00:00Hello, hello, hello, hello. My name is Aerie. I am a skincare expert and educator. I am also
00:06the CEO and founder of Look Good, Live Well, a clean luxury skincare line created specifically
00:12for melanin-rich women and men who are done dealing with dark spots. One of my personal
00:18skincare resolutions and New Year's resolutions as well is to connect with myself more. And the
00:24way that I do that is through skincare. What I'm most excited about today is sharing with you
00:28one of my favorite do-it-yourself at-home skincare treatments. So it's January, right? Right now
00:36where you are, unless you're in California, you are probably experiencing some cold weather. So
00:41what that means is our heat is on and our skin is drying out. Now is the perfect time to ramp up the
00:47hydration and moisturization. I say both of those things because they're different, right? So
00:51hydration is when we pull moisture into ourselves, plump them up, you know, hydrate internally,
00:57moisturizing our skin is when we put a product on top that seals the hydration in. And so it's
01:04important to use products and ingredients that do both. And that's exactly what we're going to do
01:08here today. So let's get into it. I'm starting with a clean and empty bowl, clean hands, of course,
01:15whenever we begin cooking. And again, our base is our oatmeal. Oatmeal is excellent because it has
01:23anti-inflammatory properties. So when you think of the word inflammation, I want you to think about
01:27fine lines. I want you to think about wrinkles. I want you to think about acne, breakouts, eczema,
01:33psoriasis, rosacea. All of those things are triggered by inflammation inside of the body. So
01:39oatmeal is so incredibly calming and it helps to soothe all of the conditions that I just mentioned.
01:46What I love about this is the base for my mask is that anybody can use it, right? Oily skin,
01:52acne-prone skin, dry skin, mature skin, you know, sensitive skin, a young, tiny person,
01:59my 15-year-old uses this mask. Anybody can benefit from it. And so that's what makes it one of my
02:04favorite bases. So again, just a little bit of oatmeal. Now, what I also want to tell you is that
02:10we are going to use this mask completely today. So be aware of that when you're mixing your products
02:15and using your ingredients, you don't want to make a huge batch because we're not going to store it.
02:20The reason being is because there's no preservatives in this concoction that we mix up today,
02:24right? We don't want to create a science experiment or a petri dish that's going to live on our
02:30countertops or in our fridge. That will cause bacteria to grow and that will actually hurt our
02:35skin. So we don't want to do that. So again, we've got our oatmeal base.
02:40Next, we are going to fold in some bananas. Bananas, bananas, bananas. So what I love about
02:48bananas are because they, I love bananas rather, because they are really wonderful for brightening
02:55the skin. They contain a ton of vitamin C. So usually when we think of vitamin C, we think about
03:00our citruses, right? So we think about oranges, we think about lemons, our citrus fruits like that.
03:09But bananas surprisingly have a ton of vitamin C and vitamin C is known to brighten the skin.
03:15So this is an excellent way to get your skin glowing. And I'm all about that glow. If you know
03:20me, you know that I am all about getting the skin glowing. So again, we are just going to start with
03:25our creamier ingredients first, and we're going to mix those in together and just kind of fold the
03:31banana into the oatmeal. All right, you guys. So next up, we are going to pop in a small amount of
03:40Manuka honey. Now, honey is my favorite ingredient to use when I'm making a mask or do it yourself at
03:49home skincare treatment. And sometimes I'll just do a honey mask all by itself. Honey is my favorite
03:55because honey has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. So what that means in layman's terms is
04:02it helps to fight bacteria, an excess of bacteria that's found on the skin. This is really important
04:07for me personally because I am acne prone. So I tend to break out a little bit more often than
04:13the normal person or the everyday person. And so using a product or an ingredient rather that really
04:18addresses the overgrowth of bacteria that tends to happen on my skin is important to me. Not only is it
04:24antibacterial and antimicrobial honey, specifically Manuka honey, helps to increase the hydration in
04:32the skin. So remember at the top, we talked about hydration versus moisturizing. Remember when we
04:37hydrate the skin, we flood the skin or the cells with water. So the honey helps to pull moisture deep
04:46down in on a cellular level. And then we'll use a moisturizer on top to lock everything in and seal the
04:52deal. But this is going to help your skin and your cells act like a magnet and pull moisture deep,
04:58deep, deep in on a cellular level. So adding that honey in got us to a really, really, really nice
05:06texture, a nice creamy texture. And I'm going to keep it just right here. I've got a little bit more
05:13oatmeal on the side. If I want to add a touch more, I can make it a little thicker. And I think I just might.
05:18But lastly, can't see it much, but I am going to add just a touch, not much, but just a touch of
05:25olive oil. Olive oil is also very, very nourishing and hydrating to the skin. But why I love adding it
05:35to my mask is because it is full of antioxidants. So when you hear the word antioxidants, I want you
05:41to think about fine lines, wrinkles, increasing collagen production, refining elastin in the skin.
05:48Elastin is what makes our skin nice and tight. Collagen is what makes it full, supple, and bouncy.
05:55And of course, we know that fine lines and wrinkles happen when our skin becomes dehydrated. And so
06:01antioxidants work to address all of those things. And so I love using olive oil, not only because it
06:07gives us a nice, beautiful texture with our mask, but also because it helps fight all of the signs
06:13of aging. Really, really beautiful. So this has no scent, no fragrance. If you want to get jazzy,
06:20feel free to pop in some of your essential oils. I like things like lavender. I like peppermint. I
06:27like eucalyptus. All of those things are some ingredients that you can incorporate into your do-it-yourself
06:32nourishing treatments. I don't want to just call this a face mask because like I said, this is really
06:37an experience that you can indulge in for your entire body, not only your face, but your hands,
06:43your knees, your elbows, your feet as well. So allow yourself to really indulge and experience this
06:49all over your body. Other ingredients that would be excellent to pop in, avocado. That's one of my
06:55favorite ingredients to pop into my DIY mask. Avocado is very, very hydrating, very nourishing,
07:01very calming, and it also balances the skin. So if you find yourself a little bit more on the oily
07:06side, add an avocado to your mask and it really does help decrease excess oil production and calms
07:12and balances the skin. So this is the texture that I've got. I am going to smooth this all over my
07:20skin. Of course, after I wash, I'm going to apply this onto freshly cleansed skin, but after I cleanse
07:24my skin properly, I'm going to apply a generous amount all over and I'm going to let it sit for about
07:3020 to 30 minutes and then I'm going to rinse off with lukewarm water. After that, I'm not going to
07:35pat dry my skin. I'm just going to, you know, allow the moisture to just kind of evaporate and then I'm
07:39going to follow up with my night cream from Look Good Live Well. After that, I'm sure there'll be a bit
07:45of product left over and I will indulge in a hand and foot treatment. And so that is it, you guys. A very
07:52easy, very doable, very basic at home DIY treatment using products that are clean, products that are
07:59organic, products that are healing and restorative to our skin. Skin care is my self-care, not just
08:06because it's fun, not just because the outcome is healthy, beautiful, glowing skin, but it's a moment
08:11for me to slow down, to relax, to tap into my body, to take a peek into what is going on internally and to
08:18address it. So thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you for joining us here at Essence
08:23Wellness House. And I hope that this is of value to you and I look forward to connecting with you
08:28later. Enjoy the rest of your day.
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