Keep it clean

My skincare routine is very unsexy.

I don’t use products that sound as if they should be served for dessert, nor do I need to take out extra insurance should I inadvertently tip my magic pearls of elixir of antiwrinklefulness down the plug hole.

Let me explain:

S    Stick to the same products. Chopping and changing confuses the dermis, clutters your bathroom cabinet, and ultimately the land(fill) with strange plastics and chemicals.

C    Choose a range that suits your conscience, your purse – and your fancy.

A    Always take off the make-up at the end of the day. And if you don’t wear make-up, abide by the routine anyway.

N    No soap, even if it is boxed and worshipped by highly hyped skincare ‘scientists’.

F    Flannel. See below.

I don’t think I invented scanfing, but I am rather pleased with it. The vital element, as you may have guessed, is the flannel, or facecloth. I’ve been flannelling my face every night for years now, and my skin is very happy.

This is what you do:

• Take one of your freshly laundered white cotton flannels from the neat pile you keep next to clean towels in the airing cupboard. You will have given it a really hot wash, (using Ecover naturally), so it will be sterilised and spotlessly clean. Dampen it well.

• Confront the mirror. Its been a long day, but remark on how well you look, and set to work.

• Use a corner of the cloth to take off the eye makeup. I use a mild gel formula; creams make me bleary eyed. That done, the next step is to massage your nice creamy cleanser into face, and neck if you’re feeling assiduous.

• Using the rest of the flannel, wipe and rewipe your face to remove all of the cleanser and every bit of make up. Fold , rotate and turn in order to use every square centimetre.

• Throw flannel in linen basket and apply night cream.

Congratulations. You have just thoroughly cleansed, exfoliated and moisturised your face. But what about toning, you ask? Believe me, after cloth-caressing your face, your skin will be feeling fighting fit. I do have a place for toner however – in the morning.

I soak but one round of cotton wool in some refreshing fluid, apply to sleepy face, and start the day. Sometimes I use the same bit of cotton wool to clean in-between the slats of the wooden blinds in my boudoir, and feel less bad about eventually binning it.

I do deliberate about the gross wastefulness of the cosmetics industry that we’re all to some extent drawn into. How many £millions do we spend on beauty products every day? I confess to being a user, but I honestly try to keep a block on it. Hence my reusable facecloth trick with its multi-benefits – keeping my skin polished and my ecological and environmental credentials glossy.

Perhaps now we need to talk products and lifestyle? Well, I am a committed vitamin E consumer. When I remember, I swallow it in capsules along with evening primrose and some B vitamins. Whether this shows on the outside, I know not.

However, I do believe that my no smoking, low alcohol and meat free living can only enhance my complexion’s chances of looking cheerful. And sun protection, of course, but I don’t get too anxious about that as living in the north-east of England there’s not too much danger of over-exposure. But, I do use a day cream with SPF 15, even if it’s just to put the rubbish out.

So, in which cosmetic house do I pitch my tent? By now you should be well tantalised. Body Shop, of course. Environmentally sound and affordable, their Vitamin E range suits me perfectly. I love the night cream, the cleanser, the body cream…need I continue? There’s one in every city, and if I work really hard I can even ignore the fact that they are now owned by the dastardly multinational L’Oreal.

I fear the Macdonaldisation of Body Shop, but also trust that their products are ethically sourced and traded, and I harbour this huge leap of faith that they might even educate the big guys. Why not?

Meanwhile, happy scanfing.