Throughout adulthood, I've gone through many revisions to my beauty regimen. There are factors such as priority (how much do you need to care about your appearance), cost (how much money do you want to spend on products), and time (how much time do you have in the day to devote to grooming). Definitely there is an absolute minimum of things you should do for yourself and it's debatable where that minimum lies. I'm definitely trying to get on board with once or twice daily face washing, daily sunscreen, and I've gotten into the Curly Girl Method for hair care.
With all the other things one has to shop for and maintain an inventory list of (groceries, diapers, clothing, gas, etc) sometimes beauty goes to the bottom of my priority list. It's expensive and tempting to cut corners. But I have a skin condition (rosacea) that is itchy and painful if not managed. I also tend to get an itchy flaky scalp if I neglect my haircare. I live in a city that has pretty bad air quality and low humidity and lots of sun, so if I don't take care of these things, they go to shit pretty fast.
I've written detailed descriptions of what worked for me at earlier stages of life. In 2011 I was teaching at the Claremont Colleges, which meant that appearance was a high priority and I had lots of money. During pregnancy, my priority was eliminating any carcinogens that might pass to the developing fetus. The newly postpartum time was hellish. I wasn't sleeping and I was focusing so much on caring for a newborn. But finally now I think I can report on what is working for me as a mom.
Pre-Pregnancy
http://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2011/10/formula.html
Pregnancy
http://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2019/12/pregnancy-part-18.html
Newly Postpartum
https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2020/05/postpartum-part-10-beauty.html
These three products together are a good haircare brand. I use the mask whenever it starts looking very dry like straw. I can find the first two at Target but I had to order the mask on Amazon. I really thought I would use "dry shampoo" and I spent a lot of time researching it, but I never really got into it.
DevaCurl Low Poo is good between shampoos. I shampoo weekly and do a deep cleanse (Suave) once per month, according to the Curly Girl Method. In between washes, I refresh with the low-poo. Once I've washed and set the hair with the gel (below), I don't touch it. I don't brush it. I plop it onto a long-sleeved shirt and wrap it up for 15 minutes, then take it down and put in some butterfly clips to give it volume in the front. Then I take the clips out when it's dry and "scrunch out the crunch" and don't touch it after that.
I cleaned up my drawer at work and this is what all I found. I got the Surf Spray and DevaFresh spray to refresh my curls between washes. Now I had very long pandemic hair when I bought those and now I have a kind of long bob so I don't really use them now. Also I don't like the strong aroma of the DevaFresh but it does do a good job of making the curls look good again.
The think Everyday Face tinted sunscreen SPF 30 is something I can't live without anymore. I also love the think magnesium deodorant charcoal & sage is also SO GREAT. CT Organics Shea Butter Coconut Lotion is a must-have for dry skin. As well as lanolin, which is great for cracked dry skin. There are some things that I bought as a nursing mom that I still use and lanolin is one of them. I love the CT Organics natural deodorant and the company is owned by a mompreneur so I love supporting her. Degree is the antiperspirant and Tom's is another "natural" deodorant, which both have an expiration date of 2018 LOL which is definitely 5 years ago. So I'm gonna throw them away now.
Clinique redness solutions was brought to my attention when we were planning our wedding, if I'm not mistaken and I've been a loyal customer since then. But I have found that Johnson's Head-To-Toe Baby Wash and Shampoo is a good mild facial cleanser that I use from time to time. Clinique dramatically different moisturizing lotion + is my favorite and go-to daily lotion for the face. I did also purchase Facial Cleansing Wipes for sensitive skin from Target. I use Pond's Cold Cream first and remove it with the cleansing wipe. Then add moisture from the Clinique lotion. That seems to give me a refresh without having to put my face over the sink and splash water everywhere like some silly Neutrogena commercial. I don't have time for that. Plus our counters are really high here at work and I can't lean over the sink without using a footstool.
Likewise, just as I use the baby shampoo as a cleanser, I also borrow my kid's sunscreen. This one is the absolute best. If I don't care about looking like a washed-out ghost that is. And also I have to remember to take this mineral sunscreen off. If I don't, it really clogs my pores. Speaking of clogged pores, I have this All About Clean 2-in-1 Charcoal Mask + Scrub. I use it as a mask and it does wonders. I also have the Pacifica brand curl refreshing spray, which I leave at home. I like the smell much better, it's nice without being overpowering, and it does an okay job of making my curls look better. Some of these sprays claim to be a scalp refresh so it's possible I'm just not using it correctly, but it does give a cooling sensation if you spray near the scalp and massage it in a bit to your roots.
I bought the Pond's Dry Skin Cream on accident. I thought it was a cleanser but it's only a moisturizer. So now I use the stack here. Cleanse with the cold cream, wipe it off with a washcloth and then moisturize (slug) with the dry skin cream. I wear this after a day out, so it's more of a weekend or nighttime ritual. And you can see that I'm never far from a batch of CT Organics moisturizing lotion. It's great for a foot massage, a leg massage, a hand cream, rough elbows, you name it. I don't put it on my face though.
After I became a mom, this lotion is really the only thing I wanted to put on my face. It's hella expensive but it really soothes angry skin. And if you have angry skin, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't have angry skin, I'm happy for you. Skip this. But if you have been out in the sun for 8 hours and the wind has been blowing and your skin is angry, this cream will really help you out. You will wake up the following morning and look like you just had the best night of sleep ever. I don't know how it works but it allows my skin to repair itself and stop being angry. I don't use it every day because of the price, but when I need it, I go for it.
This brand, Jurlique, came into my life from Buy Nothing. A friend gave me a slide. I didn't want it so I gave it to another mom who wouldn't take it without giving me something in return. I said it wasn't necessary but she said that her mother (or MIL) kept pushing her to take better care of her skin and she is a twin mom so she's twice as busy as me. I wasn't so sure that this would be something helpful for me, but it is a cleansing oil which smells fantastic and botanical. Again, I like that it is something that can be used without splashing a bunch of water all around. I apply 3 pumps of it to my fingertips and then rub it all over my face. I feel like it removes salt and pollution (grit) very well and gets trapped stuff out of my pores. Then I wet a washcloth and use that to take off the cleanser. After that, I apply the cream. It's very thick and also smells like a garden. I sometimes feel like the day after using these two, my skin is a bit redder than usual but I also feel like it's better than NOT washing my face at all. Like given the choice between using this or doing nothing, using this is way better.
Honestly, I would love for a dermatologist to hand me the quick fix for my rosacea but from what I've read, there are many forms and causes and very few actual "magic bullet" treatments that work for everyone. This is where I'm at now and I do use the tinted sunscreen to cover the redness and that makes me feel a bit less insecure. If I'm very good about wearing sunscreen, it tends to not flare up as much. But sometimes I think the tinted sunscreen actually causes the flare-ups. Something in the solvent or the fragrance. It's lightly scented like in a tropical way. I am interested in trying a product with azelaic acid or metronidazole, if one were available OTC. I heard Paula's Choice is good.
