My Natural Skincare Secrets
I was one of those annoying girls in high school that never had acne, despite using cheap drug store face wash and occasionally sleeping in my makeup — eww, I know. I can’t recall having more than two pimples in all of high school. I was a mutant.
Jump to 2017, at 28 years old, I was miserable with cystic acne on my forehead and cheeks. And after lots of trial and error to heal this acne, it finally sunk in that skin health is not just about the cleansers, toners and creams — it’s also (arguably mostly) about what’s happening on the inside.
Eventually I was able to clear up the acne and stop the breakouts, (the HOW on that is for another blog post) but then I had reddish-purple acne scars left behind. Cute.
Thank Great Spirit, in September of 2019, CLEARSTEM Skincare came into my life in the form of their flagship product, CELLRENEW Serum. This little baddie, packed with collagen stem cells, potent botanicals, and hyaluronic acid made my scars disappear in a matter of a couple months. This stuff was GOLD to me. I was a believer.
I’ve been shouting about CLEARSTEM ever since. I don’t suffer from acne break-outs anymore, so my skin goals have changed quite a bit.
Now I want to support my sun-worshipping skin, aging as gracefully as possible but NATURALLY. I vowed a long time ago to stay away from the hamster wheel of filler, botox and invasive facial procedures.
Vampire facials? Hell yeah.
Light therapy? Yep.
Stem cells? Eventually.
And of course I use specific products daily to smooth and prevent prematurely aging skin, which I want to share with you!
If you want to jump on the filler/botox alternative train with me, then keep reading!
CLEARSTEM SKINCARE: Anti-aging & Anti-acne products that really work (and won’t cost you a million dollars).
I already praised CELLRENEW serum for it’s badassery — now let’s chat about the brand as a whole and why it’s so unique.
Put simply, CLEARSTEM creates products to help you age well while also keeping pesky pimples away. 99% of skincare doesn’t support both endeavors. Also, NO hormone disruptors and NO pore cloggers. They truly understand that skin health starts from the inside out. The female founders, Danielle and Kayleigh, have journeyed through their own acne sagas…and really…really get it.
Products To Highlight:
Vitamin Scrub Cleanser: the “Goldilocks” of exfoliators. It’s juuuuust right.
Clearity Serum: the blackhead dissolver!
Goldenhour Oil: a must for dry skin and/or summer months
Bounceback Serum: botox in a bottle, baby.
Sunnysidekick Brush-on SPF: contains color match technology to protect your skin, even over your makeup!
This barely scratches the surface — they also have oral supplements, body products, haircare, sprays, lip balm and more!
Browse their products below.
My code MIMI gets you 15% off all products and all orders.
2. FROWNIES: The original wrinkle patch since 1889!
Instead of paralyzing your forehead with botox, what if you could soften expression lines by training the muscle to relax? That’s what Frownies do!
And the before and after’s are INSANE y’all.
Frownies History
These facial patches are tried and true — created by Margaret Kroesen for her daughter who was developing “11 lines” at her forehead from concentrating so hard at the piano.
With sweat equity and some underground business development (women weren’t generally encouraged to run businesses), by 1937, Frownies were Hollywood’s best kept beauty secret, used by broadway stars, makeup artists and later, actresses like Raquel Welch and Rene Russo.
The product design is very simple — one side of the patch is brown kraft paper and the other side has a gentle adhesive that activates with moisture. The idea is to apply the patches on your forehead (or crow’s feet or laugh lines) and when the paper dries to your skin, it acts like a cast. So when you wear Frownies , the “cast” smoothes the muscle and over time, smoothes the expression lines.
Application
To apply, simply wet the patches — I like using a spritz of rose water — or you can use tap water. Wait for about 15-30 seconds and you’ll see the patch start to curl up a bit as the adhesive is activated. If you put it on immediately, it will just slide off your skin. Press the patches to your forehead one by one, making sure to overlap the patches at the corners, so they adhere together as one unit. Double check the outer edges to ensure they are stuck to your skin.
And Voila! You are on your way to softened lines, WITHOUT the risks and neurotoxic effects of botox. See the full application instructions here.
Before & Afters
My Personal Frownies Use
I use Frownies a few times a week right now. I put them on before bed and remove upon waking. But you can also wear them while you work or exercise — any time you find yourself frowning or furrowing your brow.
I also use their Apple Serum 2-3x per week, applied underneath the Frownie patches. This badass serum contains a revolutionary ingredient of apple stem cells from a rare Swiss apple, (Malus Domestica) AND one of my favorite mushrooms — Tremella — nicknamed The Beauty Mushroom.
After using Frownies for a few months now, I can tell a noticeable difference in the “11 lines” between my brows. I don’t really have deep forehead expression lines though, so my goal is to prevent those from forming with regular use of Frownies.
My husband, Chase, has even jumped on board and asks me to apply his “patches” when I do my own.
I love how affordable these are — 144 patches for $22 bucks! (when you use my discount) One box has lasted me months.
If you have any questions about use, DM me @mimi_themedicin or ask the Frownies team — they are outstanding!!
3. Be Here Farm & Nature: Summer Solstice Serum —Gold in a Bottle.
Okay guys, if you want pure GOLD on your skin…look no further. This is my favorite facial oil in the world. They. call it a serum, but it behaves like an oil.
The Summer Solstice Serum is a hand made oil with more intention and love than just about anything I’ve ever seen. My friend and owner of Be Here Farm, Jared Pickard, harvests the botanicals himself, with his own hands.
There’s no way I could describe the process better than him, so check this out. This excerpt is directly from his website.
Wow, right?!
Full List of Ingredients: Olive oil, St. John’s Wort, Calendula, Tulsi, German Chamomile, Roman Camomile, Yellow Dock, Gotu Kola.
Each one chosen for it’s clinically proven benefits. Like…
Anti-inflammatory, deeply nourishing and moisturizing
Promotes collagen production boosting skin elasticity
Antibacterial and antifungal, aiding in wound healing and skin regeneration
Supports skin balancing
Calms redness, puffiness and irrritaion
Protects against environmental toxicants and stress
Relieves itching from dryness or redness
Non-comedogenic
Yes, this serum is spendy, but can you see why? It’s hand-crafted, bottle by bottle, and it takes TIME. This isn’t some half-assed concoction with a designer label slapped on — this is skincare you could eat. From a regenerative farm.
Try it out, smell it, feel it on your skin and you’ll see what I’m talking about. With this kind of potency, all you need is a few drops.
Jared generously offered us a code (I believe it’s the only one out there) and I couldn’t be happier to share it with you all. When you purchase a bottle of Summer Solstice Serum (or any of his other delicious serums) and use the code MEDICIN you’ll get a gift — the HONEY KISS Lip Balm Treatment which is utterly kissable and delicious.
As I wrap this all up in a nice little bow, I’ll share one more hot take: Aging is a privilege, not a curse.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good as you age. BUT…We aren’t supposed to look 25 forever, boo. That’s just weird, and not possible.
This is how I’m thinking about it: I embrace my age, but I take care of myself.
And glowing skin isn’t just about the products we slather on — it’s also about our food, our water, our movement, our lymph system. It’s all connected.
Invest in your health. Treat yourself well. And don’t avoid laughing and smiling for the fear of lines.
Big hug.
