4 Tips for Taking Care of Your Skin on a Budget.
What do people see most on your body?
Your skin.
It's the body's largest organ. A majority of us always have our face on display.
You can spend thousands on your skin - or you take take these steps to having great skin on a budget.
After single parenting for the past 6 years and all the costs associated with housing, food, schooling, clothing etc, there wasn't much left over to indulge my skin.
This is one of the reasons we have samples available to you. I don't want you spending money on something that doesn't suit your skin. What a waste!
This is 47 years old me with no makeup on, tired after teaching 2 x 1.5-hour workshops. I decided to put myself here instead of a model to represent us 'real' people. No fillers, no filters, no touch-ups, skin cancer scars on display.
Below I share 4 tips for taking care of your skin on a budget.
1. Keep it natural. Keep it clean.
If you're constantly lathering chemicals onto your skin, that seep into your bloodstream, this may cause havoc on your skin and your body. This may then make you have to buy expensive solutions to fix the problem. I know how much it cost me in doctors appointments and creams to 'fix' my itchy red sore dermatitis before I started using Aussenskin.
Keeping your skincare and makeup natural is easy these days.
You may be tempted by get a cheap facemask from KMart, but it may be filled with parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, synthetic dyes, propylene glycol, and triclosan, which can cause expensive reactions.
By using a natural skincare product as opposed to a synthetic one, you are essentially avoiding all negative health effects. This will result in you feeling better and looking better.
Have a thought to everything that touches your face, and make sure that you keep these clean. This might include your hands, finger nails, makeup brushes, pillow case.
2. Watch out for those UV rays!
Getting sunburnt and exposure to UV rays can cause premature aging of the skin and signs of sun damage such as wrinkles, leathery skin, liver spots, actinic keratosis, and solar elastosis.
Sun damage can cause skin discoloration and loss of collagen, elasticity and moisture.
UV radiation is also a proven human carcinogen, causing basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). I have had both of these types of skin cancers cut out of my face and neck. The damage was done when I was a silly teenager and used to spend my days at the beach getting as tanned/burnt as possible. In the image above you can see one of my scars on my forehead.
But I still love the sun! I bet you do to. But let's be safe about it now, so it doesn't cause us more harm in the future.
Here's some budget friendly ways to manage your skin and UV rays.
- Don't buy the budget, really large SPF bottles. This may seem counterintuitive, as they seem like they are great value. But do you use them all up before they run out of date? You may find that you have to throw them out when they are 1/2 way full.
- Wear a hat. You can find great ones at op shops, and the Bunnings one's are inexpensive and give great coverage. Pop a lovely scarf around it (that's you've picked up at the op shop!) to make it suit your taste.
- Invest in good, classic sunglasses that aren't the most trending shapes. This way you can wear them for many years without going out of fashion.
- Choose the shade. Take your walks and outdoor activities to places where you know it will have loads of shade.
3. Get the most from your skincare products.
So, you've loved the sample of moisturiser that you received from us and you purchased the full product.
Now make the most of it!
Moisturiser works best on skin that is damp. The moisturiser traps the water in making your skin more hydrated, but it also helps the moisturiser sink in.
Think about a kitchen sponge. If you try to wipe a liquid mess with a hard, dry sponge, it doesn't soak up the liquid.
But if you make the sponge damp first? Then it soaks the liquid up wonderfully! Same as your skin. This is why we recommend using the spray toner before the moisturiser. And it lasts for ages!!
4. Manage your stress.
Easier said than done, trust me, over the years of raising these beautiful teenagers by myself, one with high functioning autism, my stress levels have taken a beating. Luckily, due to health related issues, I taught myself a multitude of tools. I even became a yoga teacher and published books on stress management!
Since stress can exacerbate conditions like acne, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea, anything you can do to relieve stress will help support healthy and beautiful skin.
Here are some stress management tips:
1. Walk it out - head outside for a stroll each day, with your hat on!
2. Relax your muscles - look up Body scan relaxation. You'll thank me :)
3. Spend a couple of moments slowing and being mindful using your breath as a guide. Here's one I created about 4 years ago on Insight Timer: Click here. Insight Timer is a free meditation App.
4. Eat and drink foods that nourish and hydrate you.
5. Find something to laugh at. I have a bunch of saved videos on Youtube that make me happy. They are of babies laughing, they always bring me a smile and raise my happiness levels and slower my stress levels. Here's one of my favourites:
