The Experts
Summer Skincare With Jennifer Hill
I aspire to be someone who creates a unique skincare routine for each season. Enter Jennifer Hill. She's the founder of Thomas Grove Skin, a new clean and efficacious skincare line rooted in the idea of plants as medicine. She gives us some doable ways to take care of our skin in the summer, and walks us through her personal summer skincare routine. Happy Summer!
Olivia
Tell us about you and your skin.
I grew up in Northern California in Carmel, not too far from Big Sur, and my childhood was deeply rooted in the beauty of my surroundings there. This is where I was inspired by the healing power of plants, and the idea that plants and food can be medicine. It’s always been important to me what I put in my body, as well as on my skin, and I realized that this passion is something that I wanted to share. I wanted to create a product that was clean and effective, using as few ingredients as possible, that would still address our most pressing skin concerns. My skin can be extremely dry and sensitive at times, so I wanted to create a clean product that would address these concerns.
Walk us through how you take care of your skin in the summer.
As the seasons change, so should our skincare routines. It’s time to lighten up our routines, swapping heavier creams for their lighter counterparts. Especially in summertime, cleansing is key, as our skin can become congested.
Most mornings, I usually go without makeup. Double cleansing the night before, I typically do not wash my face in the morning to not over dry the skin. I begin by spritzing with a floral essence or hydrosol, right now I am using OSEA's Sea Mineral Mist. Then I massage The Facial Oil all over my face. This helps regulate cell turnover due to its natural vitamin A content, as well as keeping the skin clear of breakouts. The Neroli in The Facial Oil reduces inflammation and kills acne-causing bacteria keeping breakouts at bay. The rich color of the rosehip oil gives you a subtle glow, giving life to makeup free skin. If I am heading out the door, I will follow with a zinc oxide SPF, I like Marie Veronique’s Everyday Tinted Sunscreen or Le’s Prunier’s Plumscreen.
In the evenings, I begin with an oil cleanser to remove any makeup, followed by a fruit acid, more purifying cleanser or a more exfoliating cleanser ( I love Goop's cleansers, GOOPGLOW Cloudberry Exfoliating Jelly Cleanser, G.Tox Malachite + Fruit Acid Pore Purifying Cleanser, or Tata Harper’s Superkind Softening Cleanser).
A few days a week I love to do a mask. One of my most favorite masks is just using yogurt from my kitchen, I always have a high-quality organic grass-fed yogurt on hand. This is a gentle exfoliant, and the cool yogurt feels amazing on sun-kissed skin. The active cultures help keep the skin’s microbiome balanced and hydrated. I’ll do these 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes rotating with a purifying mask. Leaving on for 10-15 minutes. After masking I'll apply a hydrosol and finally, I massage a generous amount of The Facial Oil all over my face, neck, décolleté, taking a moment to inhale the therapeutic benefits of the Neroli and Bulgarian rose. Our oil should always be used as the final step to your skincare routine.
Jennifer founded Thomas Grove Skin in 2020 with her hero product, The Facial Oil. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and twin daughters, Madeline and Hunter.
