Skin Woes: Dealing With Uneven Skin Tone
Now that the most stressful period of my life is over, or at least i think so, i can go back to blogging life, yay *does happy dance*. Before i get to the more substantial matters of this blogpost, i would like to really thank everybody who has contributed to who i am at this point and time. Things are not perfect but they are coming together beautifully. Thank you so much to all of your for your undying support and always visiting my blog. I am a small town girl and this is really amazing for me. You may or may not know that i have a store now (another yay) and i am blown away by the responses that i have been getting from you guys. Not even talking about purchases, just mainly about the well-wishes, the motivations and the i am so proud of yous. I think to myself, its so funny how overwhelmingly supportive people, who are essentially strangers, can be towards someone. Those are the many beauties of this thing we call social media.
But okay, back to what this post is about; Uneven skin tone. I don’t think i have fully touched on this topic and since this is something i have been struggling with, i hope to share some tips that will you guys as well. You all know that i am a dry skin individual. Although, now i think my skin is more of a normal-dry combo (SHINE) which is amazing. So, having fairly dry skin, skin tone has always been an issue for me. My ENTIRE life! To be honest, this year i kind just gave up on trying to constantly have my skin tone be just one colour. Due to the fact that i was launching a store and so forth, i had to use all of my products on my skin in order to make sure that they are safe and offer some sort of benefits.
Long story short, my skin improved dramatically and the discolouration started to come together. My skin was different shades of brown, ranging from medium to light brown. I called these lighter brown patches “clouds” . I found that after sticking to a solid regimen, my clouds were almost gone and my skin tone started to come together.
Before i carry on, i wasn’t sure whether to include the fact that i was using my own products, i don’t want it to be as if i am posting bias blog posts just to get my readers to buy from my store. But, i figured that i always have mentioned that i use my own products in previous posts so it shouldn’t be a problem.
HOW DO WE IMPROVE UNEVEN SKIN TONE?
DISCIPLINE
First thing is first, like i mentioned above, i think the most important thing is to make sure that you are using a solid regimen. This mean sticking to your regimen every single day as well as using products which are well suited for your skin. Many people still do not know what skin type they are so if you don’t make sure that you read this blog post.
HEALTHY FOOD CAN BE YUMMY, TOO!
A balanced diet is very important for the success of your skin. Your skin uses the food you eat to regenerate new cells. This means that if you are feeding your body crappy food, it will reflect in your complexion. Always try to eat foods which are fresh and high in vitamins. Green veggies such as Spinach and Broccoli offer your skin great nutrition. Leafy greens are a great source of nutrition and antioxidants which help to maintain healthy, stable skin cells. They are also high in B- Vitamins, Potassium as well as Omega-3 fatty acids. I’m not saying gp vegan or anything, all i am saying, most importantly, is that you need to chuck out processed foods and stick to whole foods. Just making sure that you are having what you need to be having in the right amounts.
GULP, GULP.
Some good ol’ water is also a great source of hydration for your skin. This keeps your skin cells plump and supple. It really is a myth that you need to drink 8 glasses/2Lof water a day. Water intake is highly influenced by your weight and size as well as your physical activities. But i always say people should drink AT LEAST 1.5l of water everyday. especially when some of us drink 3L+.
DON’T FORGET THE SUNSCREEN
Sunscreen is also very important. Discolouration is often due to the exposure to the harsh rays. Make sure that you are lathering on some sunscreen every single day when you are out of the house. This should be the norm whether or not the sun is out.
MOISTURE!
Just as i was discussing about water keeping the skin nice and supple, moisturising does the exact same. Not only will it reduce flaking and redness (to those who have dry skin) but it will also keep your skin smooth and depending on the health benefits in the moisturiser, it can even out your skin tone. Mooisturisers with high vitamin content will be your best bet. This includes moisturisers which use natural butters as their base, these butters can include cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter, mafura butter, avocado butter. These are high in vitamins and have beneficial results on skin when used over some time.
SCRUB, SCRUB, SCRUB.
Exfoliation is super important because it helps your remove the skin debris that you wouldn’t necessarily see with the naked eye. A good exfoliant will not only clean your skin, but it would offer it some nourishing benefits as well. Shy away from exfoliants that are drying to the skin. I use my own exfoliants which you can check out in my shop, I create them using oils, butters, water and soap. what they do is that they not only exfoliate the skin, but they nourish and moisturise, as well. Pretty Epic.
USING THE CORRECT CLEANSER
Picking the right cleanser is where people usually go completely wrong and this could be very bad for your skin. I had a whole blog post on picking the right cleanser that i think you should check out if you have not yet. Always make sure that the cleanser you pick is suitable for the skin you are in.
CLEANSERS I RECOMMEND FOR EVENING OUT SKIN TONE
GAWDLY BLACK SOAP
Black Soap is phenomenal, i am not even going to lie. My only problem with it is that it is drying. This is not a problem if it doesn’t irritate your skin, but if it does, do not use it. Black Soap is an authentic Soap that is PACKED with vitamins. It is also made using mixes of oils and pods and occasionally, butters. If your are a are a dry skin individual, try yo get black soap which is made inclusive of butters. Another alternative is liquid black soap. It is really just the liquid version of the bar soap and is equally as beneficial. Make sure that after using the soap, you are replenishing your skin with a highly absorptive moisturiser. Both soaps can be found on my store.
CREAMY GOATMILK
Goatmilk Soap is my new found favourite. I have been using it for about 3 months now and i do not want to go back to anything else. The only reason i prefer Goatmilk soap is because it also calms irritation and does not dry out the skin like black soap does.
CREAMY JUST MILK
Milk Cleansing is also something that a lot of people do, if you have access to pure, unpasteurised milk. This basically does what the goatmilk soap does. Milk is a great source of vitamins and fatty acids; these are highly beneficial tfor your skin. The lactic acid also acts as a gentle chemical exfoliant for your skin. So, really, you’d be killing to birds with one stone.
HONEY
Cleansing with honey is great and is something that i used to do quite often. Raw honey is one of my favourite natural ingredients. not only is it beneficial for our skin, but our health as well, but that is a story for another day. You may simple buy raw, unprocessed honey and apply it to damp skin. let it sit for about 15-20 mins before rinsing with warm water. Honey is also high in vitamins and acts as a humectant; drawing moisture from the atmosphere into your skin and aiding dryness.
MASKING THE SKIN
I also enjoy using masks on my face which i find aid me with my cmplexion. I think my top two favourite have to be turmeric as well as Egg white mask. Turmeric can be mixed with milk and/or tomato juice or carrier oils. Both these masks can be done respectively or interchangeably. I usually commit to either or for two weeks and then move on to the other for the next two weeks and so on, do them 3 times a week or every other day.
I do not think maintaining healthy skin is something that is difficult. The key is to do research and unlock the information. I hope that these help, its always so wonderful getting feedback from you guys about your skin. I am merely sharing information that i have learned, isn’t that why we learn… to teach others and help ourselves grow as a people?
All love!
