Skincare Faves + What I Went Through To Find Them

Happy Sunday Love!

Don’t we love discovering new products? I definitely do. You wanna know what I love more? Products that definitely work for me, the ones I’ve used over a long period of time and will continue to buy (as long as they don’t change).

Skin is serious business. Studies have laid out the psychological and emotional impact skin ailments have on individuals navigating these issues.

If you’re like me though, you don’t need studies to tell you that.

Some people think it’s silly to care about these things, but I think they take for granted how much feeling good about our physical presentation affects the way we show up in the world. That’s why I try not to judge the choices of others.

Once we start unpacking aesthetics and their link to self esteem we can quickly find grace for things we don’t understand.

Let me bring you into my skincare journey, maybe you’ll see yourself.

Skin issues I’ve dealt with: Cystic acne, breakouts, hyperpigmentation, dermatitis, a compromised skin barrier (brought on my over exfoliation - chemical & physical)

Skin type: My face tends to lean towards the combo type. Generally my skin is normal except for a slightly more oily t-zone. My t-zone can go into an over production of sebum if thrown out of balance. I used to deal with some seasonal (winter) dryness in the outer perimeter as well.

Ever since I’ve learned how to take care of my skin I don’t find myself dealing with the extremes that used to plague it.

Like many of us, I once adopted the ATTACK method of skin care. You know the one. It’s when we see something we don’t like, watch tons of youtube videos, read tons of ingredient breakdowns, go shopping and start a whole new regimen. That or we look for a system/kit and change every single product overnight.

I made all the mistakes, I used the scrubs with the crushed walnut shells (yikes), tried the black soap (good ‘til it’s your worst nightmare), used spot treatments more than recommended, you know, so it would work faster (lol). That’s just to name a few.

Let’s not forget the diet aspect, my idea of a snack was an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s half baked when I was 17/18.

Of course we know better than to do any of this now, but I was definitely guilty of all of it.

Our desperation is understandable. It’s not natural for our skin to be going through these things and it’s frustrating to say the least.

So today, instead of looking at what I’m newly excited about or the hottest new ingredient everyone is excited about, I’m sharing my OG riders. My day 1s (we’re calling day 1 the time I stopped stressing my skin out, ok).

Maybe you’ll discover something that works for you.

Doing a poll on Instagram right now: Next week’s blog post should be about: Skin care or makeup? Vote here.