100 Splashes

Splashing ice cold water on your face 100 times in a row may sound about as appealing as brushing your teeth for an hour. But it's actually unbelievably refreshing and I've gotten it down to a streamlined process. This is how I rinse off the raw honey wash.

Why would I subject myself to 100 splashes? Well, first of all, the benefits:

• Cold water tightens your pores.

• Closed pores don't allow bacteria to get in.

• Cold water also inhibits the production of sebum--the stuff that clogs your pores and causes pimples.

• Decreases morning puffiness and wakes up your skin.

• You feel an adrenaline rush.

• Your skin appears brighter.

• It's completely free of chemicals.

• It doesn't cost a thing! I mean you do have to pay your normal water bill, but it's not an excessive use of water and I'm sure you have a bowl at home. :)

The fast way to do it:

1. Place a wide, shallow bowl in the sink with a handful of ice cubes inside (you can do it without ice if it's too cold for you or if your tap water is cold enough).

2. Do 10 regular splashes of cold water, letting the bowl collect the water from the faucet and your splashes.

3. Turn off the water.

4. Dunk your face 90 more times in the same bowl of water, rhythmically and getting as much of your face wet each time as you can. You're not trying to do it perfectly each time, you're just trying to get the 100 reps in.

5. Turn your head to the left/right occasionally to take a breath and to get the sides of your face.

Here's a very quick video of the process. In this case I'm rinsing off the raw honey wash from my face. I do it once in the morning and once at night.

When I was in my early teens, I started getting zits and my mom sent me to this dermatologist in Hawaii who was known for this nitric oxide spray technique. When he explained it to me, he said it's like freezing the top layers of your skin. I had no idea why that would work, but you know what--it must have because I never had full blown acne. I have a sneaky suspicion that the 100 splashes works in a similar way, which is why I use ice water the whole time.

I know it might seem like all these routines add up to scads of time in my day, but actually it's not that bad. So in case you want a rundown of my morning and evening skincare routines, here it is.

MORNING

1. Raw honey on my face while I brush teeth

2. 100 splashes

3. Moisturizer (rosehip seed oil) + eye cream

EVENING

1. Makeup remover

2. Green tea foaming cleanser (from sokoglam.com)

3. Sonic face cleansing brush (post to come on this later)

4. Raw honey on my face while I brush and floss

5. 100 splashes

6. Moisturizer (rosehip seed oil) + eye cream

7. Gua sha (this is a new addition to the routine, post to come on this later)

Now I only do the egg white + yogurt mask about once a week. And I can't remember the last time I even needed an acne mask.

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*UPDATE 2/3/21:

Now I only do the 100 splashes with ice water in the mornings. My evening routine changed to this:

1. Apricot oil to remove make-up

2. Goat's milk soap as a cleanser

3. Raw honey

4. Face oil + eye cream

5. Gua sha