Sage #Skincare Advice

     As a young girl I would sit quietly as my mom and the neighborhood ladies chatted over coffee.  I listened deeply to all the stories.  My "uncle" Charlie called me Pinocchio saying I was nosey but really I was just soaking up all the wisdom and since I was well behaved the women didn't mind.  I learned from their mistakes.  Why repeat lessons that were already learned.  Don't misunderstand, I made mistakes and poor choices at times but they were fresh mistakes - ones I hadn't learned about through stories and others life lessons.  Maybe the stories we tell around our dinner table will help our children glean some lessons not to be repeated.
     Some of the lighter lessons I learned was how to care for my skin. Gem number one was, "If you only moisturize your face and not your neck your face will look great and your neck will look like crepe paper."  Now, that made perfect sense to me and it was such a small step in my routine that I wasn't going to take any chances.  I've done both since junior high.
     The next gem took a little longer to fully get.  It was at one of those make up parties that  my girlfriends had way back in the day.  Cleanse, tone and moisturize each day for great skin.  And with this very expensive 3 step process of ours you will look fantastic.  Which when I was young and had no real bills to speak of was fine.  But, as youth departed and school, rent and car payments came in I needed to rethink where my hard earned money was going.  The light bulb went off and I realized that I could use other products in the three step process.  As I started making my own products I looked to make my own three products. My business started out really selfishly by making products for myself.  I have expanded over the years by listening to my customers to meet the needs of others as well as myself.

     My attitude changed over the years from solely wanting to look fantastic (though that is a bonus) to wanting to be as healthy as possible.  I look for products with pronounceable, organic and GMO free ingredients.  My beauty routine is simple - soap, toner and moisturizer.  Yes, I said soap.  Real soap (combination of fats & lye) - not detergent ( a cleansing agent made from chemical compounds).  All my soaps are made with clay to pull out the impurities in the skin, buttermilk for smooth skin and lush organic oils to moisturize.  My oatmeal soap is the exception containing oatmeal instead of clay for a gentle soothing effect on the skin.  I use toner made with calendula flowers which are extremely beneficial to the skin  followed by face & body lotion which has a base of organic avocado oil and aloe vera gel.  The avocado oil has so many benefits that I wrote an entire blog post about it (Snow Day)  and aloe vera tones the skin.  About once a week I use an exfoliating cleanser.  The esthetician at the spa was so impressed with the results from the cleanser on my daughter's skin that she bought some.