Today, I’d like to share something that has made my daily life dramatically more comfortable: a simple beauty routine without over-washing!
I used to use facial cleanser, toner, emulsion, moisturizing cream, sunscreen, makeup, shampoo, conditioner, and so on every day, as if it were completely normal.
I was fairly interested in beauty, so I often wandered around cosmetics stores and tried all kinds of products that caught my eye.
However, after I developed allergic inflammation all over my body, I began to find that almost every cosmetic product irritated my skin and felt like a burden.
At first, I believed that using cosmetics was simply part of everyday life, so I desperately searched for products that would work for my skin.
But even additive-free soaps didn’t work for me, and I couldn’t find anything that suited my body.
That was when an acupuncturist I was seeing at the time introduced me to something called Utsugi-style skincare.
She gave me three books about it, and after reading them, I decided to give it a try…
And I was amazed at how comfortable it was!
Basically, I simply rinse my face, body, and hair with lukewarm water to remove dirt.
For moisturizing, I use only a small amount of petroleum jelly.
My daily life became completely free from the irritation and burden that skincare products had caused, and I remember feeling genuinely relieved.
“I didn’t have to wash all that much after all…!”
I started this no-washing lifestyle around 2018, and it has now been more than five years.
My skin and hair have been doing well, and I haven’t noticed any particular problems with body odor.
When it comes to my face and body, I honestly haven’t found anything inconvenient about this lifestyle.
My hair, however, took a little longer to adjust.
Right after I stopped using shampoo, my scalp produced an excessive amount of sebum, leaving my hair greasy. I actually gave up several times.
But after continuing for a while, the amount of sebum gradually decreased.
As for a comb, I find a wide-toothed, washable one very easy to use.
I personally love the VESS Mineral Ion Comb.
I bring it into the bath and brush my hair while rinsing it with warm water.
At the same time, I was also changing the way I ate, and I noticed something interesting: when I eat a lot of animal-based foods or oily foods, my hair tends to become greasier.
When I worked on both “not over-washing” and “improving my diet” at the same time, the two approaches seemed to have a synergistic effect, and the condition of my skin improved dramatically.
And there were some other wonderful benefits, too!
Since I no longer keep a bunch of products in the bathroom, cleaning has become incredibly easy…!
After taking a bath, all I have to do is quickly rinse the bathroom with a Bath sponge.
Even though I’m hardly doing anything, the bathroom is always clean and dry.
My sink area has become much less cluttered, too!
And when I travel, all I need is one small container of petroleum jelly!
I don’t wear much makeup anymore, but sometimes I use an eyebrow pencil and tinted lip balm that can be removed with warm water.
This “beauty routine without over-washing” has made me feel so much lighter and freer.
I don’t think I can ever go back to my old routine!
Thank you so much for reading today 😊