Tag: skincarereview

One Thing You Never Thought Of Doing With Oil

Published on by Lee2 Comments

It sounds extra AF, but swishing oil around your mouth might just be the best thing for your health and skin, seriously! The idea comes from ancient Ayurvedic medicine and involves taking a tablespoon of oil and swishing it around your mouth like mouthwash, for twenty minutes. Believe it or not, this detoxifying method actually has a ton of health benefits that improve oral health, and it can even improve acne, whiten your teeth, help with headaches, and detox your entire body.

How To Do Oil Pulling:

On an empty stomach – first thing in the morning is the best time – swish a tablespoon of oil around your mouth for twenty minutes (at least ten minutes if you’re in a hurry). Our preference is coconut oil, because obvs we have a ton lying around and it’s also antibacterial, but you can also use sesame, olive or sunflower oil. Initially, it might feel a little gross, but persist, and like us, you might even end up enjoying the experience! It should always be done on an empty stomach, so wait at least four hours after eating, and an hour after drinking.

Whatever you do, don’t swallow the oil; otherwise, you’ll basically allow all the toxins that have been drawn out to go into your stomach. Once you’ve swished for 15-20 minutes, spit it out in your bin. You can do almost anything (except speak) while you do this, but keep an eye on the time, as if you do it much longer than 20 minutes, it’s possible that the toxins could be reabsorbed into your body. Rinse your mouth with warm water or salt water, and brush your teeth.

How Oil Pulling Works:

how oil pulling works

It’s quite gross to think about, but your mouth is filled with bacteria, fungi, toxins, and plaque. Oil pulling literally cleanses your mouth by drawing out all the toxins from your gums and teeth, before they’re able to spread to the rest of your body.

Why Oil Pulling is Awesome:

Who’d have thought that you can forego a ton of expensive beauty products simply by following this daily ritual? Oil pulling is an amazing way to improve your health and detox your body, skin, and gums. Though there’s yet to be significant research into oil pulling, promising results have been found, and many doctors recommend it – apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow and Shailene Woodley are fans. Here’re just some of the amazing benefits:

Skin-clearing: Catching out nasty toxins before they reach the rest of your body has a huge impact on your skin. The same way washing your skin gets rid of surface bacteria, oil pulling gets rid of bacteria that causes skin problems before they have a chance to take hold. Reports have shown that oil pulling for a month has helped improve acne and eczema.

Teeth whitening and fresh breath: Oil pulling can remove surface stains from your teeth, and because the fats in oil can dissolve plaque, it prevents plaque build-up and reduces the risk of tooth cavities for an extra white smile. The removal of bacteria from your mouth also results in fresher breath throughout the day.

Detoxes your body: The mouth is our gateway to the majority of substances in our body, by removing bacteria from the mouth before it has a chance to reach the rest of your body it majorly impacts on your health.

Increases energy: Our immune system works 24/7 to eliminate toxic waste from the body. By getting rid of these nasty toxins at the source before your body has to, it saves precious energy to be spent on other activities.

Reduces headaches and hangovers: We’ll be honest, anything that promises to cure a hangover is worth trying; the process of oil pulling will remove alcohol toxins still lurking in your body from the night before, helping you and your body feel much better. Headaches and migraines can be a reaction to your body being under toxic stress; so extract the toxins, reduce the stress!

Why Coconut Oil is Our FAVE:

We’ve found that coconut oil, (try to use 100% raw organic cold-pressed coconut oil) is the best oil to use. Not only is it easy to find and inexpensive, but it’s also by far the best tasting of the bunch. Coconut oil also contains lauric acid that has antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties, while Vitamin E is rich in antioxidants and it’s antibacterial. If you’re going to have oil in your mouth for twenty minutes, it should at least taste okay!

Oil pulling can easily become part of your morning routine: swish while you shower and tone, or while you get dressed and scroll your Insta feed. If you’re at home, take advantage of the period after lunch before dinner and swish on an empty stomach while you watch TV.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

These $10 Face Scrubs Will Leave Your Skin SO Soft!

Published on by Lee2 Comments

Exfoliation is easily one of the most important parts of your weekly skincare routine – it helps buff away dead skin to keep blackheads under control and keep your skin feeling smooth and soft. That being said, you need to be careful, because if done too often or too hard, you’ll risk over-exfoliating, which can lead to breakouts and general redness and sensitivity.

Our latest drugstore discovery is the L’oreal Smooth Sugars Scrubs, and we unexpectedly fell in love with them. The thing is, sugar scrubs can be notoriously harsh, which is why we often recommend them for body-only exfoliation. However, the new offering from L’oreal is exfoliating without being too harsh, and we were seriously impressed with the results. The three formulas that we tried combine three types of pure sugar – brown, blonde, and white – and each is concocted with cleverly-chosen ingredients to target different skin concerns.

For Oily Skin Prone to Blackheads: Purify & Unclog Kiwi Scrub, $10

With real kiwi seeds to smooth skin and reduce blackheads, the gel-like texture of this scrub doesn’t feel harsh as the sugars gently melt into the skin. The addition of peppermint essential oil, a natural antibacterial and anti-fungal, soothes the skin and helps control bacteria that can lead to breakouts, while lemongrass essential oil helps purify the skin.

The formula smells amazing and feels gentle on the skin – be sure to be light-handed with any exfoliators as the harder you scrub, the more you’re likely to damage your skin and the fragile skin barrier. We recommend using this a maximum of three times a week.

For Dry to Normal Skin: Nourish & Soften Cocoa Scrub, $10

This divine, chocolaty-scented scrub is ideal for those with dry patches or normal skin. Mixed with the trio of sugars is finely-crushed, antioxidant-rich cocoa, antibacterial and hydrating coconut oil, and nourishing cocoa butter. Post-scrub, your skin will feel moisturized and smooth as a baby’s bottom, without that tight or itchy feeling that some exfoliators can leave.

Add warm water to soften the sugar particles for a buttery texture that melts into the skin (don’t forget to do your lips as well), then admire how bright your skin looks after. Follow with a hydrating toner to remove any residue.

For Normal or Dull Skin: Smooth & Glow Grapeseed Scrub, $6.50

Packed with vitamin E to protect and promote even tone, grapeseed oil nourishes and soothes your skin while moisturizing monoi oil protects the skin. The addition of acai powder, and the fact it smells so good may make you want to eat it, but the vitamins and minerals are just as good topically for your skin as they are for your tummy.

Again, be gentle when you’re massaging this into your skin. As you add warm water, you’ll feel the sugars dissolve while the natural oils soften the skin and give a major post-exfoliating glow. We love that you can use this on your lips as well.

Primp Tip: We recommend using a gentle cleanser before using your preferred scrub and then following with a hydrating toner on a cotton pad. Continue with your essences, serums and moisturizers to ensure your skin stays hydrated, but avoid using any other exfoliating products, like toners that contain AHAs or retinol. Use these scrubs a maximum of three times a week and be prepared to see your skin glow.

Have you guys tried these scrubs? Let us know in the comments below!