Hello world, I’m McKenzie . . .

Welcome to my clean living blog! My goal with this blog is to provide access to natural skin care, clean eating tips, and an overall view of what it looks like to {try} and live a healthy, clean life.

A little bit about myself… I began my journey to clean living about 5 years ago. When I first started, it was simply out of curiosity. I loved the idea of making beauty products out of things I could find in the kitchen. Fast forward 2 years later and I developed some health issues that have somewhat forced me to adjust my lifestyle. Ever since, I have been on my own personal journey to see how I can help my body.

Apart from all this, I am a special education teacher for high school students in the San Diego area. I am happily married to my husband, Conor, and we are both members of an amazing local church called The Response.

MY JOURNEY

At the age of 19, my skin became sensitive to a lot of different things. I could no longer use commercial laundry detergent or shampoo/conditioner (amongst other products). I would notice that my body would react to certain (chemical filled) things but nothing that was too serious. Then I started to develop a rash that spread to my arms, legs, and chest. I went to a dermatologist and was prescribed oral steroids. The first round didn’t work so we tried a second round. The second round of steroids cleared up my skin and I didn’t think much of it (at this time I did not have any diagnosis).

Fast forward to age 22 and I start to develop another rash. This time, it was a small rash on my left leg. At first, I thought it might be an infection so I went to Urgent Care and was prescribed antibiotics. However, this did nothing. Instead, the rash began to spread (mind you, this was about a month before my wedding!). I made an appointment with a local dermatologist, was diagnosed with eczema, and was prescribed topical steroids. To my relief, it worked! … for the time being.

I found that the rash would only stay away if I was applying the topical steroids every two weeks. After doing some research on what this can do to your skin, I decided to try a more natural approach. Sounds great, right? It wasn’t. Attempting a more natural approach meant using myself as a guinea pig to figure out what worked and what didn’t. Granted, there is always Google! But what may work for one person may not work for everyone.

After a year of attempting the natural approach (there were times I needed to use the topical steroid cream because it got BAD), my skin is finally clear! However, I do understand that flare ups do (and most likely will) happen in the future. I hope that this blog is able to help people out there like me who want to ditch the steroids and attempt a more natural approach.

DIGGING IN

I want you all to know that I will NEVER post anything that I have not tried and loved. All the recipes (both food and beauty) have been tested and tried before I post about them. This blog will focus on different aspects of natural living. This includes:

DIY Clean Beauty: This is where it all started. I will share DIY clean beauty recipes that are tried and true. Not only will I share the ingredients and proportions, but I will also share some knowledge on WHY the ingredients are so good for your body (and why others are not).

Clean Beauty Products: Not everyone has the time (or resources) to create their own beauty products. I only post products that I LOVE and have found to be beneficial for my body.

Allergy Friendly Recipes: In today’s world, so many people have allergies (or are just avoiding certain types of food). I will also be posting recipes that are allergy friendly that I have tried and loved. However, it is important to note that not all recipes will be allergy friendly to all allergies.