The Sun Cycle

Your daily regimen supports overall skin function. Similar to what we recommend for self-care, it is the nourishment, loving limitations (things like abstaining from known toxins), cleansing, and room for rest that we provide our skin with daily that allows for proper functioning and the building-up/breaking down process that continually occurs in vibrant skin.

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."

THE SUN CYCLE MORNING REGIMEN

Facial Bathing

When you wake, flush the skin with water to release metabolic waste. 

BEST PRACTICE: Pure water or one of our teas can be made into a facial bath in your sink, a vessel, or your own palms. Add Dew drops to the water or tea for further benefits. Hold water in your palm, let your face sit in the water for just a moment, and then splash the skin. You can alternate warm and cool water for a refreshing cleanse. No cleansing agents are necessary. 

Moisture Duo

Conventional moisturizers such as lotions or creams are built on a formula of oil and water with an emulsifier and preservative. When we keep the oil and water separate until we emulsify them immediately before application, we don’t need to use emulsifiers or preservatives. Together, our Nourish & Replenish Oil and Mineral Mists support the skin’s natural processes by supplying nourishment for healthy cell growth while strengthening structural integrity and providing much-needed transdermal mineral absorption for good cellular communication. 

BEST PRACTICE: Drip 3 drops of Nourish & Replenish oil into the palm of your hand and spray 5 pumps of your Mineral Mist directly into the oil. Nourish & Replenish is best for finding and maintaining optimal functionality. Still, NO EVIL, Cow Fart Juice, or Seeds of Change can be used transitionally as the oil in a Moisture Duo for short periods of time before coming back to Nourish & Replenish.

Alternatively, you can use a conventionally-styled moisturizer instead of the Moisture Duo in your morning regimen as long as it is properly balanced and does not include ingredients that have a controlling effect on the skin. Some good options that we offer are Edith Rose Cream, LOMAH Double Cleansing Lotion, and Vita-C Daily Hydration Cream. It is recommended that you mist your face with one of our Mineral Mists before your moisturizer. 

This is your daily skincare. Depending on what the day ahead of you looks like, you may need to choose protection from harsh environmental elements before you embark outdoors.

THE SUN CYCLE EVENING REGIMEN

Rotate Cleansing Methods

When you are using the herbalcrafted products in our Functional Skincare Line, rotating the evening cleansing rituals between Oil Cleansing and Grain/Herbal Cleansing is more effective than using one type of cleanser all the time. No matter the method that you are using to wash your face at night, it is important that you use a steamy hot washcloth to remove all traces of the cleanser that you have applied.

Oil Cleansing

Oil, when used as a cleanser in an evening ritual, can reduce congestion (such as milia or blackheads) and improve the skin’s natural oil/water balance. It is our favorite way to gently pull hardened debris and old, oxidized oil from the pores. 

Best Oils for Oil Cleansing

• NO EVIL is a perfect, simple oil that anyone can use for oil cleansing. It is non-irritating, has no botanicals or scent, and it bonds beautifully with the skin’s natural sebum.
• If there are large areas of breakout, hardened scabs, or skin that is not healing well, use Cow Fart Juice for oil cleansing for 4-16 weeks or until the skin has healed. Then use NO EVIL as your regular oil cleanser and return to Cow Fart Juice periodically during times of stress or if you crave the enticing aroma.
• Seeds of Change can be truly transformational over hardened skin that may have wrinkles, dark spots, or old scars when used intermittently. Add it to your Seasonal Regimen by using it daily for up to 3 weeks per season. You can also use it like a special occasion product as a once-in-a-while use that gives a little boost. Just don’t overdo it, because the real results that come from giving the skin a little nudge or challenge are revealed in the recovery.

BEST PRACTICE: Drop 8-10 drops of your oil cleanser into the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together and evenly apply to your face, gently massaging it into any areas that tend to experience congestion. Pay close attention to between the eyebrows, the corners of the nose, and under the lips. Get your birdseye washcloth steamy hot and press it into the skin, pausing for a breath before wiping the oil and the debris that it has picked up away. Rinse your washcloth and repeat the process until all oil has been removed.

Oil cleansing three or more times per week is appropriate for anyone who experiences congestion due to dehydration (such as blackheads or milia) or if you are wearing sunscreen or makeup every day. Those who experience stagnation or have over-oil cleansed or have used oil in the past without emulsifying it with a mist should start with oil cleansing only once per week until their barrier strength has returned. 

Herbal & Grain Cleansing with Sow Your Wild Oats

Our Organic Grain Cleanser, Sow Your Wild Oats (SYWO), combines colloidal preparations of oats, legumes, milk, and herbs to form a gentle facial cleanser. It relies on both the physical nature and the actions of the plant matter to gently remove layers of dead skin and intra-cellular debris, help your skin improve its ability to function as an organ of elimination, and encourage the skin to rebuild with more resilience. We offer a vegan version that does not contain milk.

• To use as a scrub, tap or scoop a small amount (½-1 tsp) of the SYWO into the palm of your hand and mix a little warm water from the tap into the dry powder. Use the fingertips to massage this paste into the skin, tapping in a little more water from the tap or a bowl of water if necessary to move the scrub around your face. 
• To get even more benefit, measure 1 tsp into a bowl and add 1 tsp of very hot water, then let it cool to an appropriate temperature before applying it to the skin.
• Massage gently with your fingertips and remove with a steamy birdseye washcloth or a facial compression towel.
• If you have congestion (blackheads, milia), it is often helpful to add 3-5 drops of your favorite cleansing oil (NO EVIL? Cow Fart Juice?) to either your fingertips or the finished mix.
• If you have stagnation (areas of red, mottled bumps just under the surface of the skin), it is helpful to oil cleanse first (removing the oil with a steamy birdseye washcloth) and then apply the Sow Your Wild Oats.

Alternatively, you can use a conventionally-styled cleanser instead of rotating between oil cleansing and grain/herbal cleansing in your evening regimen as long as it is properly balanced and does not include ingredients that dry out the skin, change the pH, or have an anti-microbial effect on the skin. Some good options that we offer are Agnes Day & Night Cold Cream, LOMAH Double Cleansing Lotion, and Vita-C Nightly Cleanser. Even if you use a conventional cleanser, we always recommend removing all traces of any cleanser with a steamy washcloth and following with Mineral Mist without moisturizer.

Mineral Mist, Not Moisturizer

We try to avoid “doing the work” of renewal for the body. Instead, after cleansing in the evening, we recommend spraying 5-6 pumps of your Mineral Mist onto the face to supply the messages and minerals it will utilize for good cellular communication, quieting your perhaps with some facial reflexology or lymphatic massage. (learn these techniques at our workshops or from your Holistic Skincare Specialists) and drifting off to sleep on a silk pillowcase, allowing the skin to do the work for itself.