Letting Your Skin Breath

Of the countless natural skincare brands I've tried the past two years, one of my top three is Evan Healy, an ultra clean line sold at some Whole Foods. (You can get a glimpse into the deep well of Evan's holistic wisdom on her blog.)

Evan's guiding principle is "the skin breathes." Both she and Dr. Hauschka believe that you shouldn't even moisturize at night—only in the a.m.—because the skin's own moisture-regulating and regenerating abilities are most active then. If you must hydrate, Evan says, apply just a few drops of lightweight, plant oil-based serum. (Can you imagine sales associates at department stores ever telling you that you don't need a nighttime moisturizer??)

This less-is-more practice is especially beneficial for people with acneic skin, whose sebum-rich pores tend to clog easily. Unfortunately, as a continually curious beauty writer, I'm constantly slapping stuff on my face. But recently, a combo of testing a thicker foundation for this blog, plus playing with too many products at night, had me broken out in tiny bumps on both cheeks. Time to pare down and give my face a breather.

I tossed the foundation and began simply cleansing and applying a small amount of Juice Beauty's Organic Facial Moisture Concentrate at night. And the breakouts immediately stopped and my skin is significantly smoother. I haven't seen such quick results since I quit milk and ice cream last year.