hair and skin

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I thought I'd talk about hair and skin products that I love right now, and share my hair routine for any of my curly-hair friends. I've had a few people ask me about this, so if that was you, then here you go and thanks for the recommendation!

I have said before that I don't like to use expensive products, because for every pricey item, there's a great dupe that's just as good. This mousse is one that I just happened to come across on Amazon one day, and I've been using it ever since. 

Here's what I do to my hair when I wash it every three or four days: I shampoo and condition as usual, then I use my curly hair Wet brush in the shower to drag the conditioner through it and to detangle it at the same time. I recently bought some microfiber towels, so when I get out, I wrap my hair up turban-style in one, and comb out any other tangles I missed. I use a bit of oil and cream mixed together to add to the ends of my hair (that's very dry), then while I'm flipped over, I apply this mousse all around it with my hands together like they're praying. I do this once all over and then one more time all the way around. I scrunch it up by the handfuls from the bottom, and I hear a lot of water in it making squishy sounds while I do this. Then I take the same hair towel and do the same thing, scrunching some of that moisture out of it while I go around it once more. After I do all of that, I don't touch it again until I go to bed, and I pull it up in a high, messy bun. When I take it down in the morning, it's dry, and I use a blast of heat from the hair dryer to smooth out any creases that developed while I slept. Lastly, I use a bit more mousse sometimes if I missed any spots, and I use some Moroccan oil to the ends. It almost always looks like this when I've done all of those steps. 

And since my makeup in the picture above was done with this new product I've been using the past couple of weeks, you can see that it gives me a decent amount of coverage. I mentioned this Monday, but after I've moisturized with my regular Cerave moisturizer, I add a dime-sized amount of this to my hands, and I mix it with a few drops of my Vitamin C facial oil. I apply it with my hands, and it's just enough coverage for my skin. I know some people require more coverage than what this gives, so you could easily mix it in with your regular foundation. I did that at first when I started using it, but I've since stopped. My skin has some red in it, almost like rosacea, so while it definitely doesn't look flawless, I'm okay with it, since my skin is not flawless. Does that make sense? This means that when I get hot, you see my skin redden under the makeup. 

 

I add blush or bronzer by using a brush and kind of pressing it onto the apples of my cheeks. This works well and the color kind of absorbs into my skin because it's been moisturized. I know that not everyone can do their makeup this way, but for my very dry skin, it works wonders. 

Every night I use this Chapstick before I go to bed, and I use it all during the day when I'm at home and not wearing lipstick. My lips are always chapped at this time of year. I've recently discovered that using any sort of mint-scented or flavored lip balm can make chapped lips so much worse. Don't make my mistake!

This is my current favorite body lotion. I keep it right here beside me in the living room, because when it's near me, I'm more prone to using it regularly. I always hear about how much good can be done to aging skin just by moisturizing it daily. I am trying to be better about this! 

And for the hundredth time, I'll mention this cuticle oil once again, because it helps my hands, my cuticles, and my feet from being very dry and cracked. 

Do you have anything that you've tried and love? If so, I am always open to inspiration! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all.