When I decided to pursue a series of clean beauty Q&As, Deborah Hanekamp (aka Mama Medicine) was one of the first people I thought of asking. Deborah has gorgeous—dewy, glowy, clear, luminscent—skin, and she is very conscious of what she puts in her body, onto her skin, and the planet as a whole. With a perspective and value system that is similar to mine, I wanted to share with you what her skincare routine is. 

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Enjoy!

—Sophia Ruan Gushée

How do you care for your skin?

I would say I take very good care of my skin. I try to eat lots of veggies, drink plenty of water, meditate and play (two things that I think are very important for a healthy glow), wash my face twice a day, mist, moisturize, Guasha, and get plenty of rest.  

[Guasha is an ancient Chinese medicine therapy that is sometimes referred to as "scraping," "spooning," or "coining." Guasha involves stroking the skin with an instrument like in the image below. The instrument is made of jade or another stone. Guasha can be performed on the back, neck, and shoulders, face, and feet. This practice is similar to massage and acupressure, breaking down muscular tension and increasing circulation beneath the skin. Information provided by Namaste NY.]

How often do you wear sunscreen?

I wear sunscreen everyday. I have very sun sensitive skin.

What is your relationship with the sun? Are you careful of your time exposed to it?

I love the sun. He's a giver of life!

And I love to play in the sun, but I make sure that I wear a hat, sunglasses, long breathable sleeves, and sunblock. 

What is your approach to your daughter's skin (including sunscreen)?

I try not to keep her in high sun for too long. I'd rather take her to the beach much later in the day or early in the morning when the sun isn't as strong. I put sunblock on her and re-apply after swimming. 

What are your favorite skincare products?

So many! My favorite line is True Botanicals because it's non-toxic and it really works. I also love Shankara skin care.

I'm big on face oils and do a lot of self massage on my face with or without a gua sha tool. 

Which skincare advice do you hope your daughter will follow?

I hope she will keep it natural and steer away from putting toxics products on her skin. I love that now that she is six, she wants to do face masks with me and knows how to make her own with raw local honey and crushed organic roses. 

How do you feel about aging? 

I like looking young and feeling young while gaining the wisdom that comes with age. I don't mind if I begin to look older eventually. In fact, in my line of work, looking older can be helpful in terms of people taking you seriously or not. But I am happy with the pace of a gradual aging process. I want to savor every moment of this life. 

 

 

 

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I never tire of learning about people’s routines, especially skincare routines! In honor of this month’s skin detox theme, I am sharing a few clean beauty Q&As with women that approach skincare with values and perspective that are similar to mine. First up: the ethereal Deborah Hanekamp (AKA @mamamedicine ) . Our first meeting and conversation was in my living room, which we turned into a podcast (I'll add to Insta-Stories). Our second meeting was on stage for my Innovators of Wellness event years ago (photo above is from that event). We have a third meeting coming up so stay tuned for more! Swipe up in Insta-stories to read about Deborah clean beauty routine. It introduced me to gua sha🤗 . . . If you're not already an email subscriber, text 668-66 and enter code DETOX to join! . . . #skincaretips #skincareroutine #cleanskin #cleanskincare #naturalskincare #naturalskincareproducts #naturalskin #naturalskincaretips #nontoxicliving #ruanliving #homedetox #skindetox #practicalnontoxicliving

A post shared by Ruan Living (@ruanliving) on May 15, 2019 at 8:53am PDT

You can learn more about Mama Medicine, her online workshops, and bath kits at https://www.mamamedicine.nyc

Related Content

• Practical Nontoxic Strategies to Manage Sunburn, Vitamin D Deficiency, and Toxic Sunscreens
• Sophia's Practical Nontoxic Skincare Strategy
• Clean Beauty Q&A with Mama Medicine 
• Clean Beauty Q&A with Kimberly Snyder
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Helped My Daughter's Eczema

PLEASE NOTE: The images above were not recommended by Deborah Hanekamp, and I have not yet tried them myself. They are provided as examples of products from skincare companies mentioned in this interview. They also link to Amazon and I make an affiliate fee if you purchase anything from Amazon after clicking on the image.