how to shower for dummies

Time to talk about how I wash myself - an obvious topic you all are dying to know about, I know. 

After a long 13 hour day out of the house there is nothing better than a hot meal followed by a hot shower. After a deep heavy sleep sometimes it's totally necessary to get up an extra 20 minutes early to wake your tired eyes up with a shower.

I love a good shower (I also love baths but I savour those hours with my book and a glass of wine for when I'm in the comfort of my family bathroom surrounded by mums candles and dads incense) and it is all about the products you use in there, are you actually washing yourself or just having a rinse? a body shower or a full hair-wash and leg-shave kinda shower? Either way my staple shower products at the moment consist of the below:

Haircare - Tresemme Salon Silk Shampoo & Conditioner

I start my shower by washing my hair - as most of you probably do - and I have always had good results with Tresemme. I have used every brand under the sun from Nicky Clarke and Color Wow to Herbal Essences and L'Oreal and I always come back to Salon Silk by Tresemee for some reason, it costs as much as Herbal Essences (another trusty hair brand I find) and normally I go for the huge bottles that last me forever. I have for the past year however used Lush shampoo bars and because it's not as easy for me to trek to my local Lush I have resorted in the past month to grabbing Tresemee again in Boots on my monthly store trips for work. Not to complain about Tresemee but the Lush bars last SO long I prefer them - they seem expensive for what you think they are at first, I wasn't 100% convinced - but they last about 3 months for me whereas a bottle of shampoo for almost the same price lasts 1 tops. Saying that I'm back on Tresemme and I love it :) My favourite bottled haircare.

Exfoliation - I love... Strawberries & Cream Exfoliating Shower Smoothie

This stuff smells like milkshake and sweeties - an obvious number one necessity when I'm picking out my body products. I've taken recently to completing my exfoliate, cleanse & moisturise routine on my body as well as my face. I want perfect soft skin for when I start my fake tan for summer regime (which will start soon) and for my month in a bikini in Thailand. So I've started the routine early determined to get myself smooth and buffed everywhere - this is working so far as this exfoliator is so perfect for me. It isn't harsh so it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin and it is just harsh enough to do a good job of buffing away dead skin. Perfect also for scrubbing away dirty night old instant tan!

Cleanse - De-Stress Body Wash by Aromatherapy Associates

I don;t always exfoliate in the shower but I always use this body wash - after a day at work where I am just about ready to collapse I love this (combined occassionally when I'm feeling really stressed and exhausted with the De-Stress Mind Bath & Shower Oil) to inhale in with the steam of my shower. It relaxes me so much and feels like magic unknotting all my knots, mind & body. I don't know an awful lot about Aromatherapy but I know I now love it. This particular scent is quite strong at first if you are not used to Aromatherapy but you get used to it after a couple of uses and you will find that you can't not have it in your shower. I tell you, I know I'm going to have to get more for my final year of uni!

Moisturise - Vitamin E In-Shower Moisturiser by Superdrug

Always use this - if I exfoliate or not. I reviewed it here against the Nivea verison with Cocoa Butter and it has actually become my favourite of the two. It's much less greasy and I can't deny I love the fact it's rich in Vitamin E (common knowledge this is my favourite beauty ingredient!)

So there you have it - you can now shower the Abi way (I hope it goes well for you all! ;) )

scrub up well

I have got some many ideas for posts that I've actually had trouble choosing what to write up today! And this is just for beauty.. i do need inspiration for my nails however (Do not despair i will have a lovely tutorial up for you all tomorrow).

For now I want to show off my facial skin-care routine, including all the stages that I (now) do.. that's cleanse, tone, exfoliate, moisturise. The most important part of skin-care is finding products that suit your skin - condition and sensitivity. 

I have determined that my skin is mixed, I get oily around my t-zone (see below for a cheeky diagram on what this is) but dry and itchy around my jaw line and eyes. If you have mixed skin you can use the same products that I do - these products can apply to other skin types though so I will explain the qualities of each one and what makes them brill for your skin.

cleansing

Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion, £2.99

This lotion is really good for sensitive skin, it's not harsh but still gets rid of all your make up. It works really well as an eye make-up remover as well (god knows I need that). Reading the back it seems to have a lot of vitamins and good ingredients for your skin especially good is Vitamin E. If you can get anything with vitamin E in it then it's good, you need as much of that stuff as you can get. It makes the appearance of scars and marks on your skin better and smoothes it out (I know this because my auntie who is a masseuse recommended it when I got some stretch-marks a few years ago). I use this in the evening and morning as well, to get rid of over night dirt - I use it right before I apply my make up as it also moisturises the skin lightly so you don't have to wait until you can apply make up (this you would have to do with normal moisturiser to avoid slippy foundation).

toning

B. by Superdrug B. Pure Micellar Water, £4.99

I never understood what toning is, to me it sounds like a quick fix to great abs in a bottle (I WISH), but it unfortunately isn't. We tone our skin to get rid of any left over make up, dirt and dead skin cells. Sounds harsh right? Well actually it isn't too bad, I don't tone everyday as I find it irritates my skin and I end up moisturising a lot to compensate. But this Micellar Water is really good as it's quite gentle so I use it 3-4 times a week to keep my skin supple and firm. It's actually a 3 in 1 formula, so it is a cleanser, toner and refresher - which is great! I know it's doing it's job and there is no need to rinse it off. I would suggest using this daily if your skin is tougher than mine (or normal) just don't get it in your eyes! 

exfoliating

Freederm Exfoliating Daily Wash, £5.19

I didn't ever bother exfoliating regularly until recently, my skin has been breaking out left right and centre and i had enough, so I went straight to the Freederm section, and I am so glad I did.

This product is meant for spot prone skin so you know it's going to do you some good, it combats blackheads and works quickly. I started using it daily and my spots started to clear up and blackheads appeared .. well.. less black! within a week. I use this in the evening after I've cleaned all my make-up off. There is a sensitive one available which I didn't realise, but I would say if you have mixed skin this one will work just fine as it's not irritating unless you over scrub. I did over-exfoliate (something I didn't think was possible) and mustn't have moisturised properly so I ended up with really dry skin around my nostrils, make up really irritated it so be careful!

moisturising

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion for Normal Skin, £3.59

I swear by Nivea for moisturising, I also have the in shower moisturiser which is lush!, I normally would get Nivea Soft but have recently been using this and it does the job just fine... until I go grab my next batch of Nivea Soft. I love this one because it absorbs really fast so I don't have sticky skin when I go to bed, which is when I do most of my routine. I tend to cleanse as soon as I get in from work and then leave everything else till I am getting ready for bed. I've always moisturised and everyone should, it's so important especially if you have dry patches of skin. You can also get good mattifying moisturisers that are made for oilier skin (so if you do have oily skin there is no excuse!)

extra caring

Detoxifying Face Mask with Dead Sea Mud from Superdrug, £2.59

I love a good face mask every now and then, when I have a couple of hours to really pamper myself. And what better way to do than with a little dead sea mud? This mask is really nice and my skin feels so soft after I use it, I even think my blackheads look better. I would recommend this if you do get bad blackheads. If you aren't a mask kinda person, you don't need to go whole hog, just put it on your worse areas (or t-zone) while you are in the shower and wash off within 5 minutes - easy peasy.

N.B. Drink as much water as possible, it's so good for your skin I can't explain! I try and drink a large bottle  (don't ask me how many litres it is) a day through the week and I treat myself on the weekend and evenings to juice and iced tea hehe!

Have fun cleansing ladies!

xxxxxx

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