In many spiritual traditions, weekly and monthly rituals help to keep you on track and pointed in the right direction on the spiritual path. Some are meant to give you rest, while others boost you forward, and still others clear obstacles along the way. The added benefit of having specific weekly rituals in your Supportive Skincare Regimen is that they greatly improve the results of your daily care! These rituals are like festivals or traditional holy days and are not meant for daily care. They provide us with the care that we need in a consistent, but not constant, time frame.
The Supportive Skincare Regimen Follows Nature’s Calendar
Beautiful, healthy skin thrives with a daily hygienic plan (The Sun Cycle), weekly and monthly rituals that boost you forward and keep you heading in the right direction (The Moon Cycle), and the unique challenges from seasonal transitions and special occasions that keep your skin vibrant while increasing resiliency (The Earth Cycle). At Brooklyn Herborium, we give the skin what it needs in relation to these three natural cycles but always leave room to allow the skin the agency to function well on its own. We call this the Supportive Skincare Regimen.
Brooklyn Herborium’s Supportive Skincare Regimen focuses on when you use certain types of products. You can have a supportive regimen with a wide variety of products, so long as you use each product type at the right time.
- The Sun Cycle is the 24-hour pattern of day and night that is created by the Earth’s rotation. This cycle guides our daily rhythm and gives us cues for hygiene and habitual self-care.
- The movement of the Moon around the Earth creates the Moon Cycle. It is the basis for the waxing and waning phases of the moon and the appearance of the New Moon or the Full Moon. Our regimen for weekly and monthly rituals follows this cycle. These practices are not appropriate for every day but can be beneficial when used judiciously and at the right times. These are your intelligent intermittent practices.
- The Earth Cycle is created by the movement of the Earth around the sun and the tilt of its axis. It is what gives us the seasons that create the year. Within our regimen, this earth cycle allows for both transitional practices as well as special occasions, such as “holidays."
Moon Cycle Masks: Clay and Herbs
Clay has traditionally been used to DRAW out (not dry out) impurities through the processes of adsorption and absorption. As good as gold, the Earth’s silica, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, zinc, and other minerals bind with metabolic and environmental toxins that other types of cleansing don’t address.
Clay Masks: Sense & Sensitivity, Pore Refining, and Clear Complexion
The best timing for how often to give yourself a clay mask is somewhere between once per week and once per month, so don’t fret if you get out of the habit when times get busy; it is easy to slip back in.
Preparing the skin for a Clay Mask
- Oil cleansing (and taking the oil off) before a Perfection Clay Mask is not necessary, although it can prep the skin so that the action of the clay is stronger. This is particularly useful if you have a lot of stagnation, hormonal hyperpigmentation, or stress bumps/pimples.
- Applying oil UNDER the clay mask decreases the efficacy of the clay but can increase the oil-bonding action of the oil in areas of congestion, such as blackheads on the nose, forehead, or chin.
Preparing the Clay Mask
- In a small, non-metallic bowl, mix 2 tsp of your clay mask with 3 tsp (AKA 1 Tbsp) hot water. Gently stir with your fingers until the mask becomes thick.
Masking
- Apply the mask in a smooth, thick layer over the entire face. Rest for 8 to 10 minutes with the mask on.
- The action of a Perfection Clay Mask reaches its peak just before it dries, so it is important to keep the mask slightly moist by dabbing it with warm water, covering it with a wet facial compression towel, or misting it with a spray bottle. Allowing any clay mask to dry out could nullify the good work it is doing by irritating the skin.
Integrity Biome Mask
Another option for your weekly mask is Brooklyn Herborium’s Integrity Biome Mask. This unique herbal mask nourishes the life of your skin by helping to create a healthy terrain for your topical microbiome.
BEST USE: In a small bowl, mix 1 tsp Integrity Biome Mask and 1 tsp super-hot water. Gently swirl together with your fingertips until it gets thick, and apply to your clean face in a smooth, thick layer. Rest for 10-15 minutes with the mask on before removing it with a steamy birdseye washcloth or a facial compression towel.
Sow Your Wild Oats with Yogurt
You can make a special mask with the Sow Your Wild oats by mixing 1 tsp of Sow Your Wild Oats into 1 Tbsp full-fat yogurt, allowing it to sit for four hours before applying it to the skin. You can use it like a scrub/cleanser by massaging it around in circular motions before removing it with a steamy washcloth immediately. Alternatively, use it like a mask and leave it on for 10-15 minutes before removal.
Cow Fart Clay
A severely compromised barrier, whether due to chronic internal factors such as inflammatory conditions or acute external factors like exposure to an irritant, needs a little tender loving care as it heals. Cow Fart Clay offers soothing botanicals in a gentle clay blend to
- As a mask: In a small, non-metallic bowl, mix 1 tsp clay mask and 1 tsp hot water. Swirl together with your fingertips and apply evenly on the skin. If you have stagnation (hot spots and dermatitis), do not use any product underneath the mask.
- You can also use it as a spot treatment on inflamed areas (equal amounts of dry product and hot water) or add this product to our regular clay masks by replacing 1 tsp of your usual clay with one tsp Cow Fart Clay.
- You can keep the cow fart clay on for up to 20 minutes. Press a damp cloth into the mask to help loosen it before removing it.
Herbal Steaming and Herbal Compression
Steam cleaning weekly or monthly with the Herbal Facial Steamer does wonders for dehydrated skin, manages the microbiome, and is the most effective way to release and prevent congestion such as blackheads and milia. To steam your skin with herbs, carefully pour hot, stamy water into a bowl on a safe surface and add a handful of herbs. Make a tent over your head with a towel (you can use a dry facial compression towel), keeping your face at least one foot away from the steaming water. Please take care; boiling water and steam can burn you.
- Use Herbal Steamer in conjunction with your Oil Cleansing Ritual when there is congestion due to dehydration (blackheads and milia). Apply 6-8 drops of NO EVIL, Nourish & Replenish, Cow Fart Juice, or Seeds of Change before you steam. Massage the impacted skin with your fingertips as you steam for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the oil with a steamy birdseye washcloth once you are done. Then, you can compress.
- Use an Herbal Steamer without oil under it to manage the topical biome or for stagnation. Symptoms that may benefit from Herbal Steamer without oil include itchy irritations, little red bumps, and pus. No need for washcloth removal, however, it is lovely to follow your steaming with an Herbal Compress using your steaming herbs.
- Herbal Compression: After the herbs have been steeped and the water has cooled sufficiently, you can strain the herbs and dip a Facial Compression Towel in the “tea.” Then, press this warm, herbally-infused towel against your skin for a rejuvenating herbal compression.
- You don’t always need to use only Herbal Steamer for your skincare rituals. Enjoy using one of our Herbal Teas (such as Inner Strength, Inner Peace, or a Stress Bump Tea) for Steaming or Herbal Compression.
Action-Packed “Boosters”
We created each of these products as a special treat to be used with your favorite beauty rituals to enhance the benefits by giving the skin an added boost of excitement.
Sometimes, even when you are doing everything “right” with your skin, and it looks “perfectly fine almost all the time,” you get a little craving for more action and excitement in your skincare. Beauty products are no substitute for good entertainment. However, we know that sometimes, when you are bored, your skin is bored. Action-packed Boosters are not your daily skincare, but an enjoyable way to give yourself (and your skin…) a pick-me-up when things seem dull.
A+ Brilliancy Oil Serum and A+ Brightening Clay Mask
For over-achievers, these two products are best used in conjunction with each other to give your skin a boost of confidence. While you don’t necessarily need to put this on your class schedule, you can replace your weekly clay mask with this ritual on a monthly basis throughout the year as if you were giving yourself an at-home facial.
TO USE: In the evening, apply 1-2 droppers of A+ Brilliancy Serum Oil to the face, massaging around with the fingertips, taking care around the eye area. Tap the face lightly all around with your fingertips for a few minutes while repeating your mantra. Come up with your own, or borrow this one: “My body is a beautiful home for my radiant soul.”
Mix 2 parts A+ Brightening Clay Mask with 1 part warm water in a small bowl. Apply generously over the A+ Brilliancy Oil Serum and tap the face lightly all around with wet fingertips until the mask stops feeling tacky. Remove with a cloth & warm water before the mask dries. Mist face with one of our Mineral Mists.
Pure Beauty: Rosey Gommage
This gommage is an “active peel,” meaning you massage it around your face, helping it exfoliate & improve fine lines & discoloration.
TO USE: Massage 4-8 pumps of gommage into your face and neck, avoiding the direct eye area. Using fingertips, make small circles around the nose and in all the facial creases. As the gommage dries, you will start to feel tiny bits of cellular debris. At this point, rinse your face & neck with a warm washcloth and remove all dead skin. Try simply allowing your skin to be naked after removal, or use your moisture duo to moisturize.
Pure Beauty: Honey Tapping Mask
This mask, along with the tapping ritual, is incredibly cleansing and grounding. Great for skin with stagnation that tends toward dermatitis, irritation, and build-up in the pores.
TO USE: Pump two pumps of mask in your palm and mix with 2 sprays of mineral mist to incorporate. Spread the mask over the face using rolling motions with the finger pads, alternating with gentle presses from the fingertips. Continue these motions until the mask sticks to the fingers, pulling debris from the pores. Spray the face with mist one time to reduce sticking, and repeat the first part. Rinse with warm water and a cloth and follow with a few sprays of mineral mist.
Pure Beauty: Clarity Ritual Serum Oil
This decadent serum oil can be used to enhance your weekly rituals, giving your skin a luxurious, decadent feeling treat that leaves you feeling fresh and clear.
TO USE: Make a special event out of your oil cleansing, facial massage, herbal steaming, or weekly mask by using this more potent Serum Oil.
