How it all Began!
A message from Clarisea's founder: Hi, I'm Alison! I had terrible acne starting in high school and through my mid twenties. I tried all types of treatments just like everyone else: Neutrogena, ProActiv, Murad, Differin, Retin-A and antibiotics. Neutrogena and Clean & Clear and everything else in the pharmacy store either did not do enough or made my skin red and flaky. When I used ProActiv I could hardly open my eyes in the morning because they were so swollen from the heavy dose of Benzoyl Peroxide. And the entire left side of my face was puffy. It took weeks for my skin to return to normal after using Murad. Too much Salicylic Acid. Differin didn't do anything, all the dermatologist prescriptions were too harsh for my sensitive skin-I would always get beet red and start peeling-and the antibiotics made my legs and teeth turn purple!!!
I struggled and struggled through high school and college, wasting so much money on products that did not work. If I had only known then what I know now.....
To make matters worse, I was also an obsessive compulsive skin picker. I picked at everything, creating sores all over my body, which is why I was even more motivated to find a solution that I could always rely on to clear up my skin and keep it clear so I would not keep trying to do it myself while leaving behind a messy trail of scars. That's exactly what my products did and still do for me on a daily basis. Long story short about how the products came to be: I was at the beach for a month one summer after college and the ocean water was unusually warm the entire month of July so I was going for a swim a couple times every day. I noticed my skin was clearing up! When the summer was over I drove to the beach every week to bring back buckets full of ocean water because I didn't want to give up my one reliable remedy. That became too time consuming so I started taking sea salt baths in hopes of recreating the ocean in my bath tub. I experimented with many different types of sea salts and blended different ones together until I found the perfect mix. To this day, whenever I have a couple breakouts on my face or back from sweat or all the crazy creams I'm always trying (it's my job, ok), I take a bath and like magic, when I wake up in the morning, my breakouts are gone or on their way to being gone.
When I first started taking sea salt baths, my skin was REALLY bad, so it took about 3 or 4 months of consistent baths to really get it clear and now it's just maintenance. I don't take as many and I probably would only have to take 1 every couple weeks if skincare wasn't my livelihood....
HERE'S THE REGIMEN I RECOMMEND TO GET CLEAR SKIN IN 6-8 WEEKS:
FACE: If you have a bath tub:
- 3 baths per week with Clarisea Salts. You can experiment with different amounts to see how much you need to clear up your skin-it's different for everyone.
- Use the Clarisea Purifying Cleanser for Face during each bath and every morning so twice a day. It contains only 0.5% Salicylic Acid so you will not turn red and your skin will not flake. It contains Vitamin E microbead millicapsules which gently slough away the dead skin cells and surface "junk" while soothing skin. You want to use the cleanser in the middle of your bath because the salts bring a ton of impurities and dead skin cells to the surface each time you soak so after about 5 minutes of soaking you want to flush that all off with the cleanser and then soak some more because now the salts will really be able to get down deep, fight that acne causing bacteria and draw even more out because the surface "junk" is out of the way.
- Use the Perfecting Clay Mask 3 times a week or as needed. It's a water based mask, much more gentle than ProActiv, Murad and store bought masks. It will purge your pores even more and balance your skin's moisture levels so your skin will look mattified. It's great to use at the end of the day or right before you go out because moisturizers and makeup go on much smoother and purer.
Sometimes I like to use the salt as a natural cleanser and exfoliant so I just take a clump of salt, add a tiny bit of water, and VERY GENTLY massage it into my skin for just a few seconds and promptly rinse off. Follow with the cleanser and the mask and an oil free moisturizer. You will not believe how soft and supple and clear your skin looks!
I do not recommend soaking your face in any other salt but Clarisea salt. Dead Sea Salt, Epsom Salt and other Sea Salts that you find in your local store or on the internet are too harsh-they do not have the right mineral balance. Your skin will turn red, look irritated and dry out. Good luck and let me know how it goes!!
-Alison
