My Skincare Story

In my first skincare post, I (hopefully) convinced you that a proper skincare routine is important. Likewise, it’s important to get to know your unique skin type. I hope by sharing my skincare story (that sounds really dramatic, I promise it’s not) I can educate and help someone else.

I have ALWAYS had the driest of dry skin. As a kid, I suffered from eczema and severely sensitive skin. I have vivid memories of my mom forcing me to take oatmeal baths and put Aquaphor everywhere like it was my job. Thankfully, I grew out of most of my flare ups but still occasionally have to deal with dry patches on my face. All of this is to say that we all have our thing. Whether it’s oily, acne-prone skin or sensitive, dry skin, we all deal with something (except for those of you who just have naturally beautiful skin… I’m jealous of you).

Apart from getting one giant, pesky crater in the middle of my face, the first time I properly “broke out” was in the summer before college. I started to get tons of little acne bumps on my forehead along with really irritated pimples near my eyebrows (attractive, I know right?). I was determined to get to the bottom of it and clear up my skin. I started seeing an esthetician (Teagan, I love you) and she educated me big time on what was going on and how to fix it. I credit her with literally everything I know about skincare and am so thankful for her guidance!

While everyone’s skin is different and demands different things, the routine and products I will share in the (near) future can be tweaked and adjusted for your specific skin needs!

For now, I want to share two things that helped my skin early on.

1) Making sure all of my products were non-comedogenic. When something is “non-comedogenic,” it means that it will not cause blocked pores. Literally every single thing you put on your face seeps deep into your pores, so making sure that they aren’t going to block them is super important. Today, I check every skincare products I consider using to make sure it is non-comedogenic!
2) Hyaluronic acid. If I were to recommend one product to everyone (oily and dry people alike), it is this. Hyaluronic acid is my all-time, holy grail discovery. It helps to soothe and alleviate dry skin by helping the skin retain water. To those of you with oily skin, anything “hydrating” might freak you out. BUT hyaluronic acid will not make your skin oily. Unlike other hydrating products, it doesn’t feel heavy on the skin and is incredibly lightweight. Further, it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, creating more hydrated (not oily) and “plump” skin.

Stay tuned for the next post (Chemical Exfoliants: Why You Should Be Using Them) in my skincare series!