Should You Coordinate Your Skincare with the Moon?

There was a recent discussion among holistically minded aestheticians in a Facebook group last week that particularly piqued my interest. Most of the discussions in those types of groups are centered around holistic skin treatment modalities, natural skincare products, and recommendations for what to try for different skin conditions.?More recently, conversations also start talking about different food triggers, health conditions, or medications as they relate to skin conditions. Of course my partners and I at the Nutritional Aesthetics? Alliance get really excited when we see those!
But the discussion I’m referring to now wasn’t about any of those topics–it was in response to an article in the October 2015 issue of DaySpa Magazine called New Moon Rising, which highlighted spas that offer skin treatments either at night, or in alignment with lunar cycles. The main question had to do with whether there’s any benefit to lunar cycle-specific skincare or skin treatments, or is it just a very creative new marketing initiative? Of course the cycle-loving priestess in me?bubbled right up, and while I did participate in the discussion a bit, I didn’t want to dominate it or turn it into a sermon on moon cycles and what they might have to do with skincare. I decided instead to save it for Spiritual Skincare Sundays! So here we are.

A little about lunar cycles…

A full lunar cycle is 28 days, to the minute. The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, rather than the rotation of the earth around the sun, and was used by the ancient Mayans, Celts, Babylonians, Arabs, Jews, Chinese to determine optimal planting and harvesting times. The Islamic calendar still follows lunar patterns today.

The seasons were?plotted out based on the light times?and dark?times–the light times associated with waxing, and the dark times, with waning–and the new yearly cycle?began with the dark time that occurred after the final harvest. During this waning half of the year, it was the time to take stock, analyze the harvest of the past cycle, see what worked and what didn’t, and begin to plan and plant seeds for the next cycle. Energetically these times were also associated with cold, releasing, and contracting; while the lighter times of year were associated with new growth, new life, and expansiveness. Farmers would plant in the beginnings of the light half of the year, and reap whatever dead matter was left from the last cycle during the dark times. Translating this to a 28-day lunar cycle, farmers would?fertilize and harvest during the waxing cycles, and clear and weed during the dark. It was said that?if pesky weeds were dug out during the dark moon (the final day of the waning half), that it would never grow back.

Many earth-honoring spiritual traditions plan their lives according to lunar cycles.

I’ve been studying spirituality for nearly 20 years, and have noticed that over time, people of many tribes and cultures, ancient or modern, have planned their lives and made decisions based on lunar cycles. To be honest, I didn’t give much thought to it myself, until I began my own business–because when you work in corporate America or are a student, your schedule is determined by your job or school schedule which often have nothing to do with what’s best for you as a part of nature. ?Human beings, though we may have free will, are still as much a part of the earth as any other being on the earth.?We are as affected by the sun and moon as any other part of the planet.

What do lunar cycles have to do with skincare?

It’s not a question often asked, is it? But, considering that our bodies are more than 70% water, and that the moon is what governs the ebbs and flows of both the ocean and our own bodies, I think it’s certainly a fair question to ask–for women especially. Women’s?bodies have been closely linked to lunar cycles really since the beginning of time. Our levels of estrogen and progesterone wax and wane, similar to the way the moon waxes and wanes, and both women’s cycles and lunar cycles last for approximately the same time.
In general, the?waning half of the lunar cycle is associated with letting go and clearing space. This could be associated with detoxification, and/or purging. So in skincare, if there’s a problem you’re trying to get rid of, you’d address it during the waning half of the lunar cycle. Practices like extractions, gentle exfoliation, absorbing clay masques, and detox treatments would logically be done during this time. The waxing half of the cycle is associated with building, growing, and manifesting. During this half of the cycle, you’d work on nourishing the skin you have to achieve the skin you want. I’d recommend vitamin and mineral-rich herbal steams, packs, and massages intended to promote expansion and plumping of the skin,?rather than contracting and drainage.

Does it work, or is it just marketing?

I’ll be completely honest and say that I don’t deliberately plan my facial treatments for myself to the cycles of the moon. I wish I was THAT priestess-y–but I guess I let my priestess out in different ways. So I can’t speak from personal experience as to whether this is something that makes skincare more effective. What I CAN say, is that I plan a great deal of the rest of my life around lunar cycles. Whether it’s?projects, live events, writing books, launching programs, making big decisions, etc,?I find that the better I am at sticking to it, along with really paying attention to signs from my body as well as from my intuition–the easier and more organic things seem to flow. I feel as though I’m riding the wave instead of swimming against the current. The right people, resources, and opportunities come into my life at the right time, and things just happen naturally. I don’t think I’d have accomplished a quarter of what I’ve accomplished in the past 5 years had I not learned to live and plan according to lunar cycles.
Because of this,?my intuition tells me that carrying out a skincare regimen according to lunar cycles would indeed be a very good thing. How fast will it work? I’m sure that varies per person, as anything else in life does.?But what’s more important is that it can’t hurt. There are no negative side effects. So if you’re looking for another positive tool to add to your skincare toolbox, try planning out your skincare regimen according to lunar cycles for a few moons? Take note of whatever shifts happen in your life with the addition of this new practice, and document it in a journal. You might just be pleasantly surprised 🙂

I’d love to know your thoughts on coordinating your skincare with the moon.

Have you tried it? Will you try it? Do you already plan according to the cycles of the sun or moon? Leave a comment below, or come share with us in the private Spiritual Skincare Sundays Facebook group. I can’t wait to see what you think!
Blessings and peace to you. –Rev. Rachael
*Lunar Eclipse Cycle image by Gianfranco Blanco. Menstrual cycle image by?Chris 73 / Wikimedia Commons [GFDL 1.3 (www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.