One Love Organics + new face wash routine

Let’s talk about another new routine! Well, new-ish. Until last year, I used Cetaphil to wash my face, and the Josie Maran argan oil moisturizer. I loved that moisturizer, and loved that it had SPF 40. (I even wrote about it here!) Sadly, a few months after that post, Josie Maran reformulated my beloved moisturizer, and I hated the new version.

Casting about for a new option, I decided to try One Love Organics. I first heard about OLO on 100 Layer Cake in 2011, and thought it sounded neat – no GMO ingredients, parabens, or synthetic perfumes or dyes, and made by a small company in Georgia. However, the price point was pretty high, so it took a few years and hearing that my friend Lisa used and loved the products for me to take the leap.

I started with a trial size of OLO’s Skin Savior waterless balm ($19) and Easy Does It foaming cleanser ($9). I used Easy Does It to wash my face morning and night, and Skin Savior as a moisturizer morning and night. I loved it! My skin immediately started to rebalance from the drying disaster that was the reformulated Josie Maran. It seems paradoxical, but often the reason skin (at least mine) seems greasy is because it’s not getting enough moisture. The OLO products also seemed to help improve the texture of my skin.

I happily reordered both products six months later, and then again six months after that (to give you an idea of how long the “trial” sizes last me). I purchase from the Dermstore site, because they often offer discounts – I received 20% off one time and 30% off another!

In the last two months I’ve stepped up my game even more thanks to this video on the OLO site. This is now my evening routine:

— Start with clean hands. Scoop out a small amount of Skin Savior and gently massage all over face for about 1 minute. I usually work in sections: forehead, then right cheek, then left cheek, etc.
— Wet a washcloth with warm water and lay it over your face and eyes for about 30 seconds. I keep a small stack next to the sink because I like to use a new one every night. The warmth and moisture will help to gently lift away makeup, dirt, and grime. Gently wipe the balm away, then rinse the cloth and wipe again using the clean side.
— Pat skin dry.
— Dot Easy Does It on your forehead, cheeks, chin, and temples and gently massage in circles (sometimes I’m not so good about doing it gently!). OLO recommends doing this for one minute but I usually do it for a bit less because I find the Easy Does It doesn’t stay moist on my skin that long – maybe I don’t use enough?
— Rinse thoroughly. Apply small amounts of Skin Savior to any dry areas.

The whole process takes about three minutes. Since my skin is so thoroughly cleaned in the evening, now in the morning I just rinse and apply Skin Savior to moisturize.

As you all know I am FAR from a skin care expert, but there are not many products that seem to really work for me and that I feel passionately about, so when I find one, I want to share!

Would love to hear if anyone else has tried One Love Organics and what you thought!!

P.S. My only complaint with this routine is that I haven’t found a good way to work in sunscreen. My Bare Minerals powder is SPF 20, but I don’t feel like that’s enough. OLO currently does not offer any products with sunscreen, though according to their site they plan to in the future. They recommend wearing a hat, shirt/cover-up, and sunglasses instead, but I don’t find a hat to be practical in all situations…