Skincare Update: Mystic Conversations and The Best Facial With Elina Organics

Hellooooooo first post of 2019! So excited to be settling back into a normal blogging routine post holidays— seriously can’t believe January is here. Got a lot of fun new content coming your way soon… One of my goals of this year is to start experimenting with video, write more personal blog posts (my favorites to write tbh), feature more styling basics how-to’s, and get into a consistent posting schedule.

Today, let’s talk skincare! I will be the first to admit that I have been reaaaally really struggling with my skin since August; I went through a break up, moved out of my shared apartment and back home with my parents. As you can imagine, it was a super fun and not at all stressful time *sarcasm*. After struggling with acne in high school, my skin became pretty consistently clear and problem-free in college. Which I definitely took for granted. As soon as my personal life took a turn for the unexpected, my skin showed all the evidence. My skin was all of a sudden way more oily, and it felt like I just had constant break outs. Even if an area would start to clear up, something new in it’s place would come up elsewhere. I was getting these tiny little bumps all over my cheeks and forehead, and pretty regular under the skin cystic zits. Yeah, you guys I was NOT a happy camper.

I had been trying a whole bunch of products over the last few months trying to get a handle on this. It was messing with my confidence, adding to my stress, and nothing I was doing was working. I stopped looking in the mirror after washing my face because I strait up felt disgusting. I didn’t even really document how it was looking; the below screenshot from a video is the closest thing I got haha, you can see my face is covered with a spot treatment trying to dry up all the problem areas.

Back in November, I saw Elina for the first time at her spa in Gold Coast, Chicago. Spoiler, I had THE best facial experience of my life, for many, many reasons. First of all, I just adore Elina. Not only is she the go to skin guru for local ~Chicago celebs~, but her holistic approach to organic skincare (she created her own line of products), blended with her knowledge and understanding of energy/crystals/chakra made for an unforgettable experience for me. My treatment felt like it healed my energy as well as my skin, and I left the spa feeling glowy and uplifted.

The spa overlooks Michigan Avenue, each room with panning windows letting in tons of natural light. Each room was incredibly spacious, and upon arrival, I was given some time to undress and relax with a cup of tea and organic fresh fruit. I immediately noticed crystals adorning the walls of the suite, which I was alllllll about— I’m trying to learn more about them this year!

After starting with a steam to open up my pores, Elina designed a custom facial experience for my skin. Everything used was from her own line of organic products, working to help clear out my existing breakouts while still hydrating my skin, since the winter climate can be so drying. As I relaxed and was pampered, Elina and I had incredibly interesting conversations about how she came to create her own line of skincare and makeup products, her experiences working with local Chicago TV stars, even how I should properly be cleaning and “cleansing” the energy of my rose quartz face roller (more on that later). Elina also had SO many amazing pieces of advice on all things skincare and energy-related that I frantically wrote down as soon as my treatment was over; I know you guys will love and appreciate!

Just a quick note, I am officially a month into using a skincare regiment consisting solely of Elina’s products. Not only is my skin finally cleared up (not to mention glowy, hydrated, and soft), but I have come to really love my whole morning and nighttime skincare routine— I find it incredibly therapeutic. I am using close to 10 products and would love to talk about them in detail and call out my favorites. I’ll plan on saving that for a post in the very near future 🙂

Top Tips for Beautiful Skin and All Around Good Vibes

Try a detox meditation 1-2 a week, specifically aimed at cleansing your energy
- Settle into a comfortable position, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Imagine a white crystal with light flowing into it. Imagine the crystal splitting into two and then enveloping yourself it its light.
- If you are using crystals, a jade or rose quartz roller included, it is really important that you are cleansing the energy periodically. If you have used your roller while you’re sad or experiencing a negative emotion while using it, the crystal will retain this bad energy
- To cleanse, place our crystal or roller in a salt water bath over night to rid it of previous energies.
On why I could have seen recent changes with my skin:
- The stress of a big life change (lol my really fun breakup), plus moving could have been a major trigger. Plus, it’s possible that living in a different environment, so different air, water, humidity levels, dryness, etc, could also have played a role
- But, it does appear that a lot of my skin issues were tied to my small intestine. I’ve since started taking an internal probiotic to help with digestion
- Also, about every 7 years, our skin goes through a new cycle. This timeframe totally aligns to the last major skin change I experienced (which was a positive one, fortunately)
Probiotics can be ingested and applied topically, as they should be for your best skin!
- If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can even order a homemade kombucha kit. The by-product that you don’t drink can be used as a 100% pure probiotic/live culture serum
- You can learn all about the power of probiotics for skincare here
Dairy is alwaaaays a skin stressor and irritant. Try cutting back if you are experiencing more than typical breakouts
- So are grains other than buckwheat
Don’t use your mositurizer on your t-zone if you are experiencing breakouts
Be careful of using hair oil close to your scalp; it could be causing breakouts on the top of your forehead
Drink Red Clover and Dandelion tea for anti aging and skin healing purposes
Use your crystal face roller with manuka honey
- Make your own mask by mixing manuka honey with a little water, and use your roller to push the sticky mixture all over your face. Rinse with warm water.
- Manuka honey is known for being extremely anti-inflammatory and detoxifying
- This was included in my facial and I loved how natural it was; plus, I love that it’s something I can easily recreate at home when I’m in need for some extra pampering
Check to see if your makeup products contain silicone
- Silicone acts like saran wrap on skin, preventing skin from being able to breathe, sweat, etc, so it seals everything in and causes breakouts and congestion
- It also can make your skin look dull and not hydrated
It is really important to not mix skincare lines…
- I feel like this one will be controversial… But the truth is, skincare products are typically designed to be used as part of a line that works together. The ingredients work together because they are designed to.
- By mixing brands, the intended effects of even really good products can get counteracted based on their ingredients
- Elina recommends trying out a skincare line, using only their products, giving yourself a few weeks to a month to see how it works for your skin. If it’s not working, then change to something different