Back to the basics of skincare routine

Back to the basics of skincare routine

 “ How do I look after my skin?’’
"Are there a lot of stages to great looking skin?"
"I use my shampoo as my skincare routine” (me: cringe)
"I don't have time to look after my skin- too busy with the kids!"
“I have rosacea, what can be done about this?’’
“Do you have any products I can use for the skin hardness around my legs and feet?’’
“Oh! my dry skin in the winter is the bane of my life’’.
“My skin is quite sensitive, I have really bad eczema but I don’t like to use new products”
“Can I use your sheabutter on my baby’s skin?’’ 

Back to the basics of skincare routine

The quotes above are examples of conversations I have with people about our skincare and how to look after the skin. Feel free to join our group to discuss issues relating to your skincare or drop by with any skincare questions you may have https://www.facebook.com/groups/314525549453302/

I have written this blog to give you an idea of my own skincare routine and what I think is required to achieve great and consistent looking skin to be happy in. Looking after your skin should not be complicated nor full of hassle. It should suit your lifestyle. Keep it basic, authentic, simple and consistent, then you will see best results. As a skincare enthusiast, creating and formulating bojolar skincare, I find the simplest skincare routine to fit my busy life by applying the following philosophy: 

Au naturel

Firstly, I have stripped everything back to as natural as possible. No parabens,  synthesised preservatives, sulfates, phthalates, nor hidden 'nasties' in my skincare. I always read labels as some ingredients are hidden in long chemical names (google them if not sure and do research if you can).

Some of these chemicals have been inked to playing a part in acting as endocrine hormone disruptors, destabilising normal activity of hormones (If you are the inquisitive type, you can read all about the endocrine system here https://www.endocrineweb.com/endocrinology/about-endocrine-system 

 

With this in mind, I DIY (do it yourself) natural products for my skincare routine or at least purchase natural products from small businesses passionate about great natural / organic skincare and beauty. The organic and natural skincare industry is booming and big industries are now aware that customers are becoming product savvy. Adding these so called chemically synthesised preservatives for example in beauty and skincare products is slowly becoming a taboo! Of course, skincare products should and can have a shelf life in order to preserve microbial growth.There are indeed natural preservatives out there to prevent growth of bacteria so why would anyone want to keep a skincare product for 1-2 years on the shelf?! All our bojolar skincare https://bojolarskincare.com/ are made fresh to order, giving you the best from nature, and assigned  a ‘use within 6 months’ from the date of purchase.

 Exfoliate and wash

The routine for my body takes me back to my West African roots. I use locally made in Nigeria natural fibre sponge (“kan kan”) as an exfoliator, lathered with natural African black soap ("dudu osun").  I rinse the lather off well in the shower. This combination leaves my skin feeling clean, soft, supple and smells divine. Benefits of using black soap have been well known for centuries in Nigeria.
Originating from the Yoruba tribe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people, black soap is made from the ash of plants that consist of plantain skins, palm tree leaves, cocoa pods and shea tree bark. The process involves mixing the cooked ash (potash) with  coconut oil,cocoa butter, sheabutter, honey, aloe vera and palm butter to give it the saponification qualities you get with the lather. Other African countries like Ghana have their own modified version of the popular black soap so it is well known across our beautiful continent. I never use black soap on my face though as it can be a bit drying (note: the facial skin is more sensitive and thinner than the skin on the body). 

 

  

 

Moisturise

This cannot be over emphasised! I moisturise daily with bojolar skincare moisturising body butter (or you can use the sensitive calm balm if you have sensitive, itchy, eczema prone skin) to trap in moisture immediately after a warm shower/ bath https://bojolarskincare.com/products/sensitive-body-balm. The natural and organic ingredients in all our body butters protects, soothes and seals moisture into my skin giving me the all-day protection I need. It is anti-inflammatory, anti -bacterial and healing in some cases. Our hero product is of course the African sheabutter. Read my review about the Science of sheabutter here: https://bojolarskincare.com/pages/the-science-of-shea-butter

Facial care: cleanse, (tone), moisturise

This is my secret for cleaner pores and clear skin on the face.

Step 1. A must is day and night double cleansing

  •  I use warm clean flannel firstly to strip off surface oil and grime that can clog my pores.
  • I massage my face with my own DIY natural sheabutter and organic oils mix (jojoba/ sweet almond oil in most cases)  in an upward circular motion to remove all traces of makeup and deeper layers of grime and to open up the pores. 
  • Finally an organic clay-cream facial cleanser that purifies and help detoxify my skin. I do exfoliate once a week with raw honey and sugar with lavender oils  to remove dead skin cells. 

Step 2. Tone (not essential)

  • I tone (sometimes - as for me, this is not an essential step) with rose-hip water or fresh sweet orange water. This will remove traces of the cleanser and give your face a 'zingy fresh feeling'. But rinse face off well with warm water and you might not need it.

Step 3. Moisturise 

 Voila! that’s me ready to face the day...

p.s Don't forget that eating fresh food and routine exercise also plays an important part in great skin - but that's a blog for another day...x 

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