Hey everyone! I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself to the community. I've heard this new website is great and I look forward to sharing all things fashion, travel, nutrition, food and health related with you! Its not much but give it a read :)
Welcome to Girl like Scarlett…
I’m a 25 year old living in Sydney but originally from the U.K and this is my blog which I’m very happy to share with you all.
Firstly, I’m going to give you some background on why I decided to create a blog and how I hope to influence others and bring some awareness to some of the observations and experiences I have picked up on over the past few years!
As a young adult I’ve faced common challenges such as acne, weight fluctuations, anxiety and a very disorientated understanding of food and nutrition. After years of doing plenty of my own research when left feeling misunderstood by my GP, I have learned that each of the challenges I faced were largely due to my lifestyle, diet and practises.
I want to share my ongoing journey and tweaks I’ve made to my lifestyle to gain balance, knowledge and optimum wellbeing.
Scarlett
Stop washing your face for a clearer complexion, says the Caveman Regimen
Yes, you heard right, stop washing your face for a clearer complexion.
That’s the advice I came across after researching the best face care regimen to follow for sensitive, red, acne prone skin. The idea is sold on effortless, natural, clear skin by not washing your face with products (although some use a few splashes of water here and there), no picking and limited use of cosmetics. It may sound absurd, probably a little disgusting but lets think about this…
Since when have we needed to cleanse, tone and moisturise twice a day? Surely our body is clever enough to cleanse itself and leave skin at optimum moisture levels? Have we been conditioned to follow this regimen from our teenage years as per the numerous commercials out there? Has the beauty industry well and truly clung onto peoples insecurities and sold them the idea of ‘perfect’ skin through man made synthetic products?
The truth is skin types vary due to genetics and environmental factors, also what we eat plays a large part in the quality of our skin with allergies taken into consideration also. I decided about 5 months ago to ditch beauty products (except lipstick) and give the caveman regimen the time of day and see what happened…
Week one
Surely I need to use my beloved foaming face wash that did no favours for my skin anyway? Are people going to notice? Is this going to ruin my skin forever? I can’t leave the house!
Week one definitely started with a freak out, splashing my face with only slightly warm water here and there didn’t feel right but I stick to my plan. My skin has not broken out any further and the redness is reduced by the end of the week.
Week two
I never spent huge amounts of time doing my make up and removing it but I definitely noticed having that little extra free time each morning and evening. The redness has almost completely disappeared and my complexion is looking brighter. I’m still a little hesitant to face the outside world without my tinted moisturiser but my confidence is growing.
Week four
By now I’m feeling extremely liberated by not wearing make up….then that dreaded time of the month arrived. I have spots on my chin and I’m craving all the wrong things. I start to think that maybe I made a mistake committing to this. I become disheartened but to my surprise the spots disappear much quicker than usual and this encourages me to see this through.
Two months
My boyfriend and I have a night out planned. I panic. Will I really be able to pull off a going out outfit with nothing on my face except a bit of lipstick?
YUP! We have a great night and after breaking the barrier of putting myself in this social situation my confidence has grown significantly my skin looks the best it ever has. No active blemishes, only a few scars.
Three months
I finally feel like I have clearer skin that isn’t red. My cheeks are soft and it’s all effortless. I notice I have black heads on my nose which I’ve always had but for me that isn’t a problem.
It’s that time of the month and I get spots on my chin and forehead. Again, they’re unsightly and pretty annoying but they fade much quicker than they did before I started this. I’m aware that spots around this time can be due to hormone fluctuations/imbalances so I continue to try and heal this through diet.
Four months
I got caught off guard in the Sydney sun and burn my face and chest to a level which is fairly uncomfortable – I’m peeling and my skin is very dry. I am desperate to use something so I source some jojoba oil and in a frantic despair about my skin I purchased a jojoba cleanser. I used the cleanser over three days and my skin looked awful! I broke out worse than I had in a long time and my skin became even drier. I throw the cleanser away but keep the oil as it’s great for the body – and my boyfriend found use in it as beard oil!
Five months
My skin is still recovering from the burn and it’s flaking at the touch but other than a few hormonal spots my skin is much, much clearer than it used to be. I have noticed the dark circles under my eyes have lightened and they aren’t so prominent. I assume this is because I’m not rubbing my eyes to remove eye make up anymore.
Conclusion
I want to say that I have this picture perfect skin, but truthfully I don’t. What I do have is a new found confidence and freedom from wearing make up because I felt I had to wear it and this has been invaluable to me. There was a time I would excuse myself if someone saw me without make up, I look back at this and think what was I doing!
I would highly recommend ditching make up on a day-to-day basis and learn to accept yourself and be confident in your own skin – literally! Overall my skin has a softer feel and more even texture. Occasional break outs come and go but they heal much quicker.
Will I go back to a cleanse, tone and moisturise way of life?
I plan on sticking with the slightly warm water approach, perhaps a flannel thrown in to help exfoliate some dead skin. I wouldn’t dismiss natural oils such as rosehip, hemp and jojoba but no to everything else.
Will I go back to wearing make up on a day-to-day basis?
No but maybe on special occasions or at the weekend.
Hope you enjoyed it guys! Please comment and give me some feedback!
Hearts x