Saucy Skincare Review: InstaNatural's Deep Cleansing Facial Oil

You may have heard about one of the latest trends in skincare - oil cleansing. A lot of people, myself included, were initially really skeptical about the idea of slathering oils all over our face to deep cleanse, hydrate, and help with breakouts? It didn't seem likely to me, especially with the combination / oily skin I have. I already have to spend extra time maintaining my skin, so.. why would I add more oil to it?

The thing is that people assume all oils are heavy, comedogenic (pore clogging) monsters, while this isn't the case at all. Take tea tree oil for example- this is an antifungal, antibacterial type of oil that helps to actually dry up blemishes (see my review of Apothecary Extract's tea tree oil here). Different types of oil have different molecular structures and, therefore, affect the skin in different ways. Actually, I found this chat that lists a bunch of different kinds of oils (and other common skincare ingredients) and their comedogenic ratings and I posted it for you beauties below. I hope you'll find it super informative. I sure did.

Side note / rant: Please notice that coconut oil has a comedogenic rating of 4. That means that it's pretty probable that it will clog your skin and cause breakouts. I hear sooo many sensitive /fair skinned women talk about how wonderful coconut oil is.. and, while it may be okay for the body, where the skin is thicker and less sensitive, I really wouldn't recommend it for regular facial use unless you have highly tolerant skin. 

Anyway, rant over, here you go:

0 = Will not clog pores
1= Low
2= Moderately low
3= Moderate
4= Fairly high
5= High

 

So, there you go. I'd personally save the file to your phone, computer, wherever, and refer to it before purchasing new skincare products.  Do some ingredients research before purchasing said product! You'd be surprised at the crap that's in the stuff out there.

Anyway, facial cleansing oils can have tons of benefits that don't include clogging the pores, such as hydrating, anti-aging, even helping to clear blemishes. Let's talk about the lovely InstaNatural's deep cleansing facial oil. The ingredients of this oil are all love. So much love that I'll include all of them, and I have to actually type them all out because I can't find a full list. And that takes work. So, here goes: 

organic jojoba oil, olive oil, lavender essential oil, pink grapefruit essential oil, geranium essential oil, organic passionflower, hemp oil, camellia oleifera oil, tamanu oil (which comes from these tree nuts from Polynesia and is apparently amaaaazing for the skin), sea buckthorn oil, wheat germ oil. 

A lot of these oils you won't see in the list above because they are essential oils and not really the same as buying a huge bottle of, say, canola oil. That's okay! If you've read my previous posts, it's pretty likely that you've heard me babble about essential oils and how amazing they are. Lavender oil, for example, is calming, soothing, and a mild anti-bacterial agent. Grapefruit is good for acneic skin, as it is antiviral and antimicrobial. Sea buckthorn is a powerful antioxidant. You get the idea. And, by the way, don't be frightened that the olive oil and jojoba oil are listed with a comedogenic rating of 2- I have pretty sensitive skin and have used both jojoba and olive oil on my skin alone with no negative results. In fact, I was surprised to see that jojoba oil had a "2" rating, as I've only heard people rave about the results of using jojoba on the skin. 

#InstaNatural's deep cleansing facial oil comes in a dark amber bottle, which is a huge plus, since light or clear colored bottles with oils like this could spoil when exposed to sunlight. The directions say to put it on your skin with a cloth, but I prefer to use my fingers so I can really get it into the little crevices and spend extra time around my eye area (by the way, this works great to remove eye makeup). After cleansing, just rinse the oil off with water. I prefer to remove with water, then follow with my toner.. this is probably just because I'm paranoid that acne-prone skin girl like me is going to break out.. either way, I could still feel the oil on my skin afterwards, which made me feel all yummy and hydrated and ready for bedtime. By the way, due to my skin type, I only use this oil at night. I personally feel that it's a bit too heavy for my skin type to use twice a day, but, since our body craves that extra hydration at night, I feel like cleansing at night is perfect for me. Though this could change as the winter months approach, since everyone's skin tends to get more dry. 

I actually really love InstaNaturals' deep cleansing facial oil. I like that the ingredients are straight-up awesomeness. No fillers, no yucky stuff. I like leaving a bit of the oil on my face overnight, due to all of the benefits that all of these oils do. In the morning, my skin has a nice, dewy look to it. Kinda really dig that. And I really dig those InstaNatural peeps out there in Florida. 

InstaNatural has tons of other yummy products! Check out their website here. You can also find their products, including their facial oil here on amazon for $19.95. Get on with your badass natural self. 

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers

Saucy Skincare Review- Petunia Skincare's Derma Roller AND Vitamin C Serum

Let it be known that I've wanted to use a derma roller for a long, long time. I find it so interesting that one would want to roll itty bitty tiny needles all over their face. The thing kinda looks like a torture device from the medieval period, actually. But, there's something to be said about creating tiny little wounds all over your face. Have you guys ever heard of the fraxel or pixel laser system? In a medical setting, it creates hundreds of pixelated, tiny wounds in the skin. More intense than the dermal roller, you better have the rest of the day to chill in your home after having this type of treatment, because, trust me, you're NOT going to want to show your face in public. In fact, check out this pic of my leg, immediately after one pixel treatment I did over a leg scar.

You LITERALLY cna see little square wound-type things all over my scar. Weirrrrrrrrrrrd!!!

 Over a series of treatments, the pixel system is said to help with scarring, particularly acne scarring. And it does!

But of course, who wants to have to hide in their home for an entire day ? After all, we gots things to DO! That's why the derma roller is supposed to be so awesome- because it's quick, easy, and doesn't leave you looking like a total psycho afterwards. Oh, and DUH, because you can do it in the convenience of your own cute little bathroom.

So, again, this works by basically creating super tiny wounds in your skin, which would then activate collagen to help with wound healing. We love collagen because, besides healing wounds, it also adds strength and elasticity. Of course, as we age, collagen production decreases.

Petunia Skincare is pretty confident in their derma roller, claiming that you will get the following out of it:
- Firmer and thicker skin
- Help smooth facial scars
- Stimulate collagen and elastin production
- Help with scar removal and stretch marks
- Stimulate hair growth
- Diminish the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines
- Save money from surgical and laser treatments
- Can be used on any part of the skin
- Creates multi micro-channels in the skin, allowing products more able to penetrate the skin at a deeper level than just surface application.

Some of these things I can definitely vouch for (saving money, duh), but do I really want to increase hair growth on my face?? Let's clarify this a little, #PetuniaSkincare, because I am not about that, I'm already dealing with enough hormonal hair changes. UGH.

Now, they say you're supposed to use the derma roller after cleansing, in every direction- up down, sideways, at an angle.. in order to create enough wounds. And, let me tell you, it kind-of really hurts!! You definitely don't need to apply pressure and, hopefully, you won't feel the need to, because you'll definitely feel it without any. With that being said, my skin didn't really look red or irritated afterwards, and I was super happy that my entire face didn't look like my leg after the pixel treatment.

Since the micro needler is producing tiny little open wounds, its great to apply product immediately afterward, as it will penetrate the skin better. I used Petunia's vitamin c serum that they kindly sent to me. This serum mixes vitamin c with hyaluronic acid and ferulic acid, a powerful antioxidant obtained from plant stem cells.

This vitamin c serum did stand out from all of the other ones that I have tried, as this has a pretty, light pink color. It has a nice scent to it that reminds me of sweet tea and is slightly, slightly thicker than other vitamin c serums I have tried. It felt a bit stronger than the other ones too, though it still didn't sting, like some vitamin c serums do.

I haven't used the derma roller every day, as I personally think that that's a bit too much for my delicate skin. I try to use it a few times a week, and I always use the vitamin c serum afterwards, and every night. I will say that, lately, I've noticed my skin has a nice glow to it.

You can find the above products, and then some, at Petunia's website here. In their "about" section, they state that they "use many natural ingredients, of which many are organic, however we are not here to build up the hype of  'all natural and organic' products because we do not want to reinforce the idea that natural is good and synthetic is wrong. Just think “poison ivy”. I totally respect their straight-up, no bullshit statement and that they aren't claiming to be an all organic company because "that's the cool thing right now." You go, Petunia skincare, and I'd be honored to review more of your stuff.


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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers