Lush Skincare Routine
I've often mentioned the Lush skincare regime which I followed religiously for 18 months and which undoubtedly (alongside La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo) saved my skin. As a teenager I suffered from really really bad spots and foolishly overloaded my skin with harsh over drying spot treatments by the likes of Clearasil and Clean & Clear. I eventually decided to adopt a different approach, binned all of my cheap and nasty drugstore product and headed for Lush.
Lush promote themselves as being environmentally friendly, organic, ethical and natural. I'd used their bath bombs and soaps before but had always been put off by the price of their skincare range. However at 18 and about to start university, I was at the point where I would do pretty much anything to clear up my skin so didn't mind splashing out a bit more money to see the results. Below I list the products I was recommended and used for about a year and a half without putting anything else on my skin (honestly). It was a gradual process but within a couple of months my skin was already on the mend.
Morning:
Lush 'Fresh Farmacy' facial soap - £4.70/100g
In the morning I used this facial soap, it's really gentle and has calming properties which help to reduce redness. I wet my hands and face with warm water and scrub this into my palms to create a lather which I then rub gently into my face before rinsing off with cold water and patting dry with a clean flannel. I still use this every day, and it's super travel friendly!
Lush 'Grease Lightning' spot treatment - £5.95
Before I'd leave the house I'd apply this spot treatment liberally over my problem areas (forehead, chin, and around my nose). I still use this now if a spot pops up as its really quick and effective. It's packed with witch hazel, tea tree, and aloe vera, the best natural spot fighters.
Shower time:
I usually shower in the early evening. If I had the time I'd apply a mask about half an hour before showering. I still use these regularly, they're my favourite face masks. I probably used them once or twice a week. If I didn't then I'd use the below scrub whilst I was in the shower.
Lush Fresh Face Masks - £5.95
Brazened Honey - This is one of my favourites as it leaves my skin feeling really clean and matte. Lush describe it as a 'detox mask', great for tired and dull skin, but I also found it really effective for clearing up breakouts.
Cosmetic Warrior - Lush's targeted spot fighting mask, this contains tea tree and garlic to battle with blemishes and grape and honey to cool and moisturise the skin. Smells peculiar but works wonders.
Cupcake - Aimed at teenage skin in particular, this mask looks and smells amazing. Pretty much a three in one, this mask cleanses, tones, moisturises, and leaves you smelling like a chocolate dessert.
Lush 'Angels on Bare Skin' fresh cleanser - £6.25
This gently exfoliating scrub is perfect for in shower use as it can be pretty messy. I take a small lump and wet it in the palm of my hand, work it into a liquidy texture with my fingertips and then apply over my face like a mask. I like to leave it on for a few minutes before I wash it off. It's a really natural, gentle formula and leaves my skin feeling really clean and soft. It helps to reduce redness and even out skintone. Be careful not to let much water into the pot when you use this. A few of mine have gone mouldy because of this!
Evening:
Lush '9 to 5' cleansing milk - £9.25/240g
Not cheap but my large bottle of this lasted me for a whole year despite using it every night. Possibly my favourite out of all of these products, this super gentle cleanser removes makeup and other nasties from your skin. I squirt a coin sized dollop onto my fingertips and massage over my face, leaving for a few minutes before wiping off with a cotton pad of...
Lush 'Tea Tree' Toner Water - £7.25
This bottle lasted me for well over a year! I squirt this toner three or four times onto a cotton pad and wipe over my face to remove my '9 to 5' cleanser. Tea Tree works wonders on spot-prone skin and this formula isn't too strong and drying either.
Lush 'Enzymion' moisturiser - £13.75
Whilst Lush do make a moisturiser aimed specifically at spot-prone skin ('Vanishing Cream') I really didn't get on with it so opted for 'Enzymion' instead. This moisturiser is aimed at oily skin so I don't use it anymore as my skin is now more combination/dry. I used to apply this in the evening after cleansing ,and in the morning under my foundation (its an excellent makeup base). Despite being aimed at oily skin it is very very very gentle, and won't be too drying or harsh. Sinks straight into my skin and smells delicious!
I still use all of these products, but now that my skin has calmed down and cleared up I've started to experiment and introduced other brands into my regime. Whilst I can't promise that this regime will work for everyone I really recommend going 'eau naturale' and ditching the cheap chemical laden cleansers that are shoved down teenagers throats these days. They don't work for anyone, trust me. It's worth paying a little more to get good results and there really is nothing better than simple, natural products when it comes to your skin. A lot of people (myself included) believe that if they have bad spots then they have oily skin. This is not the case. I recently learned that I have dry skin, and that one of the main reasons for my troubled teenage skin was the overly drying products I was using. If you dry your skin out too much it panics and produces its own oils (hence why you think you have oily skin) and leads to yet more spots. When I look back now I could kick myself for the fact that I didn't use a moisturiser until I was 18 and ran alcohol soaked Clearasil wipes over my face on a daily basis (cringe). I really do feel that this Lush regime was the best thing I ever did for my skin, and I recommend it to anyone who asks how to get rid of spots and acne. Please ask if you have any questions, and follow me on Bloglovin or subscribe for more skincare related posts and reviews.