Hello there lovely readers!!! I am about to embark on a series of articles here addressing my skincare routine and my attempts to "revamp it"! This post will give you all some background and give you a photo preview of some products that will be detailed in upcoming reviews! :)
I am someone who is *highly* interested in maximizing my own skincare routine. This is an evolutionary process. I have my faithful "stand-by" products, treatment products, and as-always: new products that I am experimenting with. Confounding all that is the general fact that one's skincare needs are ever-changing. As the seasons change, our environments change, and as our ages change, we just have different skincare needs. That is a fact!
After recently going through a "hormonal phase" for lack of a better descriptor, I headed back to my trusty Dermatologist, Dr. Gregory Cox, to re-vamp my skincare routine. Many trusty products were still working for me, but with experiencing some uncharacteristic hormonal breakouts, I wanted to "up" my skincare routine. Plus, as I am not getting any younger, lol! I want to start investigation for what I need to do for age prevention.
Granted, I know I am lucky in many regards with my skin. Believe me, I am really very happy with the state of my skin!!! I think it looks great. But, a lot of it is my meticulous selection of products. I test things very carefully and slowly. One product at a time to see if it will mess with my skin. That is no easy feat for someone with uber-sensitive skin. I want to keep my skin looking good, protect my skin from further damage, and try to target certain "skin issues".
My skin at-a-glance:
- Super fair skin. The fairest person I know, literally. I am a NC 15 in MAC (and that might even be a tad dark on me). I literally will burn within 15 minutes of being in the sun. There is skin cancer in my family and I actually have lost a dear friend to Melanoma. So, good skin protection is a big deal to me.
- I have skin allergies. I am sensitive to certain product fragrances, some exfoliants, and most chemical sunscreens. I do it all by mostly by trial and error. But, there are some ingredients that I generally avoid.
- No wrinkles, no sun spots, no fine lines, and no acne. I know, whew! But, my skin will break out with the wrong product. And, I think I have warded off the sun-spots/freckles and fine lines with the religious use of sunscreens.
- My skin is generally dry. But, I do get some pesky oiliness in the T-zone area during that time of the month. I will very infrequently experience a breakout during that time as well.
- My biggest "skin obstacles" are my SUPER dark under eye circles. I blame heredity, allergies, and a general lack of sleep. But, really, they are always present. The search for the ultimate under eye moisturizer and ultimate concealer is the constant quest for me. I don't expect miracle cures for dark circles in a form of a moisturizer. But, have had some decent results with various eye creams. I also need an eye cream that will be rich and moisturizing to provide a nice base for a heavier opaque concealer that will be thick enough to cover my dark circles.
- Redness: Because of my sensitive skin, if a product irritates me, it will cause my skin to get itchy, blotchy, and red. I usually know right away because my skin will start "burning".
- Other skin issues that I experience: Milia in the eye and and upper cheek area. My Derm said this is just part of having super pale sensitive skin. My skin will get irritated and produce Milia "seeds" (small white bumps under skin, not a pimple, but a pinpoint size white "bump"). These are a major pain because they usually don't go away on their own, but need to be removed with pin pricks at the dermatologist.
- Dry patches. If I am not careful, I always end up with these. Especially during winter months!
I feel that I am generally lucky to live in a sprawling urban area because I have such great access to a knowledgeable Derm (and also to have so many choices of great physicians). But also, I feel that really a vast majority of your skincare lies in your own hands. Become your own expert at what your skin needs, and learn how to ask specific questions of your Dermatologist so that you can get the most out of your visit.
I know I am only on the very tip of the iceberg with all I would like to learn about skincare. So, my dear readers, please join me on this journey! I would love input from all of you as well as I learn so many good things from your comments.
Over the next few weeks (and also periodically updated throughout the year) you will see a series of
Skincare Routine posts. I will be reviewing products both old and "new" that are part of my skincare routine. I have trusty "old faithful" products, new products that I am testing, and products specifically recommend to me by my Dermatologist. I am in the constant process of re-vamping my skincare routine based on the ever-changing needs of my skin.
To give you a preview, here are some (but certainly not all) products that will be coming soon in reviews. Some of these products I have used for years and are HG products and some are brand-new to me.
Please note, the Dermatique is a private label brand availabe from my Dermatologist. But, from some online investigation, I realized that the Dermatique brand appears to be specially packaged products by Topix, especially for my Derm's office. So, the good news is that those products are easily available to you online if you search for Topix. I will label those all as Dermatique/Topix when mentioning those items.
Items include (some are pictured above): Some of these items I have found on my own and some were recommended by my Dermatologist.
- GlyDerm Gentle Cleanser
- Topix Resurfix Ultra Gentle Cleanser
- TwinLabs NA-PCA spray (toner)
- Dermatique/Topix Micronized Zinc Sunscreen SPF 30
- NeoCutis Lumiere Bio-Restorative Eye Cream with PSP
- Dermatique/Topix Power of Three Antioxidant Defense
- Clinique Moisture Surge
- Dermatique/Topix Benzaderm
I am really looking forward to all my upcoming skincare reviews and my Skincare Routine posts!!! Thanks for joining me on my skincare journey!!!
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