One of the most important principles behind our supportive, functional skin care is that we don’t want to “make” the skin do anything. Instead, we teach you the self-care methods and provide the topical nourishment that gives the body what it needs for the skin to truly care for itself.

No, these products will not “make the skin purge.” That being said, if you are using a controlling product and suddenly stop (turning only to our beautifully, hand-made gorgeous products) things will almost certainly go “OUT OF CONTROL!”

This means:

If you are using a suppressant such as benzoil peroxide, cortisone, or even essential oils (especially tea tree) to “Push the problem back in” or, “to calm the skin or tell the immune system to not react,” the immune system will respond in full force once you release the suppression. And new problems coming up will no longer be suppressed like you’re used to.
If you’re using active products that lift, tone, or enrich and stop using them, you will no longer have those (so-called) “benefits.” Believe me, your skin will look younger and better in the long run without them…and you don’t have to give them up immediately!
If you are using products that kill bacteria or change the pH, there will be a period of time before the microbiome is rehabilitated and it can take care of itself.

What can you do if you want to go all-natural and stop the control cycle but you are deeply invested in suppression or other control methods?

Recognize that this is an “and/in addition to paradigm”
We are not Alternative Medicine. There is no reason why you cannot do both. Our products are not “active,” therefore, you will not overdo it if you use our products to nourish your skin and improve skin function IN ADDITION TO using your more controlling regimen.
You can take one step closer to Supportive Skincare
If you’re not ready to switch over to our Functional Skincare line, you can utilize our Advanced Skin Care line, which uses botanicals, vitamins and minerals to help ease your reliance on drugstore or cosmeceutical products while maintaining a little control.
You can release it all at once
And go live in a frozen ice castle until everything you have been suppressing since childhood is out of you.

How to Let it Go (Gently)

Figure out where your control is. Is it your cleanser, toner, moisturizer or a treatment product? Do not discard these products (yet).
If you have any signs of congestion, be sure to add oil cleansing to your regimen 1-5 times per week at night. Use NO EVIL and do it properly, removing with a warm, wet washcloth pressed onto the skin for a lovely moment before wiping it away.
Find a way to add a Mineral Mist into your regimen twice a day. If you are currently using a non-controlling moisturizer, replace your moisturizer with a Moisture Duo, using Nourish & Replenish Oil and one of our Mineral Mists. If your moisturizer is part of your control system, simply spray a few pumps of your Mineral Mist under your moisturizer or spray it directly into the moisturizer before you apply.
Drink our Nourishing Herbal Infusion Teas that are indicated for your more pressing concerns-make a large batch at night and strain in the morning.
Whenever possible, don’t use a cleanser in the morning, instead, make a bath in the palm of your hands with warm water or your herbal tea and press your face into it for a few moments before splashing it on and using a warm, wet washcloth to wipe away. Follow with a Moisture Duo and a Facial Point Stimulation massage with lymphatic movement. (See Good Morning Massage in our interview with Nylon)
While you are adding these nourishing products to your regimen, be sure to follow some of the ideas in our blog post Diet for Incredibly Good Skin to improve how the skin is functioning from the inside.
After 3 weeks of “adding”, reduce the frequency of your controlling products over the course of 1 to 6 months. If you are currently on prescription medications, work with the prescriber to determine the safety of weaning from the drug.
As you are weaning, start slowly adding more of our Functional Skin Care line to replace your old stuff until your regimen looks a bit like this:

Morning Regimen

Water-based bathing | moisturizing | morning massage

Facial Bathing Ritual

with water or Herbal Infusion

Daily

Moisture Duo Ritual

3 drops Nourish & Replenish Oil + 5 sprays Mineral Mist directly into it

Daily

A Good Morning Massage

Gently stimulate the skin to relay positive messages to the subtle body.

Daily

+

Evening Regimen

Cleansing rotation | renewal | rest

Oil Cleanse

With NO EVIL or Cow Fart Juice

1-5 times a week

Herbal/Grain Cleanse

With Sow Your Wild Oats or Integrity Biome Rehab Mask

2-4 times a week

Go to Bed Without Moisturizing

This allows your skin to reset

Mist your skin with a Mineral Mist to support Cellular Communication

+

Weekly Rituals

Clay Mask

With Pore Refining Clay, Sense & Sensitivity Clay, or Clear Complexion Clay

Once a week

Herbal Steaming

As part of the oil cleansing if there is congestion

As needed

What to Expect if you Follow Our Methods

- You will find that (in general) the Lubrication/Hydration Function re-calibrates in 3-6 weeks
  If you have dehydration, comedones (blackheads and milia) and impacted debris, you will want to have another facial within that 3-6 week period to assist with the body’s clean out)
- The Cellular Communication Function takes 2-4 months to get up to par
  (as in, not over-reacting or under-reacting) and one month to release and resolve each year of control once it has been released— this looks like small amounts of “floating patchiness.”
- It takes 16 weeks of diligent work to rehabilitate the biome
  A little longer if you are bad at following directions, but once it is done, it is done (unless, of course, you do something that sets it off again.)
- It will take one month for every year of suppression for papules to release and resolve
  These papules may or may not have become pimples. We call these bumps “The Ghosts of Pimples Past.” They look a lot like a blackheads or whiteheads, but when released, instead of oil inside that looks like a pearl or a grain of rice, these coil out like toothpaste when squeezed. Regular facials will remove them and keep you on track, but there is no speeding up the process. Our clients are amazed when they just “magically” stop coming at the given time. (Hint: it’s not magic.)
- We do not start working on old scars (by activating an immune response) until the skin is functioning well and control has been released.
  Once these criteria are met, we can do even more amazing things to improve the skin’s overall radiance.

Somehow, we’ve all been fed a lie (and keep repeating it) that we can-and-should control our bodies. But control is not the same as healthy, or even beautiful—it is just “under control.”