Heather Kew, RMT 
I can't tell you all how excited I am to be back doing what I love after being in self-isolation for 3 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With re-opening, one of the guidelines for return back to work was wearing a face mask. When this guideline came out, I thought nothing of it - it was just a precaution that I had to wear one for both my safety and my clients safety - no issue. What I had not put into the equation was the toll that wearing a face mask would take on my skin.
As a teenager I suffered from severe cystic acne. I remember when it was really bad I would dread going outside in the winter time as the extreme temperature on extremely sensitive skin would sting and hurt. It took years to get to the bottom of this issue, and I was so thankful that by the time I was 18, my acne had cleared up dramatically. Never had I dreamed that I would be dealing with acne again as a fully grown woman. But here we are!
As a teenager, I had tried every treatment imaginable - both over the counter and prescription. The idea that a lot of these products had given me was that my acne needed to be attacked, aggressively, and killed to the deepest layer of my skin. This would take harsh acids and drying out my pimples to achieve. Looking back on it, its kind of funny how very wrong I was and how very easily I had been mislead.
Fast-forward to aesthetic school where I learned all about the anatomy, chemistry and physiology of how my skin really works! Often acne is an imbalance. Whether its an internal imbalance - such as hormones or allergies, or in the skin itself, the acne will usually show improvement as the imbalance is addressed. While I cannot treat an internal imbalance, I can tell you that going to see a Naturopathic doctor was one of the best decisions I ever made - for so many reasons. But what I did learn about my skin was very clear - gentle is better. My skin is very sensitive and very reactive - many of the acid face washes chemically burned my skin, making the entire situation so much worse. But when I used gentle cleansers, hydrating clay facials and gentle, physical exfoliates - my skin healed!!
But the masks proved to be a whole new problem that needed a whole new solution. So I looked to the ingredients that I know work well on my skin and researched how I could use them to help combat the acne that was developing my cheeks and jaw line - where the mask rubs on my face.
Special Ingredients:
Honey: Raw Honey is amazing at supporting healing. It is a natural humectant - meaning it draws moisture from the environment to itself. It also kills bacteria and fungus while being extremely gentle and supportive to the skin.
Foaming oats: This is the surfactant (soap) part of this face wash. I chose this one because it is derived from the proteins of oats; and like oats, it is very gentle and mild on the skin and does not strip the skin of its natural oils.
Aloe Vera juice: Aloe Vera has so many health benefits, but it is extremely gently on the skin and known for being very soothing on inflammation as well as being hydrating.
Rose hydrosol: When making essential oils - after the steam distillation, there are 3 parts that remain. The first part is the plant matter, which is often used as fertilizer, the hydrosol, which is the water soluble portions from the plant, and the essential oil, which is the fat soluble portions from the plant. Rose hydrosol has many of the same properties as rose essential oil, but in a more diluted form. Rose is excellent at supporting the skin to heal as well as helping killing bacteria and fungus.
Jojoba Oil: Jojoba oil is identical to the oils that our skin produces - called sebum. By adding jojoba oil to this face wash, it helps protect the skin from bacteria and fungus by maintaining the skins natural ph levels.
Lavender Essential Oil: Lavender helps reduce inflammation, decrease redness as well as helps support the skins own healing process.
Tea Tree Essential Oil: Tea Tree oil is astringent and helps clean the skin as well as killing bacteria and fungus.
Ingredients:
140 ml Distilled water
40 ml Rose hydrosol
25 ml Aloe Vera juice
12 ml Honey
2 ml Jojoba Oil
25 ml Foaming Oats Surfactant
2 ml Geogard ect
3 ml Essential Oils
Essential Oil Blend
25 drops Lavender
10 drops Geranium
10 drops Tea Tree
or get all 3 here.
Directions
1.) In a clean measuring cup or beaker, add the distilled water, rose hydrosol, aloe vera juice, honey and jojoba oil. Whisk together until the honey is fulled incorporated into the mixture. The jojoba oil will form at the top.
2.) Add the foaming oats and whisk into the mixture gently. Do not agitate the mixture too much, or it will foam.
3.) Add the geogard etc and essential oils and stir in gently.
4.) Pour the mixture into a foaming dispense bottle and label.
Use 1-2 pumps of this face wash on wet skin. Massage into skin and rinse well with luke warm water. Works best as part of a facial skin care regime.
I can hardly wait to make this. I love all things with essential oils. Thank you for all you do!