Well hello there! I have returned from real life mostly in one piece!
This winter I had curated a huge K-Beauty haul full of skincare products. I couldn't wait to try them!
Unfortunately not too long after, we had a major snow storm and the pipes in our Pocono home froze so we lost water and power...and it didn't come back. Needless to say this was a very stressful time for my whole family. We spent over a month with no water and maybe a couple weeks without power. This meant no showers, no sinks, no lights, no heat, no washing machines, no nothing. I was so thankful to have several coworkers who were willing to open their homes to me whenever I needed it. Eventually the power came back on but the water did not. The pipes simply would not un-freeze! We looked into everything we could think of but with the way the house was designed, it was likely that the problem was actually inaccessible and under ground near the well pump. When it did finally come back on, we had it about a week before it stopped working again. This time we found out that the freezing had actually damaged the well pump. So we were, once again, left with no water. At least this time hadn't lasted nearly as long.
Back to the skincare! This whole nightmare basically meant that I had to go to work and wash my face in the break-room at the beginning and end of my shifts and the only other times I got the chance was when I could use one of my coworker's showers. Needless to say that my face was far from happy. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was staging a mutiny. This was not helped by the fact that all of the skincare products that I had were new and untested along with the stress and anxiety of my situation at the time, and the infrequency of my face washing.
I developed painfully severe acne mostly around my jawline but there was a scattering of it pretty much everywhere. My face felt like the natural barrier of my skin was ruined because it stung when I washed it and my whole face felt extreamly sensitive. Now, I love K-Beauty and J-Beauty products and the ones that I had tried were highly reviewed. I am sure that they are good products, just not for me and definitely not at that time! Unfortunately I was putting on everything I could think of that I had in my arsenal to try to get rid of these unwelcome skin squatters. Spoiler: this doesn't work!
Along with all of that, I have had to deal with car problems, health problems which included a false alarm overnight stay at the ER, and job loss. My stress and anxiety levels have been through the roof.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My mother is a licenced esthetician and was determined to get a good look at what was going on with my face. I was finally got the opportunity to get in for a facial since she was training someone and needed a model. Apparently the acne was hormonal. I wasn't particularly surprised since I struggle with thyroid problems and that false alarm ER visit had turned out to be an ovarian cyst where my appendix was "supposed to be". At this point everything that was going wrong with me I could trace back to my thyroid and/or hormones.
Hormonal acne usually occurs on the lower part of the face, mainly the lower parts of the cheeks and around the jaw line. They are these really painful, red, cyst-like acne bumps that are deep under the skin and don't come up to the surface. Hormonal acne can be caused by an influx of hormones from menstruation, polycystic ovarian syndrome, menopause, and/or increased androgen levels.
She recommended several products from Dermalogica. Now, there are products from Dermalogica that I really like, others not so much. I am extreamly picky when it comes to brand loyalty and I have no problem using a mix of brands, much to my mother's chagrin. I did follow her advice for a couple of weeks, though I mixed in a few of my own favorite products, and lo and behold, these horrible skin squatters are slowly but surely going away! According to my mother, my biggest focus should be on daily exfoliation, moisture, and combating inflammation, along with reducing the many black heads and large pores that drive her nuts! The goal is to reduce the inflammation and irritation in the areas affected as well as removing the dead skin because that is apparently the only way that these babies are going to even consider moving. Moisture was also a big concern because the blackheads and clogged pores that I had were not very soft and didn't want to come out. If your skin is more hydrated, it will be easier for your facialist to perform extractions effectively.
At the moment, many spots are still there and still red, however, the redness isn't as...angry looking, and you can see the bumps in several places are starting to come closer to the surface. The ones that have finally come up as white heads get taken off and those spots can finally start to heal.
I have created this skincare routine curated with both new products and old favorites based off of my mother's advice and the 10 step skin care routine.
Step 1: Oil Cleanser
The
Shiseido Perfect Cleansing Oil has been a staple in my routine ever since I first discovered how wonderful cleansing oils are. Yes, especially for oily skin, my face doesn't feel as clean without it! However, I recently got to try out the
TATCHA Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil and I have to say, I see better results than my old favorite. It takes my makeup off better and breaks down better. It also is formulated with better ingredients, earning itself a 'Clean at Sephora' seal of approval.
Step 2: Traditional Cleanser
I have a couple that I have seen great results with so far. The first one is the
Dermalogica Ultra Calming Cleanser. It is a gentle cleanser specifically designed for sensitive skin and helps combat irritations due to pollution, harsh climate, stress, hormonal imbalance, irritating cosmetic products and other skin irritants. The second one is the
TATCHA The Deep Cleanse. This gel cleanser contains a natural fruit exfoliant but also gently lifts impurities and unclog pores. This cleanser leaves my skin feeling extreamly soft and hydrated. The fruit exfoliant is from the Japanese Luffa Fruit and is not harsh or sharp on the skin at all.
Step 3: Exfoliation
My favorite daily exfoliant is the
TATCHA Rice Polish. It is gentle for daily use but is effective at removing the dead skin cells. Like all of TATCHA's products, the ingredients are great for the skin and formulated without mineral oil, synthetic fragrances, sulfate detergents, parabens, urea, DEA, TEA or phthalates. I also have a
Foreo Luna Mini that works great to help get rid of dead skin cells. I prefer this over the Clarisonics because the material is easier to keep clean and doesn't require new brush heads. You just have to charge it once every 6 months or so. However, this is used with face cleansers that are not clay based, silicone based, or grainy. You also can't use this with exfoliators or scrubs. Not only would that probably be very harsh on the skin, the brand says that those cleansers could damage the silicone bristles.
Step 4: Toner
I have been using Organic Rose Water as a 'toner' though I have plans to return to a little gem that I found on etsy that I have had great results with in the past. It is the
Green Tea Toner from
Botanic Glow. It is formulated using only a few ingredients. Aloe Vera Juice, Green Tea Extract, Witch Hazel, Lemon Oil, and Lavender Oil.
Step 5: Essence
Essence is an essential part of any Asian beauty routine. It is basically a water-light, hydrating liquid that allows your other skincare products to sink deep into the skin and work better. Without it, many products would sit on the top layers and would not be able to penetrate as deeply. Think of it like a spot of very dry ground. If you are in an area that gets little rain, that area can be prone to flash flooding when it does rain because the water is not sinking into the ground. However, if it rains in an area with a moist ground, the water will just sink in and there won't be any problems. My favorite essence is the
Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence. It helps keep my skin hydrated and retain moisture. It also keeps it balanced, allowing for a consistent moisture level, regardless of climate changes.
Step 6: Acne Treatment
I really like the
Dermalogica Breakout Control. It uses natural antibacterial and soothing ingredients without drying my skin out. No artificial colors, fragrances or parabans here!
Step 7: Serum or Sheet Mask
My favorite serum has always been the
Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate. But since they just changed the formula and I am focusing more on soothing, I switched over to the
Dermalogica Ultra Calming Serum Concentrate. It is part of the same line as the Ultra Calming Cleanser. It helps to calm, restore and defend skin that is very sensitive. I will also sometimes use sheet masks if I think my skin could use a little extra TLC. They have so many varieties and most are very affordable. They feel so refreshing after a long day!
Step 8: Eye Cream
I have been switching up my eye creams a bit. I have a few different ones that I love. The first is the
Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. This one contains coffee beans among other great ingredients to brighten and de-puff tired eyes and earned a 'Clean at Sephora' seal of approval. I consider this my daytime eye cream. The second one is
Shiseido's White Lucent Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream. This eye cream claims to fade dark circles over time by supporting natural melanin production and natural micro circulation. The third one is one that I reserve specifically for night time. The
TATCHA Ageless Revitalizing Eye Cream uses Peony and Honeysuckle extracts to energize skin and visibly diminish fine lines, puffiness and dark circles. This eye cream is the richest out of the three.
Step 9: Moisturizer
Since it is summer, I am not using moisturizers that are too heavy like I would in the winter. Shout-out to my beloved
Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer Enriched!
Day
Dermalogica Active Moist. A lightweight and oil-free lotion that helps combat surface dehydration. I really like this one because it keeps my skin hydrated but balanced. Not too oily and not too dry. Great for the summer or even year round!
Night
TATCHA The Water Cream. This is also a lightweight, oil free cream that feels like it melts into water on your face. It is so moisturizing and help control oil, is anti-aging, helps visibly tighten pores and improves skin texture and radiance!
Night Alternatives
Very rarely, I will actually replace my night moisturizer with a few drops of pure Camellia (Tsubaki) Oil. I only do this if I feel like my skin is overly dry and my other moisturizer didn't cut it. Japanese Camellia oil is known for being able to penetrate deep into the skin and is non-comedogenic. It helps promote skin elasticity, moisture, scar minimizing, and has anti inflammatory properties!
I also will use an overnight sleeping mask every once in a while to give my skin some extra TLC.
Step 10: SPF (Morning only)
ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!
This is a must! I always hated wearing sunscreen and didn't see the point. However, there is more to worry about than burns. UVB is the one that causes the sun burns and is measured in the US with the number that you see on the bottle, SPF 30 for example. UVA is sneaky. This is the one that ages your skin, causes sun spots and also cancer. In some other countries it is measured by plus signs, PA ++++. The more plus signs there are, the higher the protection. In the US, you just have to look for 'Broad Spectrum'. I personally prefer physical or mixed (both physical and chemical ingredients) sunscreens over all chemical. The chemical ones sometimes irritate my skin unless there are calming ingredients added. Physical sunscreens are the ones that can leave a white cast, though many brands have improved on this. They contain either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and sit on top of the skin to deflect UVA and UVB rays. Chemical sunscreens on the other hand contain ingrediants like oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate. They change the sun rays into heat and 'release that heat from the skin.' I personally hate the feeling of wearing one of these sunscreens and feeling like my face is being cooked.
A couple sunscreens that I like are the
3LAB Perfect Sunscreen Broad Spectrum 50+. It is a chemical sunscreen but it has ingrediants like green tea extract and acai fruit that helps calm the skin. It is also oil free, non-comedogenic, PABA and fragrance free.
The
Peter Thomas Roth Max UV Milk SPF 50. This is a mix of mineral and chemical sunscreen ingredients. Water resistant for 80 minutes. Fragrance free.
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