I received this question awhile ago, yet I still wanted to share it with all of you as an Ask Minimalist Beauty segment since I get similar skin care related questions all the time.
Tiffany asks “Is it normal to experience small bumps around the chin and cheeks when washing with water only and toning with ACV? Also, when should I start incorporating pumpkin seed oil into my regimen? I’ve been using water only and ACV for about 1 week.” (Just in case you aren’t familiar, ACV stands for apple cider vinegar.)
Hi Tiffany,
Small bumps can be a sign of the skin purging toxins or it could possibly be a sign of irritation from the toner. It can also depend upon what your skin care regimen has been prior to this week compared to this new regimen to really know what may be going on. Over the past few years I have noticed that it is easier to slowly wean yourself off of a more intensive skin care regimen than it is to just stop all together and wash your face with only water.
I usually suggest washing your face with just water to give your skin a break from excessive skin care practices especially if you’ve been aggravating it with harsh topicals or exfoliants.
This was helpful for me to do over the weekend when I was in the process of moving away from an intensive skin care regimen. It helps greatly to wean your skin off of a previous regimen slowly into water only especially if your body has been experiencing imbalances internally from toxins, or you are in the midst of a healing journey during a detox. It can be a major shock to your skin to go from an intensive skin care regimen to just water only without a transition period.
If you have already detoxed your body thoroughly from the inside out, you will most likely already notice that your skin naturally glows and needs less overall to maintain that beauty.
I did not start my simple skin care regimen by just washing my face with water. I switched from using organic store bought skin care to oil cleansing with high linoleic oils which I did morning and night for many months until I felt that my skin could handle less. Then I started only oil cleansing at night while washing my face with water and moisturizing with a high linoleic oil in the morning. Before I did another detox last year in the spring, I was mainly washing my face with only water and moisturizing with a high linoleic oil. I’d also oil cleanse as needed or when I wore makeup.
During that detox I did last year in the spring, my skin went absolutely crazy during the healing process. I changed my skin care regimen up completely to accommodate it at the time and shared that regimen here. Now that my skin has calmed down, I’m back to mainly washing my face with water and moisturizing with a high linoleic oil. I still oil cleanse as needed. My favorite high linoleic oil is pumpkin seed oil, yet it is so important to find what works best for your skin.
As for using apple cider vinegar as a toner, I have tried it and even made a DIY Soothing Antioxidant Toner with apple cider vinegar and green tea in the past. As much as I liked the toner, my skin responds better when I use less products overall. I have read about many benefitting from using apple cider vinegar as a toner, yet it was never life changing enough for me no matter how much I diluted it with water or added other ingredients.
I would incorporate moisturizing with a high linoleic oil as much as you feel your skin needs it.
For some that could be 1-2 times a day, for another that could be when their face feels dry which is a few times a week. It mainly depends upon what your skin needs, where you live, and what season it is. Some feel washing your face with water can be drying to the skin, yet I have never felt this to be drying compared to using some of the face washes on the market.
My skin care regimen has always changed slightly to accommodate my skin’s needs depending upon what was going on with me at the time. When we are on a healing journey, it is extremely helpful to pay attention to the signs our body gives us and work with it. It is trial and error to some degree which can be very annoying, yet at the same time getting more in tune with yourself is beyond rewarding.
Water only skin care definitely has many benefits especially if your skin has been irritated by skin care products no matter how gentle they may be, and for allowing your skin’s acid mantle to balance and heal itself.
Washing your face with only water can really help balance sebum production in the skin as well. I wouldn’t suggest washing your face with only water to anyone who wears heavy makeup since removing your makeup properly is important. If you only spot conceal or wear very minimal makeup overall, using a soft microfiber cloth can help to remove that makeup with just water.
Lastly and most importantly pay attention to your diet, stress levels, and/or hormonal balance which can greatly effect your skin’s appearance.
Eating a whole foods diet free of processed foods and refined sugar is the main foundation of our health and the appearance of our skin. I also believe that acne is a symptom of toxicity in the body and have also shared gentle detoxing methods that have helped me. I love no longer having an intensive skin care regimen myself. I have found that with patience and internal healing and balancing, washing my face with just water has been so incredible for my skin. I hope this helps some and best wishes!
One Love!
Update… Organic Skin Care by Minimalist Beauty ~ i am AZUHA ~ Created With Oils High in Linoleic Acid
(Image by Dawn Michelle)
Monika says
Hi Michelle,
almost a year ago I found you blog when I was seaching the internet for the oil cleansing method after reading the book Skin Cleanse by Adina Grigore. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your work on the blog and how happy I am I found it! I started to use punpkin seed oil for cleansing and moisturizing my face morning and night. Using a muslin cloth or make up remover sponge later on made a huge difference and made cleansing easier and more effective. Now I wash my face only at night using evening primrose oil and moisturize afterwards with rosehip oil (my 2 favorite oils!). In the morning I wash my face with water only and moisurize with rosehip oil again. Perfect skincare for my face! And with eating mostly fruits and vegetables, almost no animal products and no gluten that made my skin look perfect (for me). Thanks for all your tips and tricks!
Btw you were also a gread inspiration for minimalizing my life in general. I’m still in the process, but I’m getting a little bit closer every month!
Much love from Germany! Monika
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Monika,
Wow thank you so much for sharing this! Your skin care regimen sounds amazing and I am so glad that the information here has been so helpful to you. The minimalist lifestyle is truly a personal journey and it’s also so great that you have started your own. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Have a wonderful weekend and best wishes with everything!
Carolyn says
Hi Dawn Marie,
I know I’m late to the party, but I am so thrilled to find your blog! I’ve been exploring Zero Waste for a while, and I am so glad to find a blog with such a balanced take on it and, frankly, a blogger who is not white. You are helping to make this lifestyle change more accessible to folks like me. Thank you!
My question is: have you found a zero waste sunscreen solution or a commercially available sunscreen with less wasteful packaging? I live in LA and wear sunscreen year round. Thank you!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for your kind words! Also you are never late to this party! 😉 As for sunscreen I am still a fan of Badger’s sunscreen. I shared some other options as well that I like although they unfortunately don’t come in favorable packaging. With Badger’s sunscreen it does have that zinc oxide residue going on. I actually made it the base of my DIY foundation because of it. You can find that recipe here. Have a beautiful day!
Amanda says
Hi Michelle,
I was looking at your current skin care routine and I saw that you said you are using mainly water and honey to brighten the complexion. My question is, how are you using the honey?
Are you cleansing your face with it?
Using it as a mask?
If you are cleansing with it, how often and how many times a day?
Please get back to me whenever you can, have a nice day!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Amanda,
I will share an updated skin care regimen in detail in an article soon. You can use raw honey as a facial cleanser or mask. The only difference is the amount of time you leave it on your skin. It is really amazing for brightening the complexion and I will get more into detail. For starters you can read this article on raw honey as a face wash. Have a great weekend!
Amanda says
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! I just had one last question, is their a reason why cleansing with honey would make my skin dry? I have the absolute most sensitive skin and after I cleanse with honey its not super dry but it is flaky and I need to immediately moisturize my skin with oil. now my skin tends to feel itchy its been that way since I was a kid, and I had good skin then. I know I am not allergic to honey I grew up eating it and still do, and also my skin is not itchy every time I use it. My skin tends to get itchy randomly I think it might be my hair products or something. But my question is do you think I just need to exfoliate my skin? I exfoliated my nose the other day cause it was very flaky, and after that it was so smooth, so do you think I just need to exfoliate? I never do honestly the last time I did it was probably last year.
I also have tried just giving my skin a break and I can’t go more than 2 days cause I get so itchy and sensitive to everything. Just wondering what your opinion would be, Thank you and have a nice day
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Amanda,
Gentle exfoliation of the skin helps a great deal especially if it is excessively flaky. I love using a soft microfiber cloth which you can use with any facial cleanser or just water. Just be gentle as the cloth alone does all of the work. Exfoliating once or twice a week usually does the trick. I used to oil cleanse daily with a soft microfiber cloth and that worked for me but find out what works best for you.
Also look more at your diet to see if you are getting enough water throughout the day. Are you drinking dehydrating drinks such as coffee or alcohol, eating excessive amounts of refined sugar, and not getting enough fresh fruits and veggies. Sometimes skin sensitivities can relate to diet too.
Lastly look at the ingredients of your hair care. Beauty products can often contain ingredients which cause contact dermatitis. I hope this helps and best wishes!
Jamie says
Stop washing your face with honey! I did the same thing last year and it got to the point where my face felt so awfully dry !!! Your skin doesn’t need exfoliated!! Do not exfoliate!! Honey is already considered a light exfoliant because of the ph. Your skin is over exfoliated!! If you exfoliate, all the skin will just come back within days and you will think you need to exfoliate again and then you’ll exfoliate again and the cycle will never end.. its just causing more irritations! Youre skin isn’t actually getting dry, flakiness can be a sign of irritation and over exfoliation. I’m not even allergic to honey and it ruined my face for months.. honestly alot of diy skincare does not work on me !!! I do only wash my face with water but when it comes to moisturizers no oil works for moisturizing my skin. . Yes it sounds great to make your own moisturizer and toners and blah blah blah but it simply just doesn’t work for some people.. when I moisturized with rosehip seed oil it gave me dermatitis.. I was using an antipodes moisturizer but there’s coconut oil in it and I think started clogging my pores but now I am waiting to hear back from the lady who runs Elaa Skincare to ask about her superfood moisturizer.. it’s sounds really nice! She has other stuff too like cleansers and mask and toners but I am going to continue washing with water only because that’s what works best and then hopefully find my perfect moisturizer.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Jamie,
Raw honey is still one of my favorite face washes although everything does not work for everyone. It’s all about finding what is best for you. I find the BEST skin care is with a truly healthy diet and drinking lots of water. Becoming my own nutritionist is what really taught me so much about what eating healthy really looks like.
I’m am sure you will find what works best for you. Washing my face with just water is extremely helpful for giving your skin a break and helping it to balance itself. Best wishes!
Bridget says
Hi there,
I’m so happy to find your site and am enjoying reading. Really struggling with facial care right now. I did a de-tox in Nov. 2016 and have been in a cleanse mode since which has been great! Not great, is that my body, skin has completely rejected- I know now- not the best moisturizer Cetaphil. I’ve been able to take care of my body skin great with natural products including baby lotion from 100% pure. But my face rejects everything- 100% pure, MyChelle, etc. I have issues with dry dehydrated skin, not acne. It’s out of balance- I can feel it- and wants something simple as a routine, to heal itself and breathe, yet be supported, but I don’t know what? Thoughts- Help in Vermont, Bridget
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Bridget,
I completely understand what you are talking about when you do a detox and your skin literally rejects your former skin care regimen. I shared what my regimen was in this article when my skin was doing exactly that. I hope that this info will be helpful in some way. Best wishes!