Great Skin Does Not Have to Be Expensive!

The cosmetics industry spends millions of dollars a year trying to convince people that their potions and lotions are the key to beautiful, clear skin. While the quality of many of the products are excellent, the price you pay for anywhere from half to one ounce of these products are not really worth it. There are easier, widely accessible, and less expensive ways to pamper your skin.

Wash your face with a soap free cleanser. You can buy a no frills soap free cleanser at any local pharmacy. Most large chain stores will even carry their own store brand which is usually 50% cheaper than the major brands. Make sure that it's soap free. Soap dries out skin.

Also, buy something without fancy fruit extracts or fragrances. While it's lovely to smell like strawberries, the fragrances and extracts found in cleansers do exactly what you don't want them to do--irritate your skin! A basic, no fragrance, soap-free cleanser without nifty pebbles or additives is ALL you need to wash your face. Also, don't buy the hype of branding, you really don't need to go to a department store to buy some designer version of these basic cleansers, it's all the same stuff.

Invest in some cheap baby wash cloths. Instead of buying an exfoliating cream or those disposible cloths that come pre-soaped and are expensive, think about stopping at a Target or Walmart and pick up a pack of baby wash cloths. They come in packs of 3-5, are very soft, small, and cheap. These are great for washing your face because they will give you more traction to actually cleanse the dirt off but are small enough that they are easy to use. Moreover, since the soap free cleansers don't lather a great deal but are more like creams you use to wipe off the dirt go farther when you have a wash cloth. Also, since they are cheap, you can use them for about 2 weeks and either throw them away or throw them in the laundry.