Do makeup wipes count as washing my face before bed? I've heard it's bad to go to bed with makeup on, but I don't know why!

Snoozing in full eye makeup puts you at risk for eye inflammation, infections, eyelid redness, and corneal abrasions. This can stem from makeup particles rubbing against the surface of your eye. Removing makeup before bed allows your skin to rest and reset. This is also why sleep is a great time to use a moisturizing product; your skin can spend all night soaking it in.

Make-up wipes are fine in certain situations like camping or traveling or when you do not have access to water and your normal routine. But, they often leave a film on your face and can even cause dryness. Try to wash your face with cleanser (like our Lavender Foaming Face Wash) as regularly as possible.

I'm new to skincare. What is a good product to start with?

We recommend starting with a gentle cleanser followed up with a moisturizer. It's ok to use a multipurpose cleanser for both day and night time use.

A common mistake in skincare is over-cleansing the face with soap-based cleanser which can irritate and dry out the skin. Instead, consider an oil based cleanser at night or a double cleanse routine. Check out our blog post on how to double cleanse here.

I want to know more about how to take care of my skin. What are the things that impact skin's appearance?

As mentioned, our skin is our largest organ and is affected by many internal and external factors. Genetics, aging, hormone changes are all internal factors. Externally, the amount of sleep you get, your water intake, a variety of healthy fats you get from the food you eat, sun exposure and the products you put on your skin all affect the overall feel, appearance and tone of your skin. The stress of life can cause the skin to over react with eczema, psoriasis and even heightened levels of acne. This is why we are fans of holistic skincare, which takes multiple factors into account when thinking of skin health (like diet, stress, etc.,) instead of just the skin's appearance. As a holistic skincare brand, we consider calm, grounding rituals (like yoga, gardening, or a walk outside) to be just as important for skin health as a good moisturizer.

I see that you don’t have Retinol, what do you recommend?

Retinol is a derivative of Vitamin A and a powerful antioxidant. At Suzi's, we like to blend several antioxidants to have both a calming and supportive, cell-plumping impact without the irritation retinol can cause. We recommend our antioxidant rich Botanical Eye Cream for under and over the area of the eyes and out to the hair line. For all day support and collagen building, our Botanical Day Cream is formulated to be bioactive in regard to all day moisture, treating skin conditions and to improve elasticity in the skin.

Do your products contain SPF?

Our skincare formulas blend botanical oils and extracts like red raspberry, aloe and shea butter to stimulate production of melanin, protect hydration in the skin and support UVB and UVA filers like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Although we haven't completed our research on nanoparticles, we are still considering adding a filter to our Botanical Day Cream. And of course, we always recommend using a safe sunscreen after cleansing every morning.

What other skin and beauty companies do you recommend?

Our favorites are Evan Healy, Bare Minerals, Thrive Causemetics, and Tula. All of them have incredible product lines packed with powerful, natural ingredients.