An oblivious girl's guide to skin care {03.07.24}

Hello and happy Thursday friends! Welcome back to the seventh blog post of March! I am happy to say that my goal to post every single day of March is almost a 1/4 of the way done.  Have you been enjoying all the different topics? I'm open to feedback and would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Before I get too far into this particular post I wanted to add a disclaimer.  I am not a health care professional.  The below post is strictly my journey and what I have had to do to help my skin be the glorious beast that it is today.  Please work with your healthcare professional when using new products or changing routines.  Okay, great! Let's get this thing going.

When it comes to skin care I am... oblivious.  I mean I am head in the sand, completely in the dark, does not know anything about skin care ignorant.  I was under the impression that skin care consisted of washing your face once (maybe twice) a day and throwing on some lotion.  But when I hit my 30's I noticed that this just was not cutting it.  My skin was perpetually dry and peeling in some places and where it wasn't peeling it was red and splotchy.  And for whatever reason my trusty face wash and lotion was not doing the trick any longer.  

Of course, this led me to my dermatologist to discuss options and what I needed to do.  She recommended I go and get a patch test done on my skin because she highly suspected I had some sort of allergies - and let me tell you, she was right.  If you have never had a patch test before, the process includes them putting 72 (or whatever the most common allergy amount there is) in tiny squares all down your back. Those patches sit on the skin for a few days, then you come back to have them removed.  Then you wait another day or two to give your skin a chance to fully react (all the while not showering by the way).  The last day the doctor will take a look at your skin and tell you exactly what you're allergic too.  

And boy did I have an allergy.  I am allergic to iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, or in laymen's terms: preservatives. I am also allergic to fragrance, but that didn't surprise me as I've had issues in the past.  The cool thing is there is a website out there that can take your allergies and tell you what products are safe or not safe for your skin. It was so helpful for me because when I started researching how much of my stuff had the preservative in it's formula... I basically had ZERO makeup, skin care or hair care left.  

So back to square one I went... Researching skin care, hair care, lotions, makeups, dry shampoos, body wash and so many other items.  And thanks to SkinSafe I was able to make quick decisions on items that would be safe for me to use.  So I replaced what I was currently using, but ended up still not having a good routine for my skin.  But, at least I knew what was causing a lot of my irritation and dryness. 

Next up was to create a new routine for myself which required a lot of reading/research.  But in general, I found that the following items are what you should be doing every day:

Of course, it's all fine and dandy to know what you're supposed to do, but what in the world do you buy? Queue spending hours researching what you need to help with your skin type and chatting with friends that are more knowledgeable in this category.  In my case my skin is very dry and hyaluronic acid is your best friend when it comes to moisturizing.  I also needed a little extra help getting the dead skin off my face, so exfoliation was another priority for me.  There are lots of great ways to exfoliate, but I have found that salicylic acid works well for me. So that leads me to all of the products I use.  I thought I would share what I use with you all for day and for night.  Obviously, what works for me may not work for someone else, but I figured if I can help even one person out, then it's worth sharing the post. 

1. Paula's Choice RESIST Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser | $23
2. Paula's Choice-Resist Advanced Replenishing Anti-Aging Toner, 4 Ounce Bottle, with Vitamins C & E | $27
3. Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum | $62
4. COSRX Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence 3.38 fl.oz 100ml, Hydrating Serum for Face | $25
5. Clinique SPF 30 Sunscreen Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream | $27
6. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ |$33
7. Clinique All About Eyes Cream | $35

1. Paula's Choice RESIST Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser | $23
2. Paula's Choice-Resist Advanced Replenishing Anti-Aging Toner, 4 Ounce Bottle, with Vitamins C & E | $27 OR
3. Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant | $35
4. COSRX Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence 3.38 fl.oz 100ml, Hydrating Serum for Face | $25
5. Clinique Moisture Surge Overnight Mask | $44
6. Clinique All About Eyes Cream | $35

These are all the products I use every day.  For me, these have helped make a huge improvement for me in my skin overall and I can tell when I'm not actively doing regular skin care because my skin starts to dry out again.  Another product I use the Clinique 7-Day Scrub once a week to help with build up.  You can use the product more than once a week, but my skin really hates when I exfoliate like that.

Well, I think that's all for today's post.  I hope you found this post to be helpful or at least an enjoyable read.  I am really enjoying sharing more variety over on the blog and look forward to sharing more throughout the month! 

Question of the Day: What is your favorite skin care product? 

Have a wonderful day,

Jackie

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Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.