Obviously, I like make-up. It’s great for your skin to take a break from layers of stuff being on it. It really cracks me up that, for those of us who really like make-up, putting it on and taking it off are little highlights to our day.

Jonas decided to show up this weekend, so I had a weekend of no make-up and minimal skin care maintenance. While it’s good to use your eye cream, moisturizer, toner, etc. your skin also needs a break from the washing and extras. It’s important for your skin to not have any product on it and the simply splash of water. There are loads of testimonies about not using shampoo, soap, deodorant, and how your skin will revert to it’s natural state and won’t be oily or dry. Being oily and dry are due to the cleaning rituals created by man over time. (I do believe this, but I’m not about to stop using deoderant).

Friday evening when I got home I did my usual routine: coconut oil to remove my make-up, cleansed my eyes with baby shampoo, and did my Lush evening routine. Saturday morning I had splashed my face with some water, didn’t scrub it with a wash cloth until I showered and in the evening I used some Bioderma to get off the natural dirt that occurred. Repeat on Sunday.

I already had a planned weekend in to get things done around the house, it was extra convenient that the blizzard came. When I have these days or weekends, I will also take the time to take a cotton pad to wipe Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar all over my face or I’ll use straight tea tree oil. Some times I do these during the week in the evening since I’ll sleep with them on my face working their magic.

Apple Cider Vinegar is really great for acne prone, oily and red blotchy skin. It naturally dehydrates the break outs, cleans out your pores, reduces the redness and wreaks to the high heavens. I keep a big bottle of this in my bathroom and a little travel sized shampoo bottle filled with it. If you have a breakout that has made your skin red and blotchy, just take 20 minutes to hold a cotton pad with ACV on it and it’ll help reduce the redness.

Tea Tree Oil has been popular for quite some time now, but my mom would always have us use the oil straight as kid. Take a cotton pad and swipe it over your face and let the oil kill any bacteria that is hanging out on your skin. Honestly, I’ve also swiped this under my arms before bed so that it cleans my under arm skin (even after showering) and I’ll put it between my toes. Think about it, you’re wearing shoes all day or you’re in your bare feet and toes are close together… you need to have more than just a shower cleaning!

That’s my routine to giving my skin a break. I own facial masks and stuff, but sometimes your skin just needs a natural break from all of that.

Thanks to using Apple Cider Vinegar and coconut oil I have been able to repair my skin. It’s great to buy skin care products and take care of yourself, but sometimes you need to spend less to get more. It’s another reason why I’m very picky about what skin care products I do buy and why I buy exclusively from Lush, The Body Shop, Clinique and Sunday Riley. Some chemicals are good, but in little doses.

What do your no make-up day routines consist of? What are your ‘skin treats’?