My skincare arsenal has only three items

Thankfully, I grew up with little to no skin trouble even during my adolescent years. The only time I struggled with acne was when I was expectant with my second-born child.

Since the cause was predominantly hormonal, there was not much I could do to make it go away. While I did the basics like washing my face, cleansing and moisturising, my face broke out terribly up until I gave birth.

Quite frankly, I am not a product junkie for either a night-time routine or a morning routine. The only thing I religiously do is ensure that I wash my face at night before I go to bed with warm water and a mild soap. I then use coconut oil at night and sunscreen during the day.

When I have had a heavy make-up day, like when I do photo-shoots, I use coconut oil as a make-up remover then I proceed to do my regular wash and moisturise.

My must-have products are organic coconut oil and shea butter due to their versatility. Coconut oil and shea butter blends have served my skin well. I use them on my face, body and hair alternatively or both at the same time.

I wish someone had emphasised to me the use of sunscreen early on. The fad was that; we didn’t need to use it as black people but we need the protection from UV rays just as much as any other race. I also learnt much later how important water intake is for the overall human health. 

Water intake or the lack thereof shows on our skin, hair, eyes, lips and especially the face. It is the best anti-aging component if you ask me and makes one look radiant.

I have also learned recently that expensive products don’t necessarily translate into great products. I am down to three inexpensive products; shea butter, coconut oil and sunscreen which have worked well for me.

I am not great at sticking to diets but I do stick to the basics of eating healthy. I try to eat clean as much as I can. However, my saving grace is that I drink a lot of water; I take upwards of three litres of water a day which works the miracle of good skin from the inside.

I have had my hair natural for a long time and truly, it is the easiest to maintain. I wash it regularly at home and condition it from time to time then I keep it moisturised with water and a mixture of the coconut oil and shea butter.

For my hair, the thing I try to do religiously is get a fresh haircut and do deep treatments at least once a month at my salon, Afro Siri. I ensure that my hair is taken care of by natural hair professionals so that it takes off the bulk of the work for me to maintain until my next visit.