My skin seemed to calm down a bit. I could actually leave the house without feeling embarrassed by crazy break outs. Fast forward to the present. Excessive acne breakouts seem to be a thing of the past. Nowadays my main concerns are primarily around the elimination of skin discoloration and deep scaring.
Because of the shift in seasons, I notice that my skin is behaving a bit more. There's less congestion in my pores, and it's not as oily as usual. It takes less work to keep clear. Could this be a wonderful side effect of my recent bout of healthy eating? I sure hope so. My first thought was of how I could take it easier on my regimen for the next several months because I probably won't experience another major breakout until 2016.
Immediately, I began to challenge my limited thinking. Instead of sitting back and coasting on my skin care until spring, why not get really aggressive and allocate all of my energy on finally achieving flawless skin? If I won't break out for a few months, then NOW is the time to get aggressive with treating discoloration. This is like invading the enemy camp ground while they're sound asleep. Victory is a sure thing.
So here's the battle plan. The strategy is to focus on deep exfoliation and intense moisture. Ideally, I'd like to complete a series of oxygen facial treatments (once a month or bi-monthly) until spring. Oxygen facials are perfect because they incorporate deep exfoliation and intense moisture at once. I was watching a reality show recently where Naomi Campbell made a guest appearance before a big fashion show. While there she made a single
As soon as I run out of my current cleanser, I'm transitioning to Phace's low pH cleanser. Hopefully this will keep the skin in perfect balance and ward off over drying. Lately, I've started adding a couple drops of pure mandelic acid to my cleanser to test out the impact of daily chemical exfoliation. So far, so good.
Of course winter is the perfect time to step our water drinking game up. Beyond that, I'm committed to making sure I sweat regularly during the cooler months. I completed a second infrared sauna session a couple days ago and I can't wait to go back. The amount of deep cleansing that happens during a sauna session is real. Immediately after the intense sweat, I start scrubbing my skin for dear life. I'm convinced that if I maintain this routine over the winter that my all over body glow will be in full effect by next summer.
So, as you can tell, instead of taking it easy this winter, I plan to go hard. Now is the time to make huge progress and maybe our results will be multiplied because we don't have to work against our over active summer skin. It's just a theory but I'm willing to try it out. If your skin seems to calm down during the winter months, I urge you to take the proactive approach. Instead of easing up on your efforts, multiply them and create and absolute best skin of your life.
I have a question about skin/face regimens. Should I expect to experience small breakouts when I first start? Prior to three weeks ago I only cleansed my face with neutrogena and moisturized it with Aveeno face moisturizer. My skin was clean and clear but it didn't "glow." So I added two face masks a week (Biore 1 minute heating mask, Queen Helene mint julep masque) and I do an exfoliation once a week. Now though, I've got bumps on different parts of my face. Is this my face telling me stop the new stuff, or is it just a phase it has to go through before it clears up and starts to love the masks and exfoliation. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHi Selah,
ReplyDeleteIf you are just looking for a glow, I'd skip the masks and just go for exfoliation to see how your skin responds. What's great about exfoliation is that you can try different methods. So if scrubbing is too harsh, you can opt for chemical exfoliation. Even with chemical exfoliation, you can choose the level of concentration and intensity. The masks you are using or for deep pore cleansing which you may need to do 2X a week. Especially if you already have clear skin.
Ok, that makes sense. I'll try exfoliation only first, and see how that works. I've never heard even thought about chemical exfoliation, but now that gives me something to google. lol. I have a year before my wedding, and I Want to make sure that i've found the perfect ingredients/routine to have beautiful glowing skin by then. Thank you so much for the insight
ReplyDeleteWhen I say "try chemical exfoliation," that doesn't mean that you have to get a chemical peel right away (especially if you don't have acne scarring). Try serums with glycolic or mandelic acid or something like Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta peel wipes first. See how your skin responds then progress to stronger products. A year is plenty of time to get glowing. Oh, make sure you feed your internal beauty with loads of water and fruits/veggies. That way, when you reveal the younger skin cells, they are well nourished and give you that healthy glow.
ReplyDeleteAs hard as it is to admit, I've been embarrassed about my skin on a regular basis. Things get especially bad in the winter, especially when I work out and then go back outside into the cold. This cleanser is definitely worth a try. I appreciate the advice from someone who's been there and had bad skin in many climates.
ReplyDeleteRonni Casillas @ JNH Life Styles