Hey guys!

Due to recent success with my newly formulated regime I wanted to share it with others so that maybe they could benefit. Obviously as we all know by now there isn't exactly one thing that works for everybody. I am 20 years old now and finally found what works for me and my answer was: thyme! And a few other select all natural ingredients that are affordable and all can be found in your local grocery store. I have tried BP (Proactive) and other acne products (Clean & Clear, St. Ives, Oxy, etc.) over the years before making the switch to all-natural products for all my beauty products. It started with baking powder and apple cider vinegar and I have been experimenting the passed two years with different cheap kitchen ingredients ever since. I recently read up on the benefits of thyme for acne and decided to add that into my regime in different ways and let me tell you, this cheap spice has made such a difference in my skin! In the passed week since using it my skin is the clearest it's ever been.

Cleanser/exfoliate:

This one's a little strange. It certainly does not look appealing in fact it ends up looking quite gross. It requires a mixing before each use as the ingredients will want to separate (and that can look quite funky). It's smell can leave your face smelling like oregeno for the next half hour roughly but the results are worth it. These measurements are estimates! More or less of any ingredient can be changed to make the end product thick yet creamy enough to be used as a face scrub. It can get messy.

-1/2 baking soda

-1/4 water

-1/4 ground organic thyme (done in a spice/coffee grinder) + contents of 2 organic tea bags

$Cost$: I get a big box of baking soda for a little over $3 CDN and it lasts a long time. The thyme you can order in bulk I've seen online but haven't needed to as of yet, but it is relatively inexpensive. I bought just a shaker from my grocery store for a little over $3. A box of green tea costs about $4 and will last you forever in this way unless you also drink it (like me!)

Toner:

-Witch hazel steeped with thyme

My bottle of witch hazel was about half empty and I funneled quite a charitable amount of thyme into it and let it steep for over 2 days. I used the witch hazel with the thyme still in it (I pour a little onto my palm and wipe over my face,) you will get a few thyme leaves in there but once it dries they just comes off like you've gotten some fresh thyme on your face. That's all! After 2 days I drained out the thyme.

$Cost$: A bottle of witch hazel costs about $3 CDN. I don't use cotton balls or wipes because I find more is wasted on the cotton than is necessary, so my bottle has lasted quite a long time also.

Moisturizer:

-Organic non-refined coconut oil with added vitamin E

I keep a small container to mix and keep my mixture in. I break open approx. 3 capsules of vitamin E for every tablespoon of coconut oil.

$Cost$: Here is where it seems to get costly, but really it does not. I get a large tub of coconut oil for about $20 CDN, that lasts me a LONG time. I also use hefty amounts of coconut oil as a leave in after my shower for my hair, and the amount you'll use as a moisturizer is so little because you won't need a lot each application. I've had the same tub for about 4 months now and it is barely half empty. A little of the stuff goes a long way. Same idea with the vitamin E capsules. A bottle of 60 will put you back about another $20, but again the amount you use in the moisturizer is so little, I had about 10 left in a bottle I had and still have a few left and that was over 4 months ago and have been using the moisturizer ever since.

I cleanse, tone, and moisturize with these mixtures twice daily, morning and night. The coconut oil moisturizer was a little strange getting used to at first. I was afraid it would worsen my acne since it's an oil. At first it seemed like it did, but after about a week I saw major improvement. The trick is to use very little, just the fingertip of my index finger will do as it warms up easily and spread nice. I spend careful time smoothing into my skin as you would take the care to use BP the same way. It really helps to warm it and let it sink in to your skin versus a sloppy job which could potentially leaves hunks of oil on the surface of your skin (a no-no). This is only speculation, as I have never had a problem with it but I take the extra care, just in case.

Share your experience with natural ingredient regimes! Does anyone else incorporate thyme into their skin care?

Regards,

River