JNT Q & A - How to Get Rid of Sleepy Morning Face.. Fast!

Well ok.. not THAT fast. That'd be impossible...

So this question came from a good friend a la Facebook that I met through a group called "The Good Vibe Brigade." The GVB is full of of like minded people all across the country, many of whom are artists and performers such as myself, who use the group to share stories and photos that inspire positive energy in our lives. Go ahead and call us hippies, but I'll hafta punch you for it. We're a group of hard working and contributing individuals with normal lives and things such as cars and good hygienic habits (I think). 

Anyway!

In this group I got to know Justyn Hornor, who recently posted this question:

Ok. I need some top-secret photography/modeling advice. How do you get rid of sleepy-face fast? You know, the funky face you have after sleeping all night and your eyes are all squinty? There must be some magic I can put to use! Help!

Being quite the fan of sleep and quite the UNfan of mornings, I did in fact have a bit of a morning regimen that I recommended to Justyn to help alleviate 'Morning Face.'

And believe me, I have QUITE the morning face...

The worst part, this wasn't even taken in the morning. This was hours later whilst wishing I was back in bed...

Click below to see my response =)

• Really the best piece of advice I had for Justyn was to properly wash and moisturize every morning.
• I personally do both at once, and every morning spend 2 minutes washing my face with oil.
• Yes, oil.
• It's a combination of castor and virgin olive oil, the recipe for which I found Here.
• I personally add a little lavender and tea tree oil to mine, so I smell good too and it helps prevent acne.
• The process involves rubbing the oil onto your face for a minute, then covering with a steaming hot wash cloth. The steam and oil helps to pull dirt out of your pores, and leaves your skin soft and gleaming all day. IT FEELS AMAZING. I started this three weeks ago and I'll never use anything else on my face again (besides SPF).
  
• I even made a pretty bottle for my DIY face wash..

Because I'm so crafty like that..

I also 'douche my face' every morning, which is JNT speak for use a sinus cleansing system known as a Neti Pot. Using a neti pot helps alleviate allergies and sinus issues and flushes out bacteria and, well, boogers. This may not directly help with the morning squinty eyes Justyn is concerned about, but it does help me with the whole Waking Up process in general. 

I can almost guarantee that it is not used the way you are thinking it is..

• I follow this morning cleanse/moisturize with a cup of hot green tea. Green tea has lots of antioxidants and caffeine that your body utilizes differently than the caffeine in coffee. This means you'll get the pick me up without the jitters. Added bonus to that, if your eyes are really puffy you can use the cold tea bag as a compress on your eyes for a couple minutes each side.
  
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• As an added note though, I've recently been switching between green tea and hot water with lemon after reading this article Here.
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To sum it up, pulling myself away from blissful sleep is a challenge every morning, and bringing my face from pillow-squished to fabulous is a process.

I have never once rolled out of bed looking this fresh. Close a couple times... OK no not really.

Looking bright eyed and alert doesn't happen immediately (or always willingly).. but take the time to pamper yourself as you're waking up each morning and you'll look more awake quite quickly. The 10-15 minutes spent is well worth it, and you'll see benefits instantly and in the long run.

XoXo
JNT

Got some tips of your own? I'd love to hear them!! Please leave them in the comments below =)

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You'll notice I posted a couple articles from www.mindbodygreen.com - I LOVE this site and follow it daily on my GReader. It's a great place for hundreds of articles on living healthy and looking as good as you feel (most often times the cheap and natural way)!