Your skin, and the moon. A definitive guide

The moon lives in the lining of your skin

~ Pablo Neruda

The moon. Whether it be a deep cosmic power, or simply just a symbol that has been passed down for thousands upon thousands of years by our human ancestors — there’s no denying the affect the moon holds over us.

Perhaps it is that it’s a light in the dark, or that it makes us face the darkness. Or perhaps it’s from the immense gravity it casts over the planet, shifting and creating tides in our outer and inner worlds. Or that our very genes are steeped in countless myths and lore surrounding the moon — from the divine, to the paranormal, to the mundane — in a way that transcends both time and culture.Or perhaps it’s simply from its enduring symbolic nature that is just as relevant today as it was to humans of antiquity.

One thing we know for certain is that all over the world, for nearly all of our history, humans have lived by it. We planted and harvested during certain lunar phases to ensure the optimal health and growth of foods and medicines, and to this day, lunar planting is still practiced by some farmers and gardeners. The cycle of the moon was our ancient calendar and we centered our festivals and holy days around its most potent periods. The word ‘month’ even has roots nestled into the same soil of ancient history that the word ‘moon’ does.

Symbols are powerful. And the moon and its cycle is an important symbol of a journey, of wholeness, of metamorphosis, of rhythms, of life and death, and of soft light and rich darkness.

At evanhealy, earth and nature’s rhythms are a constant inspiration for us. And for years we have been practicing lunar skin care as a way of engaging with these rhythms and anchoring ritual deeper into our lives.

Being mostly water, human beings are influenced by the moon in more ways than many of us can imagine, just like the tides. It affects us, both emotionally and physically. When the moon is either Full or New we are most susceptible to its impact, and have the greatest opportunity to use these rhythms to our advantage. Duringthese two moon phases the body’s ability to receive nutrients and expel toxins is amplified.

Lunar skin care is an invitation for deep self care. It opens gateways that allow you to reconnect to nature, reconnect to your body, and reconnect to the shared rhythm between the two. 

Pinnacles of the Lunar Cycle

At the new moon your cup is empty and ready to be filled.During the New Moon, we celebrate the beauty of the Shadow. The mystery. That which is unknown and unknowable. The imperfect. The deepest catacombs of ourselves. It is a time for nourishment, restoration, and invocation.

At the full moon your cup is full and ready to be emptied. During the Full Moon, we celebrate the beauty of Illumination. All that we can see. Our awareness of ourselves, our lives, and our world. It is a time for release and purification.

We invite you to step into the soft light and rich darkness with us.

Welcome to the evanhealy lunar skin care ritual.

The Cycle.

While the most potent period of the lunar cycle are the pinnacles of new and full, you can begin your lunar skin care practice at any time. The moon is never static. There’s never a night that it’s not morphing, and its power isn’t limited to the two main lunar events of the month.

Here’s a simple break down of the phases and what we can associate with them.

As a simple rule, you can think of the New Moon and the waxing moon to be a time to focus on nourishment and feeding the skin moisture and hydration. And you can think of the Full and Waning moon as a time for purification and exfoliation.

New Moon.

The Ritual.

A New Moon is a cup to fill.

New Moon is…

Yin. Quiet. Rest. Nourishment. Night of night.

It is the beginning, the birth, the first day of the lunar cycle. This makes it a good time to start new habits, and to commit or recommit to yourself and to self care.

The new moon is also called the dark moon. It occurs when the moon is at its relative lowest point in its orbit, and passes between the earth and the sun, leaving us with a relatively moonless and dark night.

The idea of darkness is such an incredibly maligned and misunderstood concept in our modern world. Often associated with “badness”, “wrongness,” or “negativity,” it is seen as the evil in Good vs. Evil.

But we don’t equate darkness with such things. When we think ‘dark,’ we think dark like womb. Dark like cocoon. Darkness that heals. A state filled with mystery, transformation, renewal, and regeneration.

As a culture we default to duality, and forget that reality is actually a vast spectrum. At evanhealy, we believe in the power and medicine of wholeness in all forms, and that means embracing the light and the dark.

To celebrate and honor the birth of the lunar cycle, we have created a nourishing and magical ritual for you. Our New Moon skin ritual is anchored in nourishment. The focus is on filling the empty cup. We do this primarily with our favorite botanical sanctuary, Whipped Shea Butter.

You can practice these rituals anytime throughout the day of a lunar event, but we find the best experience is had when they are conducted once the sun has sunk below the horizon and the stars have come out.

Shop our New Moon Ritual

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Deep Nourishment — A simple new moon skin ritual

1. Cleanse your face with your cleanser of choice. For this ritual our favorite method is Oil Cleansing with Neem Immortelle Purifying Infusion, Nourishing Cleansing Oil, or Vetiver Hinoki Body Oil, as the steaming from the oil cleansing prepares the skin the best receive nourishment.

2. Mist skin with HydroSoul. We like Rose Petal, Lavender, and Tulsi. Slowly press into skin.

3. Take about two fingertips worth of Whipped Shea Butter (about half a teaspoon, and you can use either Whipped Shea Butter with Olive Leaf or Whipped Patchouli Vanilla Shea Butter, and melt between palms. Once the shea is melted and distributed over your hands and fingers, begin to massage into your face and neck, starting at the jaw and working up the face in slow, rhythmic motions, and then working down into the neck, and even decolletage if you’d like.

If your skin feels like it could drink in some more shea, you can add an extra half teaspoon (or more) until your skin feels fully enveloped.

4. If you’d like, you can take a short rest. Drink some tea. Sit in stillness. When you’re ready, the key step of a Shea Mask is steam. Take a washcloth and submerge it into hot water, wringing it out to remove excess moisture. Place the steamy cloth over your face, pressing slowly and gently into the cheeks, forehead and chin. Repeat until all the Whipped Shea is absorbed and skin feels supple, and resilient.

5. Saturate the skin with an abundant misting of HydroSoul, pressing the droplets into the skin.

Check in with your skin and see if it asks for any more moisture. If it does, you can add a little extra Shea, or a pump or two of your favorite Oil Serum. For the new moon we like Argan Intensive and Pomegranate Repair Serum.

Bathed in Darkness — A complete new moon skin + body ritual

1.Perform the first three steps from the Deep Nourishment Simple New Moon Ritual.

2. With the shea butter saturating your face, begin to prepare your bath. Gather your salts - we like Dead Sea, Himalayan, or magnesium flakes. If you’d like you can make a soup-pot of herbal tea (we like nettles, lavender, rose petals and lemon balm), strain it, and pour that into the tub too. If you’d like, you can also pour yourself some tea to drink while you’re soaking. It’s up to personal preference if you like to fill the tub while you are in it or not. When the tub is full pour in your salts and tea.*

3. Turn off all the lights. Turn off any fans. Don’t light any candles. Allow yourself to be bathed in the darkness as you soak in the waters.

4. Once you’re in the tub the heat and rising steam to help penetrate the Shea Mask into the skin. When you’re ready, probably nearing the end of your soak, submerge a cloth into the bath water, and then lay it over your face, pressing into the cheeks, forehead and chin. Repeat until all the shea butter is absorbed. If you’d like, you can massage more shea into the skin and repeat the process.

5. Emerging from the tub, while skin is still damp and before toweling dry, massage an ample amount of Vetiver Hinoki Body Oil into body, starting at your feet, and slowly working your way up to your neck.

6. Drench skin with HydroSoul.

7. Check in with your facial skin. Does it feel content? Does it want a little something extra? If it does, massage in a small amount of Whipped Shea, or your favorite Oil Serum, while skin is still damp from your HydroSoul application. For the new moon we like Argan Intensive Serum, or Pomegranate Repair Serum.

You are welcome to end your ritual here, and go on with your night, but you may find due to the dark and dreamy nature of the sequence that all you want to do is slip into bed and allow yourself to sink into a deep and restorative sleep.

*If you don’t have a bath tub, you can also take a shower in the dark for a similar experience.

The New Moon Rituals can be practiced at anytime during the new moon, or waxing moon phase.

Full Moon.

The Ritual.

The moon is full. The cup is overflowing, and everything is luminous, churning, and effervescent with life.

Full Moon is…

Yang. Abundance. Activity. Day of night.

The Full Moon occurs when the moon reaches its relative highest point in the sky and the entire earth-facing surface of our precious satellite is illuminated by the sun. It is the energetic peak of the entire lunar cycle. It brings the force of day into the stillness of night, and makes things wild and unpredictable.

Retail, hospital and law enforcement workers have long associated full moons with... let’s call itintense activity… while many other people report insomnia, late nights and difficulty sleeping when the moon is full. Even the term “lunatic” has its roots in the belief that one’s emotional state can be affected by the full moon.

The full moon is abundant. It is rich and overflowing.

It is also believed that childbirth is more likely to occur on the full moon if the due date is nearby. Which is no surprise, considering with the moon’s connection to both the drawing of tides, and with fertility. Before the industrial revolution, many women would begin menstruation on the new moon and ovulate during the full moon.

Science has tried to disprove many of these associations, yet they still somehow remain deeply ingrained in the human psyche as this unexplainable, bone-deep sense of somethingbeyond.

Since the Full Moon is so abundant — so overflowing with vitality and power — what is needed is not to draw more things in, but rather to release.

Translated to skin care, that means the full moon is the time to exfoliate. Time to detoxify. Time to release toxins, bad habits, and all things that no longer serve you. This is true from the full moon, and all throughout the waning moon.

Because of its powerful drawing and purifying effects, and its incredible ability to exfoliate without disrupting the protective hydrolipid barrier, we choose Green Tea Clay as the centerpiece of our full moon rituals. While both clays are applicable, French Rose Clay is more topical in its action, and for the goals of the ritual, we favor Green Tea Clay.

It’s true that the emphasis of our full moon ritual is on exfoliation and detoxification, but there is another significant factor in full moon skin care as well. Hydration. During both the new and full moon — and especially the full moon — skin is ultra-receptive to hydration. We highly encourage you to hydrate your skin with ample saturations of HydroSoul throughout the day of the full moon. And as you will soon see, hydration also plays an integral step throughout the ritual itself.

Beyond just topical hydration, internal hydration is also essential to full moon care. Make sure you’re drinking a lot of pure water throughout the day, especially if you intend to perform the Illuminated ritual.

Shop our Full Moon Ritual

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Deep Release — A simple Full Moon skin ritual

1. Cleanse face with cleanser of choice. For the full moon we like Nourishing Cleansing Oil, Tea Tree Gel Cleanser, or Blue Lavender Cleansing Milk.

2. Mist skin with HydroSoul of choice. For the full moon we like Lemon Thyme, Frankincense, Tulsi, and Rose Petal.

3. In a small bowl, (or in your palm if you’re feeling wild) blend about equal parts Green Tea Clay and HydroSoul (one half teaspoon is usually enough, but if not add a little more) until a creamy consistency is reached. Apply the mask to your face and neck with a brush, or with your fingers.

4. There are two options for removal. You can allow the mask to dry naturally, and then rinse with warm water, or you can keep a HydroSoul nearby, and mist every couple minutes or so to keep the mask hydrated. This mask-extending trick creates a more intensive mask. Clay is only active while it’s damp, so keeping the mask damp for longer periods of time increases the detoxification and mineralization qualities of the mask. You can keep rehydrating your mask for up to thirty minutes before rinsing clean.

5. Rinse thoroughly with warm water, making sure all remnants of the clay are removed. It’s okay if your skin is flushed. This is actually an indication of the activity of the clay, and the redness will diminish throughout the rest of your evening.

6. Time to hydrate. Mist skin with an ample drench of HydroSoul, and press into skin. Follow with an application of your favorite Oil Serum, massaging slowly into the skin in upward motions. For the full moon we like Blue Cactus Beauty Elixir, Neem Immortelle Purifying Infusion, and Rosehip (Blue) Calming Serum. Finish with another misting of HydroSoul.

Optional Addition:

• You can add a pump (or a few drops) of Oil Serum to your mask as you are blending it. This creates a creamier mask and is a nice addition for sensitive and dry skin.

Illuminated — A complete Full Moon skin + body ritual

1. Perform the first four steps of the Deep Release ritual.

2. With the clay fresh-applied, begin to prepare your bath. Gather your additions. For the Full Moon, we like to add a scoop of clay to the bath (pure powdered bentonite*, or illite), or about half a cup of baking soda.

If you’d like you can make a soup-pot of herbal tea (for full moon we like calendula flowers, rose petals, and burdock root), strain it, and pour that into the tub too. If you’d like, you can also pour yourself some tea to drink while you’re soaking. It’s up to personal preference if you like to fill the tub while you are in it or not. When the tub is full pour in your clay and tea.*

3. Light a candle, or multiple candles, but turn off electrical lights.

4. Once you’re in the tub you will feel the steam rising from the water keeping your mask hydrated. If your water is warm enough, you may feel your mask begin to drip down your neck. This is okay, don’t fret.

Rest in the waters and the glow of the candlelight. You can listen to some relaxing music, and if the candles provide enough light you can read a book. When you’re ready to call your bath to a close, rinse the remaining clay from your face, either from scooping water directly from the waters, or by submerge a cloth into the bath water and using the damp cloth to remove the clay.

5. Emerging from the tub, while skin is still damp and before toweling dry, massage an ample amount of Neroli Blossom Body Oil, or Sweet Blossom Body Oil into your body, starting at your feet, and slowly working your way up to your neck.

6. Drench your face with HydroSoul. Press in with your hands and breathe in the aroma of the HydroSoul. Check in with your skin. Does it feel content? Active? Thirsty? Mist some more HydroSoul, and then add an ample dose of your Oil Serum of choice, massaging gently into skin in upward motions. For the Full Moon we like Blue Cactus Beauty Elixir, Neem Immortelle Purifying Infusion, and Rosehip (Blue) Calming Serum.

You are welcome to end your ritual here, and go on with your night, but you if you find yourself feeling inspired and awake you may want to allow some time for creativity or self-reflection, whether that be journaling, drawing, or engaging in another form of creative expression.

If you don’t have a bath tub, you can also take a shower in the candlelight for a similar experience.

The Full Moon Rituals can be practiced at anytime during the full moon, or waning moon phase.

* While we don’t find Bentonite clay to be appropriate for facial application (it is quite aggressive and far too intense and activating for the delicate facial skin), we do love incorporating it into other areas of body care, like into toothpastes, or as an addition to baths.

Eclipse Ritual

Eclipses occur on full and new moons, and they bring the same effects of the respective cycles, only amplified.

A Lunar eclipse occurs on a full moon when the sun, earth, and moon are aligned and the moon moves into the shadow of the earth.

A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon when the moon moves in-between the earth and the sun, shadowing our vision of the sun.

One option for an Eclipse Ritual is simply to perform a New Moon ritual for a Solar Eclipse, or the Full Moon ritual for a Lunar Eclipse. But because eclipses are events of intense power we like to blend the rituals to provide the most support that’s possible.

Our specialized Eclipse Ritual is a fusion that involves a clay mask, followed by a shea mask, and a soak.

1. Cleanse Skin with Cleanser of Choice.
2. Apply a Green Tea Clay Mask as described in the Deep Release Ritual. Allow to dry. Rinse thoroughly.
3. Apply a Whipped Shea Butter Mask as described in the Deep Nourishment Ritual.
4. Prepare your bath. (New Moon for Solar Eclipse, and Full Moon for Lunar Eclipse)
5. Soak in the waters, and allow no external stimulation (no phone, no computer, no books).
6. Steam Shea Mask into skin as described in the Deep Nourishment Ritual.
7. When you emerge from tub, massage body oil into your skin.
8. Mist Face with HydroSoul.
9. Apply Oil Serum.
10.Go to sleep.

An additional note

We understand there are different perspectives on which phases of the lunar cycle calls for which application. This is simply our take on lunar skin care. If these rituals go against your personal beliefs/instincts then feel free to flip them to whatever feels right for you as an individual. This is not a rule book.

We embrace and encourage anything that gets you in touch with natural rhythms, in touch with your instincts, and empowers you to trust yourself.

The simple answer is that the pinnacles of the lunar cycle makes the skin/body more receptive to care. No matter what you choose to do, if you are doing it with intention, it will make a difference.

We wish you all the best in your own lunar skin explorations.