Doing the full skin care routine can be quite a process, but the good news is you should only need do the
full routine 1-2 times a week! Your regular nightly routine will still contain quite a few steps, but the result is beautiful, glowing skin. Here's a break down of how to use these products.
Let's start by talking about what the full routine includes. This is done at the end of the day before bed. You should have a clean cloth handy to pat your face dry as needed between steps. A separate warm damp cloth to remove product may be necessary if you prefer this to rinsing your face over the sink.
The Full Routine
Step 1: Oil Cleanse.
Remove dirt, oils and make up from your skin using the Pomegranate Cleansing Oil*. Using about 1/8 of a teaspoon, massage the oil all around your face focusing on heavy make up areas. This product shouldn't irritate your eyes so closing your eyes and gently rubbing to removed make up is okay. Of course if irritation occurs, discontinue use. Once you've gotten everything massaged for a minute or two, use the warm damp cloth to wipe your face clean. Alternately you can rinse your face clean over the sink.
*Walnut Face Scrub - this product is a slightly oily facial scrub. It can replace the Pomegranate Cleansing Oil as your oil cleanser (not on your eyes or for eye make up removal) on days you aren't using other exfoliating products.
Step 2: Soap Cleanse.
Cleanse your face using your chosen face soap. This helps get any remnants of oil removed from your skin after performing the oil cleanse. If you've chosen our Rose Clay Face Soap, this product has ground luffa. You can wash your face using the bar directly on your skin if you want some scrubbing action, otherwise you can rub the soap in your hands and use your hands to wash your face. Rinse and pat dry.
Step 3: Mud Mask.
Next you should apply your chosen mud mask. If you've chosen one of our pre-mixed masks simply apply the mask to your face. If you've chosen our Dragonfruit Enzyme Mask, you'll need to mix it with liquid to turn it into a paste before applying. Most of our masks dry in 10-15 minutes. Once the mask is dry, rinse your face clean and pat dry. Alternately, if you've chosen our Rose Water Mud Mask, you can rinse the mask away in a massaging motion using the ground luffa in the mask as an additional exfoliating step.
Step 4: Tone.
Spraying toner on your skin helps bring your skin's pH down to it's neutral level. This helps prepare your skin for moisturizing. Give your face a few sprays with your chosen toner and let it air dry a bit before moving on to the next step. Our toners can also be used as refreshing pick me up through out the day or as a way to blend your own custom moisturizer.
Step 5: Skin Boosts.
* As you continue to layer your leave-on products, you should add them lightest to heaviest. This means that your gels/water based serums should come first, your lotions/creams should come next, and your oils should come last. Depending on which of our facial boosts you've chosen they will be applied at different times.
Let's start with the Powerhouse Youth Serum or Vital Radiance. They are the lightest of our skin care boosts and should be applied first, directly after toner. After the toner has dried, apply a dropper of serum all over your face using the tips of your fingers in a very gentle stroking motion. It's best to use a gentle upward and outward stroking motion when moisturizing your face to lessen pulling and stretching of the skin.
If you've chosen the Rose Water Eye Gel, this goes on next. A small pump of this goes a long way. Try doing even half a pump! You should gently dab this product under your eyes to help with both short term and long term eye puffiness and bags.
If you've chosen the Renewal Face Gel, this product goes on before moving to your moisturizer. The Renewal Face Gel is an alpha hydroxy acid product that works to remove dry skin on the outer layer of the dermis. Commercial AHA products typically include this step with your moisturizer. We've chosen to offer it as an additional step for those who don't wish to use an AHA in their skin care routine.
If you've chosen the Acne Serum, this product should be applied after your moisturizer and before your facial oil. It can be used as a spot treatment or as a full face treatment. As a spot treatment, pump a bit in your hand and gently dab on problem areas. As a full face treatment, pat a light amount over entire face.
Step 6: Moisturize.
Now it's time to moisturize your skin. Apply a small amount of your chosen moisturizer to your skin as needed. Again, it's best to use a gentle upward and outward stroking motion when moisturizing your face to lessen pulling and stretching of the skin. If you have combination skin, you should focus more heavily on the dry spots and lighter on the oily spots. If you've chosen the Moisture Rich Phoenix Balm, warm a half pea size amount between your fingertips and gently press into your skin.
* reminder - now it the time to apply your Acne Serum if you've chosen this facial boost
Step 8: Facial Oil.
Finally, it's time to finish with a deeply nourishing facial oil! Our facial oils are blended with botanical oils and precious essentials that help nourish and rejuvenate your skin over night. Although they can also be used during the day, we suggest day time facial oil use for those with extremely dry skin. If you prefer to use only facial oils (meaning you do not use an alternate moisturizer), the Royal Indigo Facial Oil or Emerald Glow Facial Oil is best for day time use and the Revitalizing Facial Oil is best for night time use. To apply, only a pump or two is necessary depending on how thirsty your skin is. Facial oils can be gently pressed into the skin. If you'll be using Gua Sha in the next step, you'll need to be a bit heavier on the oil.
Step 9: Stone Rubbing. (skip this step if you've chosen not to add it to your skin care package)
Whether you've chosen Gua Sha or Stone Rolling, both have similar goals - to relieve muscle tensions, increase lymphatic drainage and boost blood circulation in the face.
Stone Rolling - after you've finished your skin care routine, use the Stone Roller to gently rub over all areas of the face using upward and outward rolling motions following the included Face Map. You should use medium pressure as you roll your skin. When you are finished, wipe the roller clean with a cloth.
Gua Sha - this method uses more of a scraping action and will require your skin to be slightly oily. Add another pump to your skin if Step 8 has already soaked in. With Gua Sha, you'll use the same Face Map but you'll be scraping across the surface of your skin to get a similar effect as Jade Rolling. The extra oil is to help the stone glide more smoothly across your face. When you are finished, wipe the stone clean with a cloth. Any extra oil can be massaged into your face with your hands and allowed to soak in over night.
Great! Now that you know the details of how each product is used, let's talk about what a regular weekly routine looks like.
Mornings
A simple wash, tone and moisturize is sufficient to start your day. You may additionally want to use the Rose Water Eye Gel for puffy eyes, the Potent Youth Serum for mature skin types and/or the Acne Serum for problem skin. Extra dry skin types that need a bit more than the Moisture Rich Phoenix Balm should also apply a light layer of facial oil, however the Moisture Rich Phoenix Balm is quit hydrating. In general, your morning routine will be the same every morning. You may require heavier moisturizing during dry/winter months and lighter moisturizing during humid/summer months.
Nights
The full 9 Step routine should only be done 1-2 times a week. This is because you don't want to use a mud mask nightly, nor do you want to excessively scrub your face every night. Most nights, you will skip the mud mask step. You also do not want to use the Walnut Face Scrub the same night as a mud mask, especially if you have sensitive skin. Your routine might look something like "mud masks on Sundays, face scrub on Monday, Wednesday and Friday".
Skin care routines are highly personal and customizable.
- Maybe you've decided you don't like the dual cleansing method. You can use just one or the other depending on your skin type. Alternately you can use a Konjac sponge for washing your face.
- Maybe after trying this all, you don't want all the extra fancy frills. A basic routine would be a simple cleanse, tone then moisturize.
- Are the serum, lotion, cream and oil options not really working for you? You can try our "instant moisturizer" method. This is where you take a pump of facial oil and a few sprays of your favorite toner, mix them together in the palm of your hand and apply them to your face. This combination of oil and water creates an instant moisturizer while still getting a lot of the skin care benefits our products have to offer.
