I get asked a lot about my beauty secrets:  the secret recipe for weight loss, the magic ingredient for clear skin or to stave off the signs of aging.  Usually, I shy away from the fix-all way of thinking.  With weight loss and health concerns, there is definitely no one thing that makes all the difference (though those dark leafies come pretty close).  But with skincare, I have to break my own rule… There IS a secret to beautiful skin, and that is…

OIL.

A child of the 80’s and 90’s, I grew up fearing oils.  We bought oil-free everything when it came to skincare, and of course, that was mirrored in our eating, as we were taught that fat-free was the way to go.  Man, were we ever wrong.

Both inside and out, oils are a beauty savior.

The skin is our largest organ, and what protects this organ? Oils!  Our skin secrets sebum, which shields it from environmental damage, bacteria, and toxins; keeps it hydrated and smooth; and slows the signs of aging.  But keeping that sebum production in check is a fine balance. Using face washes and astringents that strip your skin of oils causes your skin to overcompensate by overproducing sebum, which can lead to oily skin, clogged pores, breakouts, redness, irritation, and other skin woes.  But feeding your skin with high quality organic oils does the opposite: it deep cleans without overdrawing, hydrates without making skin too oily, treats and protects skin from irritation and redness, prevents breakouts and wrinkles, and promotes that healthy, gorgeous glow we’re all going for.

You can feed your skin with oils internally, by incorporating cold-pressed olive and coconut oils, avocado, and fatty fish into your eating, and using high quality supplements of omega 3 and evening primrose oils daily.  Not only do these powerful nutrients help to boost immunity, improve heart and brain health, and promote healthy weight and mood, but they also help to lubricate skin, hair, and eyes from the inside out, leading to glowing skin, shiny hair, and bright eyes.

And oils are the best thing you can feed your skin with externally as well! There is a targeted oil for pretty much everything, so naturally, I get really excited when I discover a line of oils like Kindred Skincare Co., that harnesses the beautifying potential of a variety of oils to create super potent products that actually make a noticeable difference on skin.

I recently started using the Kindred Cleanse Core trio of products, and love love love them. First of all, they’re gorgeous.  The packaging is so beautiful that you almost don’t want to open it, and the lovely apothecary-style bottles grace your countertop with such Instagram worthy elegance.

But once you do finally open it up, you enter a world of simple, effective, and perfecting skincare. Start with the Oil Cleanse, which deep cleans and hydrates skin with shea, coconut, and castor oils, while healing and preventing irritation and premature aging with evening primrose oil, rosehip, and geranium.  It’s wonderful for all skin types (including my combination, breakout prone skin), but is especially awesome for skin prone to dryness, eczema, and redness.  As per the oil face wash method that I’ve been using for years, I only wash my face in the evening, by massaging in the oil and then washing it off with a hot wash cloth (that I leave on my face for a minute to steam open pores).

At night, follow the Oil Cleanse with Nightly Nourish, which blends deeply hydrating and nourishing oils with soothing lavender, calendula, and arnica, which are all wonderful for healing inflammation and clearing skin. In the mornings, I just splash my face with warm water, tone, then hydrate and protect with Morning Moisture.  This beautiful blend of oils has grapeseed, arnica, and coconut oils to soothe and reduce inflammation, carrot seed and raspberry oils to protect skin from the sun’s harmful rays, and palmarosa and petitgrain, which are antiseptic and help to regulate skin’s natural oil production.  Such an amazing way to feed your face in the morning!

For more acne-prone skin, there’s the Blemish Cleanse, which adds tea tree oil and rose hip to clear skin and reduce scarring.  I use the Oil Cleanse most nights, but switch to the Blemish Cleanse if my skin starts acting up, or around the more breakout-prone parts of my cycle.

As someone who has struggled with breakout-prone, sensitive, combination (oily AND dry!) skin my whole life… let me attest to this fact once and for all, oils are the magical, cure-all secret to perfect skin!