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Personal Spa Day, Tips for Glowing Skin!

December 12, 2012

When it comes to my face, I have to admit I’m a bit of a Francophone. French women seem to just be in the know when it comes to the deep wisdom and new concepts in skincare. From Joelle Ciocco’s Epidermologue Method® to Biotherm, they just know what they are doing. So when even expat Garance Dore wrote that her dermatologist banned cleansing with water from her regimen, I needed to investigate. The idea is that when you use hard water and strong cleansers on your face, you are messing with the sebum levels necessary to keep your skin protected. Sebum acts as nature’s all in one facial serum by providing antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, vitamin E, protection from dryness and the outside elements etc. Conversely, too much sebum is to blame for your acne. When you wash away your sebum and disturb its equilibrium, it goes into overdrive producing new sebum to restore your face’s protective layer. Even the National Institutes of Health have gotten on the sebum equilibrium bandwagon.

So when cold(er) weather arrived in LA this month and my skin began to resemble a shedding corn snake more than a glowing baby’s butt, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Enter cleansing milks and oils. It turns out there is a bevy of oils and milks meant for cleansing your face without water. I chose to begin this experiment with KorresCleansing Milk.

Each night I would put some of this on a cotton pad and wipe down my face. Since I always feel greasy after 9 pm, I always follow up with a second moistened pad. Once I feel like I’ve gotten the gunk off my face I spray quickly with rose water and glycerin for a perk me up and call it a night. I don’t feel like I need a moisturizer after that. While now – a month into it – I love this method. My habitual redness is gone, my skin is smooth and glowing and I have no peeling whatsoever. I’m not going to lie, the first week was hard. I discounted the psychological effects of splashing my face with water and had to experiment with amounts cleanser and second steps. But now with time on my side, I feel great. My face is no longer dry and dull and I don’t need added cleanser at night. In the morning I simply splash with water, apply my daytime moisturizer and spf and go.

If youre looking for some moisture intensive care without a heap of cost for these windy dry cold days I say go no water. Trust me, your skin will GLOW.