Happy Wednesday!
I hope everyone is having a productive week! I was able to get some Spring cleaning done last night and am feeling so productive. There is just something about clean floors and windows that really make me feel satisfied.
As productive as I have been on my Spring cleaning there are still some areas I want to tackle (like my crazy sock basket). I have really been challenging myself to take extra good care of my skin and wear no makeup during the week. This is something I pretty much do anyway when I am work but I just really wanted to give my skin a break during this at home time. There is no reason to put makeup on for just myself! My skin has been loving it and is so clear and glowy.
I wrote a blog post last week about skincare and the importance of retinol. You can read more about it here. I really talk about the side effects retinol can have on your skin and how sometimes starting it when you don’t have anywhere to be the next few days is the best time to try it. It got me thinking about other skincare products and treatments you could try in isolation because your skin might have a reaction to them at first. I have categorized these treatments by a problem area or goal you might be trying to focus on!
FOR SKIN CELL REPAIR
If you have never tried a chemical peel I highly recommend it but be warned that when I say peel your skin will look a bit scary for a few days. Chemical peels are great because they literally take off the top layer of your skin and replace it with fresh cells so your skin feels like a baby! The peeling process is not super painful but you want to be sure to stay out of the sun and not to further pick at the peel.
There are a lot of chemical peels you can get done at your dermatologist but given our current stay at home situation, I am sharing some chemical peels you can do at home! I have tried the Blue Mercury Power Glow Peel which is my personal favorite! My mom swears by this one! I have also tried the Dr. Dennis Gross Peel which is very similar!
FOR UNEVEN SKIN TONE
There are a million benefits to vitamin C. I was talking to one of my girlfriends the other day about how badly she needs to add a vitamin C serum to her routine. Vitamin C works to repair skin cell damage usually caused by UV (or sun) exposure. I use it to help repair my acne scaring I have from when I was in high school. I have absolutely loved using my vitamin C serum and I think it is so important in any skincare routine. Vitamin C can be known to cause breakouts or irritation when you first begin using it, I have never experienced any issues with it but when I was doing my research initially I read a lot about the irritation it can cause. Given our current stay at home situation, this is a great time to test out a vitamin C serum and see if your skin has any reactions to it!
I tried a lot of different brands when looking for the best Vitamin C to use. I decided on this one which is going to be the only one I share today for a few reasons. One, I absolutely love that this serum smells like citrus. So many of the ones I tried smelled super gross. Two, when looking for a vitamin C serum, you want to be sure it is in a clear-ish container. Vitamin C is like a fruit on your counter, it goes bad when it sits in the sun so you’ll want to be sure to keep it in a dark-ish dry place and being able to see inside the container allows you know it is fresh!
There is a small travel size version of this Vitamin C that you can get to see if you like it! I have absolutely loved it but I know the price tag can be a little high for most!
FOR DRY AND DEHYDRATED
If you are not currently using an oil on your face you absolutely 100% should be! I just added an oil to my mom’s skincare routine and she has said it has been an absolute game changer. What I love about using an oil is that it really locks in everything you just put on your face. I use an oil as the very last step of my nighttime routine to lock in my moisturizer and wake up with glowy dewy skin (literal dream).
If you are new to using an oil beware that it might cause your skin to break out at first. I have super sensitive skin and when I initially started using a facial oil it did cause me to break out just a bit. I cut back on the number of nights I was using the oil and allowed my skin to adjust to the product and did not have any issues after a few weeks! This is a perfect time to try and oil and I cannot recommend it enough if your skin is dry or dehydrated like mine!
FOR FINE LINES AND WRINKLES
If your goals include wrinkle and fine line prevention and repair then retinol is for you! I wrote a full post on retinol last week that you can read here. But I will recap it for you because there is a period of time your skin might need to adjust to using retinol which makes it perfect to include in this post.
If you have heard anything in the past about retinol it probably consisted of making skin peel which can be a reaction for new users. This is because it is promoting skin cell renewal and causing your skin turnover to happen at a faster rate. While your skin transitions to this faster pace, it can cause redness, peeling and flakiness. This typically goes away within a few days to weeks of repeated use. There has never been a better time to add retinol to your routine with our current stay at home order!
I know staying at home isn’t always the most fun thing in the world but there has never been a better time to start or increase the level in which you take care of your skin! I hope you find this post useful and are able to implement some of these things into your routine!
I have been getting more and more skincare questions recently. I think isolation and this stay at home order is a great time to invest and take the time to up your skincare routine. If you are new to skincare and looking to just get your feet wet and begin building your routine, check out this post here on How to Build a Skincare Routine.
xoxo,
Zoe