If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
As you know from the last post, I found this blogger write about skin care she was using so I wanted to give some of it a try. Although, I'm not doing everything she does, I did purchase a few of the products.
* Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Facewash ~ I really love this cleanser. It's gentle, foams up nicely, feels good on my skin, & smells lovely.
* Thayers Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel ~ I apply this after I cleanse and it also feels good and seems really gentle.
* Grape Seed Oil ~ I was very hesitant to use an oil as a moisturizer but I have been using this occasionally in the evening. I use the Derma E product(discussed below) on other nights.
* Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin ~ I love this and have been using it every morning. It feel really moisturizing and has sun protection in it. When my sample size of Derma E runs out, I may try the nighttime formula of this Boots No7 product.
A few things I'm doing different than the other blogger:
* I don't wear makeup every day so I haven't been using coconut oil for makeup removal. I did receive a product called Cailyn Dizzolv'It Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm in a recent Birchbox. It has the consistency of coconut oil and I rub it all over my face when I need to remove makeup and then use the Pacifica Facewash.
* I have a few eye creams but I've been using the Anew Rejuvenate 24 Hour Eye Moisturizer by Avon. It has a night formula and a day formula with SPF.
* For the nights I use Retin A, I have been apply the Derma E Hydrating Night Creme. I also received this in a Birchbox and it's just really luxurious, moisturizing, & smells lovely.
* I don't use the oatmeal she suggested so I wash my face morning and night with the Pacifica Facewash.
* I also still occasionally use my face wipes if it's a late night or I can't muster up the energy to do my face routine. It's quick and easy and I say, although they aren't perfect, it's better than sleeping on a dirty face. I use the Simple Cleansing Face Wipes brand.
I have made a huge point of doing my face routine in the evening and morning these days. I've only missed one 'washing' in the past 2 weeks. I don't shower every morning since I work from home(ok, sometimes I don't even shower every day - don't judge!) but I have been doing my face/neck cleansing routine every morning and night. Honestly, it really doesn't take that long and I think I'm already seeing the benefits.
About 2 days after I started using these products, I went to a local skin care clinic for my skin care analysis where I came away with Retin A and a few other recommendations. I'll talk about my visit and my experience with Retin A so far in my next post.
Lesson of skin care journey part 2: Try different products until you find the products that work for you. I've been using the above for only 2 weeks and I really like them and how they make my skin feel. Ask me in another month and I may have a different opinion. :) Everyone's skin is different.
Just checking in: Are you protecting your skin from the sun? I hope so! I'm even trying to get my husband to apply an SPF moisturizer every morning.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
my skin care journey (part 1)
Although, this is far from a 'beauty' blog, I thought I'd chronicle my skin care journey and some recent happenings around the topic. Let's start from the beginning(I promise I'll keep this semi-short):
I had pretty bad acne in high school. It was the cystic acne and a lot of black heads. At the end of high school and as I went into college, I started Accutane. It worked really well.(aside from a side effect of depression - ugh!) There have actually been recent studies published about the depression side effects of Accutane. Anyway - I would still have some pretty bad cystic acne episodes but I'd get that shot directly into the cyst(is it a cortisone shot?) and it would go away in a few days.
I used Proactive for awhile which also worked really well. As I left college, I do not remember having really bad acne issues. As I started to get older, anti-aging was higher on my list of priorities for my skin so I started using a more gentle cleanser(less drying than proactive). Now that I live in New Mexico, the dry air is real people...got to keep everything extra moisturized living here. I used an Anew skin care program by Avon for a number of years and really liked it. My Mom actually sells Avon in case you're in the market for any products...go here if you need anything.
In the last 1.5 years or so, my skin care has been pretty random. I have basically just been using what I have. Also in the last 1.5 years, I have started to get breakouts...usually hormonally driven I would say. I don't really get the cystic acne anymore but I do get the annoying white heads. It's hard to resist popping them! I started using the revised version of Proactive which helped with the breakouts but is really drying. I can really only use it occasionally and would definitely not be able to use it morning and night because I would dry out and my skin would shrivel up.
In the last three months or so, I've been looking for a more natural and organic products to use on my body, hair, etc. I do believe that many products we use have carcinogens so I've wanted to start swapping out many of the skin products I've used.(I'm not perfect but I figure swapping out some products is better than none) I came across this blog post and decided I wanted to try some of the products she mentions. If it works for her, maybe it would work for me. Last week, I also decided to visit a local skin care clinic to get a free "skin care analysis." It is very eye opening when they review the pictures they take of your skin with you and they rank you with thousands of other people in your age group. I even found out I have melasma on my forehead. They even removed a "thing"(no clue what she called it) that I have had at the edge of my eye brow for years. Yay!
I left there with a .02% formula of Retin A and a recommendation to try a Clear & Brilliant laser treatment.
Lesson of skin care journey part 1: Start taking care of your skin as early as possible, stop tanning in tanning beds, & protect yourself against the sun. Although, I've "promoted" this the last few years, I believe more than ever that paler is better. I'm proud to be the palest gal on the beach these days! :)
In the next posts, I'll talk more about the products I'm now using, my visit to the skin care clinic, my experience with Retin A so far, & more on the laser treatment recommendation.
I had pretty bad acne in high school. It was the cystic acne and a lot of black heads. At the end of high school and as I went into college, I started Accutane. It worked really well.(aside from a side effect of depression - ugh!) There have actually been recent studies published about the depression side effects of Accutane. Anyway - I would still have some pretty bad cystic acne episodes but I'd get that shot directly into the cyst(is it a cortisone shot?) and it would go away in a few days.
I used Proactive for awhile which also worked really well. As I left college, I do not remember having really bad acne issues. As I started to get older, anti-aging was higher on my list of priorities for my skin so I started using a more gentle cleanser(less drying than proactive). Now that I live in New Mexico, the dry air is real people...got to keep everything extra moisturized living here. I used an Anew skin care program by Avon for a number of years and really liked it. My Mom actually sells Avon in case you're in the market for any products...go here if you need anything.
In the last 1.5 years or so, my skin care has been pretty random. I have basically just been using what I have. Also in the last 1.5 years, I have started to get breakouts...usually hormonally driven I would say. I don't really get the cystic acne anymore but I do get the annoying white heads. It's hard to resist popping them! I started using the revised version of Proactive which helped with the breakouts but is really drying. I can really only use it occasionally and would definitely not be able to use it morning and night because I would dry out and my skin would shrivel up.
In the last three months or so, I've been looking for a more natural and organic products to use on my body, hair, etc. I do believe that many products we use have carcinogens so I've wanted to start swapping out many of the skin products I've used.(I'm not perfect but I figure swapping out some products is better than none) I came across this blog post and decided I wanted to try some of the products she mentions. If it works for her, maybe it would work for me. Last week, I also decided to visit a local skin care clinic to get a free "skin care analysis." It is very eye opening when they review the pictures they take of your skin with you and they rank you with thousands of other people in your age group. I even found out I have melasma on my forehead. They even removed a "thing"(no clue what she called it) that I have had at the edge of my eye brow for years. Yay!
I left there with a .02% formula of Retin A and a recommendation to try a Clear & Brilliant laser treatment.
Lesson of skin care journey part 1: Start taking care of your skin as early as possible, stop tanning in tanning beds, & protect yourself against the sun. Although, I've "promoted" this the last few years, I believe more than ever that paler is better. I'm proud to be the palest gal on the beach these days! :)
In the next posts, I'll talk more about the products I'm now using, my visit to the skin care clinic, my experience with Retin A so far, & more on the laser treatment recommendation.
Monday, November 17, 2014
I don't mean to rub it in but...
Today my husband cooked breakfast, lunch, & is cooking dinner as we speak. It is expected that Mike plan and prepare dinner on Monday & Tuesday and I have dinner Wednesday-Sunday. The past few weeks he's also been cooking breakfast and today he cooked lunch.
Although I wish Mike had Saturday and Sunday's off like a "normal" person, it's nice not to have to think about dinner preparation on Monday's and Tuesday's, especially Monday's. There's always a silver lining(Mike cooking for me) to a situation you don't love(Mike working Saturday's & Sunday's), isn't there? :) All I want on Monday is to have a productive day at work so the last thing I want to do is think about dinner.
We all should count our blessings, right? Mike is a pretty swell hubby! He does things for me that he knows will make me happy. Honestly, it make me feel really special that he goes out of his way to do little things for me that he knows I'll appreciate.
Although I wish Mike had Saturday and Sunday's off like a "normal" person, it's nice not to have to think about dinner preparation on Monday's and Tuesday's, especially Monday's. There's always a silver lining(Mike cooking for me) to a situation you don't love(Mike working Saturday's & Sunday's), isn't there? :) All I want on Monday is to have a productive day at work so the last thing I want to do is think about dinner.
We all should count our blessings, right? Mike is a pretty swell hubby! He does things for me that he knows will make me happy. Honestly, it make me feel really special that he goes out of his way to do little things for me that he knows I'll appreciate.
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