My skin

Since January I've been using the full line of Botanical Kinetics by Aveda, Purifying creme cleanser at night, using about a dime size, and in the morning a pea size, always washing off with luke warm water. Using steaming hot water to cleanse your face is going to give you the redness you'll see on your skin afterwards, or inflammation. It is a distress on the skin.
Afterwards with a cotton swab I dab on the liquid Exfoliant all over my face, and press in more around my chin, nose and forehead (TZONE) where I experience blackheads (or open comedones.) Liquid exfolients are my favorite because I tend to have more sensitive skin, so it does the job of exfoliating my outer skin layer, without the damage a granual or mechanical exfoliator causes.
My recommendation: unless your skin is in equillibrium, stay away from mechanical exfoliators unless the ingredient used to exfoliate is gentle, like oatmeal, and use sparingly. I exfoliate with a liquid daily, and once a week I add in the Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser by Aveda once every two weeks. This product uses jojoba beads to gently exfoliate dead skin cells, which melt across your skin as you apply, but gives the feeling of a rough clean for those who just can't get away from the scrubby scrub like St. Ives Apricot scrub. The walnut shell used in St. Ive's product actually causes tiny tears to the skins surface which adds continued inflammation to the skin. (Aveda is versatile enough to consider those who can't get away from products, like apricot scrub, that has been the go to product for years, to create a product that feels similar but is no where near as tough and disruptive) I had been using Apricot Scrubble by JASON for years, thinking it was beneficial to my skin, it smelled great, it was scrubbing away all of my impurities and just kicking right off my blackheads--then I would get out of the shower throw on a bad moisturizer and feel great. The reality is--even the products we treasure from organic food stores can fail us. The damage I caused from using scrubs is now irreversable. I have redness in my cheeks (distended/broken capillaries) that will never go away completely. However thanks to my new regimen the redness has decreased almost fifty percent.
After exfoliating I always, always, always tone with Aveda's Skin Firming Toning Agent a mixture of almost entirely rose water (very hydrating to the skin's surface) and glycolic acid entirely derived from plants. The difference with Aveda's toners is that it doesn't leave your skin tight, like most toner's do that use mostly alcohol. But rather, Aveda's uses the toner as another way to add further moisture. (I swear--there is never enough moisture for your skin! It loves it-soaks it up!) The fun part with the Botanical Kinetics toner is that it is a spray, and is a quick and easy way to tone during the day. (The intention of Aveda's toners are to increase surface cell turn over, moisturize, help set the ph of the skin, and protect. This is not the same for all toners--some are to strip the skin of excess oils, robbing the skin of its moisture protection, and leaving the skin unarmed against the sun, free radicals, dirt, grime, etc.)
After toning I use the Tourmaline Charged Radiance Fluid, a serum that helps to smooth skin surface, decrease pore size, and protect against free radicals. It also gives my skin a beautiful glow from the tourmaline (which surprisingly has great benefits to the skin!!) and helps retain skin moisture. Afterwards, I moisturize with a pea size of the Botanical Kinetics Hydrating Lotion (I'll get into why I use a lotion, a water base, over a oil base moisturizer later.)
To finish my face I use Aveda's Inner Light tinted moisturizer as my foundation and spf. For body hydration I use the Aveda Energizing Composition-- a mixture of mostly jojoba oil, lavender, sage, jasmine after I finish cleansing my face. It exhilarates my body and energy, and because of the fragrants and pure essential oils I unconciously take fuller breaths. It's a wonderful way to awaken. (Soon I will also get into why pure essential oils have such great health benefits, and it will make more of an understanding to why I feel so refreshed after using the composition in the morning) Consider purchasing one-- after yoga, or during any breathing sessions.


\This is just the beginning! I'll get into more soon.