The weather is getting warmer these days, and I find it’s time to do some spring-cleaning in my medicine cabinet! One of our guiding beauty philosophies at Medicine Mama’s Apothecary is beauty minimalism – the belief that a minimalist approach to skin care is a whole lot better and more effective for you than the one preached by the media. So, if after reading a magazine or watching a little TV you suddenly feel the need to purchase an eye cream, a foot cream, a night serum, a day lotion, a lash enhancer, a lash booster or whatever else they’re trying to sell today, it might be time to Spring-Clean your own beauty routine!
Why does the cosmetic industry think it’s necessary to have a separate beauty product for each part of your body? And are all these disparate products really necessary? This spring it’s time to empty out your medicine cabinet and feel the relief that some simple minimalism can bring.
What’s wrong with specialized beauty products?
Most cosmetic products sold by massive corporations that you can buy at the drug store or department store are filled with chemicals, preservatives, dyes, and synthetics fragrances. And while they promise to give you the skin of a nineteen year old model they clog the pores and leave a chemical residue on your skin. Layering your skin with tons of different beauty products stresses the skin and may be causing more harm than good. In some cases, using lots of thick “goopy” petroleum based moisturizer, inhibits the skin from making its own natural oils.
Apart from being just plain toxic and unhealthy for your skin once you open a product like a lotion or cream it oxidizes and can get “funky” (for lack of a better word) when left open and unused for longer than a few months. And here’s the thing: the truth is most of these formulations are basically the same, they just have different labeling for each type of product. In essence this means you might be spending three times more on a product labeled as an eye cream, while the ingredients inside are almost identical to that of a face cream. The same goes for hand and foot creams.
The slight difference between a day and a night moisturizer is that a night moisturizer tends to be thicker and may even have the tendency to make your face oily. That’s why it might be more comfortable to wear a lighter moisturizer during the day. That said, I would still recommend investing in one good all over moisturizer for your face and body, and simply apply more of it at night and around the eyes (or wherever else you feel it might be necessary).
So here’s what you do: Simplify, consolidate, and get organized!
Open your medicine cabinet and look at the products you have. READ the ingredients, if there are over 15 words that you can’t pronounce let alone understand what they are, it’s a good chance that that product is chemical laden and unhealthy for your skin. Toss it out! If you have had something open and not fully used in over a year – toss it out! If you are hanging onto a product because you bought and, although you don’t really use it you still feel bad getting rid of it, stop dawdling, and just toss it out!
Being a beauty minimalist
Becoming a beauty minimalist this spring can have lasting, positive effects, both financial and psychological, on your entire life. Your bank account with thank you when you stop spending a small fortune purchasing a different beauty product for every part of your body. And freeing yourself from the consumer driven materialistic need to fill your medicine cabinet with more products than you know what to do with is actually very liberating. It feels so great to be free from the nagging NEED to own more than is necessary. Your ideal beauty regime should include only: One gentle cleanser, one all-over moisturizer like Sweet Bee Magic, a great sunscreen and a great exfoliating scrub/face mask. And that’s it!
This spring take the time to change your old patterns of cluttering up your beauty routine and your life! Break the cycle of over purchasing and over spending. Take the time to simplify organize and find your own lighter easier rhythm. Spend less time obsessing about the latest and greatest product and more time outdoors, playing in the sunshine, reading your favorite book and spending time with your loved ones. nurture your inner beauty and let it shine!