My All Natural Bath Care Routine
An all natural bath care routine that is safe for those with sensitive skin and those with many allergies. Gentle soaps + easy DIYs to help you get the best skin ever.
When people think of allergies, having sniffles in the springtime or food allergies are the most common examples. But I am always reminding people that allergies go beyond what’s on our plate and into the rest of our lives, including body and skin care.
Here, I share with you my bath care routine that I’ve developed over the years. It is filled with products that are gentle and made for sensitive skin, as well as being free of the top 14 allergens!
As I share my skincare routine, please keep in mind that I am not a dermatologist or an esthetician. I’m sharing what I have found to work best for me and my skin with the allergy limitations that I have.
What goes into my body
Equally as important as what you put on your body, it is SO important to monitor what you put into your body. Everyone is different with allergies and what they can manage to feed themselves during the day; I totally get that!
Water – I drink SO MUCH water! And I don’t just count water as my liquid intake, but also the teas I drink throughout the day as well. All in all I drink about 3-4 liters of water a day (which is about 12-16 cups) depending on the weather and my activity level.
Why do I drink so much water? Because I really think it makes a big difference in how my body operates. My skin is clearer, my joints feel easier to move, and honestly I just like drinking that much water.
The minimum recommendation is 8 glasses (or about 8-10 cups) of water a day. If you can, I would start there and add a few more sips each day until you reach a level of water consumption you feel comfortable with!
(And for those wondering, yeah, I do pee a lot.)
Fruits and Vegetables – I also eat a lot of fresh and/or frozen fruits and veggies each day. With all the food allergies that I have, it’s super important for me to vary my diet to make sure I get all the nutrients I need. This is always easier in the summer as I live in a very cold climate, so I rely on smoothies and frozen veggies to fill in the gaps in the winter.
This has the added benefit of being good for the skin! Seriously. The Cleveland Clinic states, “Fruit, vegetables and dark chocolate supply antioxidants and vitamins that help protect your skin from free radicals and sun damage, which keeps the skin looking younger and more radiant.” (x)
Daily Bath Care Routine
The daily routine for my skincare. Now, this is just for my body. For a total breakdown of how I take care of my face (including masks, makeup removing, and more!) make sure you check out my Hypoallergenic Skincare Routine here.
Olive Oil Soap
I love this soap. It is gentle, made of 3 ingredients, minimally processed, and does a fantastic job of getting me all nice and clean.
Fragrance free is the soap that I reach for, but if you are less sensitive to smells, they have some lovely scents like lavender or green tea.
Why I love this soap. First, it doesn’t make me break out! With only 3 ingredients of olive oil, salt, and water, it is by far the most gentle soap on the market. The company is vegan and cruelty free. The soap is non-GMO and super moisturizing to my skin. I love this soap so much and have used it for years!
Body Moisturizer
When my skin is a little extra dry, especially in the midwest winters, I reach for my homemade oil blend that is the same as I use on my face! For a more detailed breakdown of what I use and why, make sure to check out my hypoallergenic skincare routine article.
But the jist of it is 80% olive oil and 20% vitamin e oil gently blended together. This is super lightweight and absorbs into my skin by the time I’m ready to finish getting dressed for the day/night. You can add other oils as well to customize it to best suit your skin and skin needs. Even a few drops of essential oils would be fantastic to add, making this a body oil and a perfume all in one!
Deodorant
The Crystal mineral salt deodorant has been my go-to for years and years. I use the original unscented Crystal Stick and have had no complaints of body odor. It lasts me through workouts and provides 24 hour protection. Pretty impressive for a deodorant that is made from one ingredient, is vegan, non-toxic, and earth friendly packaging!
The trick that I have found is that rather than applying the deodorant in the morning, you need to apply it to freshly washed skin and make quite a few passes with the stick to get it to work. So, after I shower I will dampen the top of the crystal stick and swipe up and down on my armpits around 25 times. Seems like a lot, I know! But this way my whole armpit is covered in a thin layer of protection. I let it dry (about 20 seconds) and I’m good to go for a whole day of smelling good.
They have different scents available but I always lean towards the unscented.
Oh, and they last me a full year. No joke. I swear these things last forever.
Weekly Bath Care Routine
Each week, I like to do these things to help keep my skin in tip top shape.
Oatmeal Bath
I love a good bath. There is something so rejuvenating about soaking in a warm tub at the end of a long week.
Oatmeal baths are my go-to each week to help my skin both with moisturizing and to help naturally control my eczema and dermatographia. In my personal experience, the weeks I go without an oatmeal bath, my skin flares more quickly and more dramatically. These baths help to keep things cool and calm.
To make an oatmeal bath, I add about a 1 cup of whole gluten free oats to a muslin bag (you can also use cheesecloth or no bag at all!) and pop it in the tub when I turn the water on. I leave it in for the duration of my bath, making sure to remove it when I am done.
Some of the benefits of an oatmeal bath include:
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Providing a gentle skin barrier when done soaking
- Helps soothe the skin against eczema, psoriasis, sunburns, poison oak and ivy, chicken pox, and more!
Remember to make sure your water is lukewarm and not boiling hot! The hotter the water the more your skin will dry out, which defeats the purpose of the bath.
Dry Brushing
Dry brushing is amazing at helping to exfoliate the skin! I like to dry brush once a week (maybe twice a week in the winter) to keep my skin from becoming dry.
The action of dry brushing has been proven to not only exfoliate but also can help detoxify the skin through the increase of circulation and promotion of lymph flow! (x) That’s pretty cool!
Each week before I shower, I stand in the shower with the water turned off. Starting at my feet, I make long, gentle swipes up with the brush, always brushing towards my heart. The belly area can be a little sensitive so go nice and gentle if you need. The hands and arms are the same, with long sweeping motions directed towards my heart. Finally, I get my back and having a long handled brush is really helpful for this!
Make sure you don’t brush over any one part of your body more than a few times as it can break the skin down and cause irritation, something you are trying to prevent!
After that, I take a shower to wash away any dead skin cells that are left behind.
Monthly Bath Routine (or when I decide I need it)
Okay, so maybe monthly isn’t the best way to describe this section, to be honest, it’s more of a “when I think I need it” type of section. So, this is when I notice my skin looking a little dull, in need of extra exfoliation, or extra hydration.
Red Mud Mask
A red mud mask, or Moroccan Mud as it is also sometimes called, is my favorite skin treat! It has so many wonderful benefits for the skin, and is made for sensitive skin especially. Here are some of the things it does:
- Nourishing to the skin due to its high levels of magnesium, calcium, silica, iron, and potassium
- Heal the skin after an allergic reaction
- Heal the skin after a sunburn
- Helps to prevent acne and breakouts
- Removes blackheads
- Naturally tones the skin
The most basic mud mask recipe is to combine 2 parts dry mud with one part water, mix well, and apply to your skin. I like to apply this to my face, neck, chest, and even my armpits! Let it dry for 10 to 15 minutes and wash off with warm water.
Now, if you have dry and sensitive skin like myself, you DON’T want the mask to dry completely. Doing so will draw moisture out of your skin, something we want to avoid! Let it dry to where it is no longer tacky and wash off then.
Want more Hypoallergenic Skin Care ideas?
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So that is it! This is my current body care routine from top to toes. As my routine expands with new and different products, I’ll be sure to update this article to include them.
How about you? Did I mention some of your favorite products in this article? What will you be incorporating into your own routine? Let me know in the comments!
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