Home Recovery - Skin Therapy!

Forget the quarantine, I've been procrastinating on all levels of self-care for a while now. I had many excuses...work, lack of sleep, lack of time...but now that I'm caged within my home I have absolutely no excuses. That means I have to feel good, look good, and be good on my own.

The gym used to be my sanctuary away from reality. It was my daily medicine; kept my emotions under control, kept me sane. Without it, I've tried other alternatives like indulging in house work and short yoga sessions in the morning. No routines have been established yet, but balance is the key. The first step is figuring out what feels right and what to work into a habit. Don't beat yourself up for not getting yourself together or not giving yourself a timeline or schedule.

Skin-care has been my biggest nightmare. No stress acne, fortunately. I have to say that it feels good not being under pressure despite current financial downfalls. At the same time, my skin has been so neglected, I'm ashamed of myself. The worst part is, I wrote this before I took a picture and saw that ugly abomination on my chin. It has been a nightmare LOL! Here's today's recovery regime!

1. Ole Henriksen Phat Glow Facial - I use this mask as a cleanser 1-2 times a week. I loooove how my skin feels after using this stuff. It's like a nourishing cleansing exfoliator, but since my skin is so oily, it's like a pre-game to the big boys.
2. Biore Nose Pore Strip - I usually prefer to do the old fashion steam-and-extract with my fingers, but when I know they're bad, I take the easy way out. Plus...drinking tea on a warm morning before steaming my face is just going to make me hot and irritable. 
3. Skin & Co Truffle Therapy Toner - I love this toner because it feels like cool velvet on my skin. Definitely gentle and non-drying, so it doesn't strip my skin with the treatments I'm using today.
4. Artistry Renewing Peel - This exfoliator is pretty gentle on my skin, but I also have a high tolerance to these things. Not best to use on sensitive areas like where I just pulled dirt out my nose. This is the first time I'm really using this brand, so I can't say much about how I like it.
5. Olay Hydrating Essence - So I just recently heard about using essence, and I don't hate it. It's definitely not a necessary step, but after so much exfoliation, I need to retain as much moisture as possible. Don't worry, I got my water on standby for the day. I do like this Olay one though because it's very gentle. I had a tried a different brand (can't remember the name) that felt thick and kind of just sat on my skin. 
6. Exuviance Overnight Recovery Masque - I LOVE this stuff! Forget that it's an overnight treatment. I sometimes use this as a day treatment or even a moisturizer. When I was doing nails, this mask acted like a barrier to the nail dust. It definitely minimized the acne I'd get as a result of the dirt and dust being trapped in my pores. 
7. IT Confidence Eye Cream - Murad will always be my favorite brand for eye creams, but this one doesn't do a bad job. I love how smooth and light it feels, and it definitely makes a difference as soon as you put it on. 
8. Olay Tone Perfecting Cream - When it comes to moisturizers, I so do not follow my own advice. This Olay cream does help even out my skin tone. It has a tendency to lighten and brighten your skin a little too well, but it absorbs really well into the skin.

Moisturizing at the end just helps to lock in all the beneficial effects of your treatment while protecting your skin from the activities of the day. This is THE most important step to a regimen, and I still have yet to invest in a really good product. Having an esthetician license and having absolutely no products have been the only thing that's stopped me from really doing facials. 

Any recommendations on brands/product lines I can play around with and possibly invest in for future business? One thing I love to do, is try out new skin care. 

One thing I am going to break into a habit is prioritizing my skin just like I prioritize tea and coffee in the mornng. 

My Worst Nightmare. ACNE.

It's crazy how fast time passed, but I'm already 2 weeks into my vacation and my skin is surprisingly doing better. I have struggled with acne my whole life, and it took me years to realize that it was mostly hormonal for me. I've had a few nights that I forgot to take off my makeup or wash my face, so I cant say I've had a perfect regimen either (I'm human too!) This is how my face looks after a basic cleanse for the night:

And this is after I apply my acne treatment for the night. Like I said in the last post, Murad's Clarifying Mask is my favorite spot treatment. Even though it's suggested use is twice a week as a full face or t-zone application, I love how much it dehydrates those problem spots for me. The sulfur ingredient helps to bring out all those impurities so that when I lightly exfoliate in the morning with my cleanser, it just breaks down all those dried out pimples. It definitely satisfies that same urge one would have to pick at a whitehead. I'm so guilty of that, but ever since I found that this worked for me, I've definitely lost that urge. 

As you can see, most of my problem areas are around the hairline (mind you, I just washed my hair this morning). My skin is very sensitive so anything that touches it will cause me to break out. Of course, there's also my chin which breaks out almost all the time. That area is typically hormonal so I'm sure its just because of my body's internal make up. That's also a sensitive issue for me but that's a whole different story. I'm a complicated woman, haha. 

I'll show my results in the morning and go more in depth with my current daily regimen. 

Journey Start

I've always wanted to start a skincare blog but could never find a "good time" to start talking about my journey. I guess before I do that, I should start off by saying that my skin is very sensitive, and I have had problem skin for so long that I just allowed myself to experiment. I know that sounds terrible, but...let me tell you, I learned a lot.

So I figured what better time to start than to take my skincare regimen to the dusty, busy streets of Vietnam where the water is always questionable. The last year I visited, I went back and forth between the sink's tap water and the rain water with no hope for my poor acne-ridden face. It's bad enough that my face reacts to anything that touches it (i.e. pillow, my hair, etc.)

Last year I used Kohl's little starter kit including a cleanser, moisturizer, and eye cream with No. 7's blemish spot treatment. Only problem is, I don't know even now how well the product really works on it's own, haha. It didn't matter what I used. My skin just got worse and worse.

This year I packed up a cute little travel pouch with all my goodies including Murad's city pollution day moisturizer with SPF and an overnight rose oil serum (thanks TJ Maxx!) that surprisingly does a very good job of protecting my skin from contact with the pillow. I also made sure to pack some of Murad's clarifying sulfur mask. It's my favorite overnight acne spot treatment!

I know I'm a little biased when it comes to Murad. I used to work at Massage Envy and the products really give great results. After experimenting with so many different brands and product types all advertising different target areas, I was ready to bring my face back to life, lol.

The biggest thing for me as an esthetician is figuring out a way to make skincare easier to understand for my clients but not in a dumbed-down manner. With a target audience that for the most part doesn't know what a facial is and has a very minimal regimen (if any), it reminded me of myself before I ever became interested in skincare. My idea of taking care of my face was randomly using a generic cleanser whenever I was tired of looking at my skin. Of course, most of the time it didn't do anything, and I just lived with it. So I can definitely understand anyone's struggle in finding what works for them.

My goal is really to show how different your skin can look by staying committed to a regimen with literally any brand out there. Of course, everyone has a different skin type, but I know I can at least represent those who've had similar issues to mine.