up honey. Nothing else.




These are just a few of the potentially toxic chemicals in my old face wash:




1. PEG-200: PEG stands for Polyethylene Glycol and is derived from petroleum (gross!), used in oven cleaners, and can alter and reduce the skin’s natural moisture factor.

2. Sodium Laureth Sulfate: Detergent that poses serious health threats. Used in car washes, garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers – and in 90% of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame.

3. Fragrances: Mostly synthetic ingredients - can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many toxic or carcinogenic.

4. BHT:  A preservative used in all sorts of things, it has been shown to be linked to cancer, developmental toxicity, allergies, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, biochemical or cellular level changes and when it enters the water stream is particularly toxic to aquatic animals. 

Pretty icky, right?

The one ingredient in my new face wash? Organic, raw, unfiltered honey. 

Honey is both gently moisturizing and antibacterial meaning that acne-causing bacteria are annihilated and your skin is left perfectly balanced. Its really kind of amazing how different my skin feels after honey v. after a normal face wash. Most face washes would leave my skin feeling dry and tight, or, if it was a moisturizing wash, my skin would be too oily but with honey, my skin just feels clean!

When I first started I was worried that the honey would be messy and get stuck in my hair, etc but the raw stuff is thicker than the more common pasteurized honey so it's really more like a paste than a sticky liquid. I just scoop a bit out of the container, wet it in my hands, rub it into my face, and rinse off. I do make sure to have my hair tightly pulled back with an elastic headband just in case!

Its important that you only buy raw, unfiltered honey, preferably organic. Most "normal" honey has been pasteurized which destroys a lot of its beneficial enzymes and filtered for the natural bits of honey comb and pollen that hang out in honey, which are also good sources of nutrients.

This post on Crunchy Betty's blog was my first entry into the honey-as-face-wash-thing and I recommend you check it out, too! 

She recommends giving honey at least 2 weeks before you pass judgement on it - it can take that long for your skin to get to used to any new routine but I felt and saw a difference after just a couple of days. My skin was glowier, clearer, and just felt... healthier.

What do you say? Want to cut a bunch of chemicals out of your corner of the universe and get better skin in exchange?


Sources:
http://www.organicbeautytalk.com/ingredients-to-avoid/
http://thegoodhuman.com/2009/09/24/what-is-bht-butylated-hydroxytoluene-and-why-you-should-avoid-it/
http://www.crunchybetty.com/honey-challenge

On a recent trip to Tucson I picked up some homemade lavender essential oil. I'd been using it here and there as a perfume but when a recent hamstring injury had me needing some extra TLC, I added it to my favorite basic sugar scrub recipe for a little extra oomph.

A hot shower + this lavender sugar scrub massaged into tired muscles = heaven.

This scrub is the easiest, cheapest, and most luxurious exfoliator I've ever used - serious babe points for how soft your skin will be after using it.

Lavender Sugar Scrub

1. Mix equal parts coconut oil and sugar with fork to combine.


2. Mix in lavender oil to your taste. I was filling a small canning jar with scrub and used about 3/4 c. each oil and sugar and added 1 tsp. lavender oil.



Now go forth and soothe!