My Skincare Journey
Vulnerable post here. I’m going to show some pics of my skin that are honestly not my fav. I’ve done a decent job over the years of covering it up with makeup but let’s just say it’s been over 10 years that I’d leave the house without makeup on.
I didn’t wear sunscreen like I should’ve when I was younger, I can hear my mom yelling at me now, then I got pregnant and things got real bad. If you’ve ever been pregnant, and even if you haven’t, you may have heard of “pregnancy mask”. Your hormones are crazy and sometimes so is your skin. I basically developed a dark colored “mask” on my face. It was bad. Like, really bad. I tried everything under the sun to deal with it but nothing worked. It stayed long after both pregnancies, it would occasionally get lighter but it would never go away. It was also never light enough for me to feel confident without makeup on.
I swear I’d spent a small fortune on every product under the sun. I’d tried facials, microdermabrasion, everything. Honestly, I’d given up. I was really just ok with the fact that I’d really never feel confident without makeup on and that was that. Last year I started following a girl named Gretchen, I’ll link her here, on Instagram and she raved about NuSkin (and before you stop reading, I’m not recommending a bunch of NuSkin products…just 3, but I firmly believe in the 3 I’ve tried). I really just wanted to try the Lumi, so I did. I’ve used it for almost a year. That combined with some other great products that I’ll go over changed my skin. I’ll share what I’m doing day/night and share a pretty vulnerable pic. But I know so many women that struggle with this and trust me, I know the frustration.
Pregnancy Mask 2018/2019 and today.
I cannot even believe I’m sharing this side by side. I absolutely hated my skin on the left. I never left the house without concealer covering allllll of the dark spots. I know that it might not be a big deal to some people but I was so self conscious, it was bad. I took the picture on the right this morning right after I washed my face. I know it’s still not perfect by any means but I’m really encouraged by the direction I’m going in.
Alright, here’s what I do every morning.
Cleanse with this cleanser on my Lumi. I got sent a NuSkin face-wash when I got the Lumi and it’s ok but I love this one so much and I’m kind of a creature of habit.
I love this line of skincare, it’s the same brand as the face-wash I use. This Vitamin C lotion is great for me because it isn’t a serum. I tend to have more oily skin and since this is more of a lotion I don’t feel like it makes me oily throughout the day. It’s expensive but I think Revision products are just expensive in general because they work.
SPF. Guys, every. single. day. My moisturizer has it and so does a lot of my makeup. This is probably the most important thing, seriously. I’ve been using this same moisturizer for a while, I really like it and it’s got the vitamin C addition too! AND, if you’re in the sun WEAR A HAT.
That’s it for the morning! Nothing too crazy. I don’t think skincare has to be crazy but sometimes I think people get intimidated by the options out there. I’ll go over what I do at night, it’s a couple more steps but nothing crazy.
Night time.
Remove any makeup with micellar water with a cotton pad. I just buy a micellar water from Target. This is the one I use.
Get my face wet, get my Lumi and use the same cleanser as I do in the morning. You will be appalled/disgusted with the amount of stuff still on your face even after you removed it all with the micellar water. I’m not an expert but the Lumi has changed my skin’s texture. You can even see it’s helped with lines on my neck from the above picture.
Toner. I found this brand, Paula’s Choice, and I love it! It’s super affordable, made with great ingredients and has been great for my skin. I love a good deal so I’m looking into trying more products from them.
The other thing that’s helped with that is these pads. I use them daily all over my face and neck. I don’t know if you’re necessarily supposed to use them daily but they work so I do. My suggestion would be to see how your skin reacts to them, and work up to using them more.
Then I use retinol, it’s a prescription strength from the dermatologist. Again, I’m not an expert and I don’t necessarily know if this is the right order or whatever but it’s the only skincare routine that’s worked for me. Also, speaking of the dermatologist….get your skin checks gals. I go every 6 months!
Last I use a really lightweight moisturizer. I don’t like anything sticky or heavy. I have been liking this one. It’s light but seals in all the good stuff I just put on my face. It’s not broken me out either, so winning.
There’s a couple other things I’ve done also….I’ve had 2 laser treatments at Bella Med Spa. I’ve documented that on Instagram. It only takes about 30 minutes, isn’t painful and even after only 2 treatments I can tell it’s helped. Tell them I sent you for your first treatment and use code Bella40 for 40% off! I also maybe once a week use this mask. I really like that you can actually see it working to get stuff out of your skin. It’s crazy.
Ok, I think that’s all. I can say I’ve done this consistently for 6-8 months and I’ve seen a drastic difference in not only the melasma/hyperpigmentation but also my skin texture. I’m going to keep this up and hopefully my days of my 10 year old pregnancy mask are almost behind me.
XOXO
Jess