Extremely minimalist skincare
I live with an autoimmune skin condition, so for me the path to the skin that I feel well in has been rather long. When I was young and struggling with reactive skin, I was told that I needed to use products and that I would be using them forever, as my skin was dysfunctional without them. Apart from this, I was fascinated with all kinds of jars of skincare items that my mother and grandmother would have in their bathrooms and bedrooms. There were hundreds of various potions. Creams, toners, serums. And of course the so-called "beauty" industry never misses an opportunity to sell something else to consumers and make us feel as if we don't care about ourselves if we avoid using whatever they have to sell. I think it's a powerful message coming from this industry. Humans naturally care about themselves and their loved ones (children, partners, friends), so we are susceptible to this message. Earlier in my life, I also used words such as "skin care" in relation to the so-called beauty industry's products without thinking deeply about care and beauty. Only later in my life I realised that care and beauty have nothing to do with buying something routinely and buying more. Self-care for me is about spending time with my body, feeling gratitude towards it, sleeping, eating well, drinking water (or herbal tea), falling in love with wrinkles and stretchmarks, looking forward to having grey hair and not dyeing it, ever. It is about accepting myself as I am and as I am changing.
The only personal care product that is my own is my toothbrush. All the other ones my partner and I share. We share soap, toothpaste, shampoo, a small tin of vaseline, and deodorant. The only items that I use every day (rather, several times a day) are the toothbrush and the toothpaste. The other ones I use whenever I feel I need to. Instead of vaseline, I used to use natural balms and shea butter, but then I noticed that my skin got used to extremely minimalist skincare, and didn't need anything apart from water. Vaseline lasts longer than natural balms (they go rancid at times, if kept too long). I also use vaseline instead of plasters on shallow cuts to protect them. At times, when I have dry patches on my skin, I use vaseline on damp skin. I simply dab it on the dry patch. The last time it happened was when I came back from a hospital. I couldn't drink for many days, so my skin became dehydrated. At times, when my skin becomes dry, I invite an oil (almond, apricot, argan, or jojoba) into my life. I apply a tiny drop of it on wet skin. When I want to spend some extra time with my skin, I exfoliate it gently with a small, wet towel when I'm in the shower. But more generally, I notice that when I liberated my skin from all kinds of products, it started taking very good care of itself. It hydrates itself and exfoliates itself too. When I travel, it feels wonderful to take only a couple of items with me.
I don't use makeup. I haven't used it for many years. I don't use anything on my nails either.
Stepping away from conventional skincare pushed upon humans by for-profit businesses is a small step on a sustainability journey. Yet, I feel it's a very important step (or a series of steps). Using fewer products was one of the first changes I implemented on my own path, and it was empowering. It nurtured a healthy relationship with my own body. It made me realise that my skin was not dysfunctional, that I didn't have to buy anything.