Acne Face Wash

Being one who suffers from adult acne I have tried virtually every face wash out there (within reasonable cost at least). Needless to say, none of them work... so I started looking for new more natural options to wash my face.

I found a link to Oil Cleansing and was intrigued, but really wasn't impressed with the results. Maybe I just didn't do it right, but my skin felt too dry and the acne was still there.
A little more research later I found a girl who used Coconut Oil and Baking Soda to cleanse her face and figured it was worth a shot. I was hooked!!!

 I make the scrub each day by scrapping a little oil onto my finger and placing it in my palm, then sprinkling a little baking soda on top, and rubbing the 2 ingredients together so the coconut oil gets melted and gritty. Next I rub it onto my face, really scrubbing at those trouble spots, then let it sit for a minute or so while the water in the sink warms up. (The baking soda creates a great gritty exfoliating texture that scrubs your skin, and the coconut oil not only moisturizes, but also helps to pull out all the bad oils and dirt that stay in your skin.) Then you just wash the mixture off with hot water and pat dry with a towel. Your skin feels pretty slick for the first couple of minutes after you wash while the oil is settling in, but soon feels nice and smooth.

Now to finish getting your skin really clean and feeling fresh follow up after a couple minutes with a great homemade toner. Here is the link to the toner that I use... http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/2010/10/skin-brightening-toner.html . I suggest halving the recipe as it makes a TON, and it last forever. I dab a little of this homemade toner on a cotton ball and gently rub it down and across my face. When you finish you will be able to see all the dirt and grim that the coconut oil pulled out of your pores, which I find totally awesome!

I have noticed that when I am consistent in using coconut oil and baking soda to cleanse my face that my skin clears up so nicely, yet when I switch back to using regular soaps again my face starts breaking out.

Occasionally I will switch up my face wash by taking half of a used lemon (left over from my morning lemon water) drizzle it with a little honey, and use that to scrub my face. After scrubbing with the lemon you have to let it sit for a minute before you rinse. The lemon and honey are great for brightening skin, healing blemishes, and their antibacterial properties help to fight acne also. However I don't care to use this method as often since it makes your skin a little more sensitive and dries it out a bit more than I like. However, I think that sometimes you need to switch up your routine for convenience and to keep your acne prone skin from getting used to your preferred treatment. Plus it is great for clearing up those trouble spots!