THE OILY BAR The Best Things in Life Can Be Found in the Bathtub

STORY BY KALEE HUME, OWNER OF THE OILY BAR

Epsom salt dissolves in water into a magnesium and sulfate compound that when absorbed into the skin can help with certain ailments such as sprains, aches, swelling & insomnia (especially paired with sedative essential oils). At The Oily Bar, we use pure epsom salt mixed with essential oils and skin safe colors for a fun effect. When combining essential oils and epsom salt, the essential oil binds to the salt and then they dissolve together into the water and then into your skin, maximizing the effects of your bath.

This one is crucial! Remember that buildup we just talked about? With exfoliation, we can get rid of any buildup that has been created (because let’s be serious, life happens). While exfoliation is important for your face, it is just as important for your full body. A great choice is our Foaming Sugar Scrub, it exfoliates while also cleansing like a soap. A two in one for when you’re short on time! My favorite thing about our exfoliator is that not only is it all natural, but it’s also made with a creamy base of shea butter, coconut oil and glycerin so it locks in moisture.

Toning is an effective way to balance your skin’s pH levels. It not only removes lasting dirt and grime from your face, it extracts impurities while calming and smoothing your skin. I love to make my own at-home toner. All you need is witch hazel and some soothing essential oils such as lavender to help calm, lemon to help brighten and tea tree to help prevent breakouts.

Especially in a dry winter, this step is so important! Moisturizing your full body is not only a sacred act of self care, your skin will be happy and glowing! As far as facial moisturizing goes, I like to use pure jojoba oil with a few drops of essential oils. I love jojoba oil because while it is moisturizing, it also contains natural forms of vitamin E that work with your skin as an antioxidant. It is also considered a non comedogenic, this is a fancy word that means it mimics the oil that your body naturally creates, making it less likely to build up on your skin and clog your pores. As far as your whole body goes, I love to use our body butter by The Oily Bar. It’s only ingredients are shea butter, mango butter, grapeseed oil and essential oils and then whipped to a creamy perfection. When using this, I know I am not only getting the deepest hydration, but I trust the ingredients that are going on my skin.

Just like it is important to hydrate our exterior, it is just as important to hydrate our interior. With adequate water intake, our skin is able to maintain its elasticity. This can help keep our skin plump and make it less likely to crack and suffer from blemishes in the dry winter air.

The term ‘beauty rest’ wasn’t created for nothing! We can often physically see the effects of a poor night’s sleep - dark under eyes, paler and more wrinkled skin. While poor sleep can not only affect us mentally and physically, it can leave our skin vulnerable and unable to recover from environmental stressors. The goal is to aim for 8 hours of sleep for proper rest.

Detoxing is an important part of overall health. And no, I don’t mean purchasing that detox tea you saw on an infomercial or even drinking a smoothie for every meal. Real forms of detox come with things like sweating, drinking adequate water and ingesting antioxidants. Detoxing can help rid your skin of excess oils and toxins. While you want to make sure you cleanse after sweating, it can have some benefits such as killing harmful bacteria on the skin’s surface and even having anti-aging effects.