Hello everyone,
today I would like to talk to you about a topic that I have neglected for most of my life – skin care.
Let’s be real here, I was simply lazy and also thought all those stories about how important skin care is were only made up by the companies to sell their products.
Back when I was working as a hairstylist I also learned about the skin and it’s care, but somehow I still wasn’t convinced. I used make-up, sometimes didn’t even take it off when I went to bed. An absolute no-go for me now. Then when I had problematic skin, I thought make-up would hide the pimples and dryness, that it would make me feel better. I was wrong. I felt even more insecure, ‘cuz without healthy skin underneath not even all the make-up in the world would help me looking like I had a healthy skin.
It took me a while and truly was a learning process for me. Today I think the better you take care of your skin, the more confident you will be and less make-up you need. In fact you don’t need to wear make-up to be confident. At least that’s how it is for me. Most of the time I don’t even wear make-up anymore.
If you would like to know more about my journey and learn a bit about skin care, you are welcome to read on.
In this post:
- my pre-history, skin type & way to my current skin care routine
- information about skin and impurities
- tips on how to achieve healthier skin
I will also post more about skin care in the future. I will tell you about my daily routine, the products I love and tools I can’t live without anymore.
pre-history & skin type
no secrets – I am 33 years old and up until october 2015 I never really cared for my skin.
I have normal to combination skin with dry areas in the t-zone. My skin is also pretty sensitive and prone to redness. I used to get those huge painful under the skin pimples, but don’t anymore. These days I only get some small white- or blackheads.
Up until last year I didn’t even cleanse my face daily. I only did it from time to time when I felt my skin was too dry and I wanted to apply some cream. Embarrassingly enough, but for moisturizing I used the Nivea soft universal creme. Up until 2010 I applied make-up daily, not rarely I even went to bed with it. My skin didn’t like that at all and developed more and more problems. In 2010 I met my partner and became more confident not wearing any make-up. That also helped me clearing up my skin. I tried some drugstore products to help with my problems, but they just didn’t work for me. Many of them broke me out and most of them irritated my skin causing even more redness. That’s why I decided I didn’t want to waste any more money and stopped using any products besides (irregularly) the Rival de Loop Pure Skin cleansing gel and the Nivea soft universal cream. From that time the painful pimples only appeared now and then, but the dryness and denders were still a problem for me. If I used make-up the denders were really visible and it made me so uncomfortable.
When I first went to the Beni Durrer showroom in October 2015, I was introduced to their powder peeling. Dear Daniel told me that I would have to start taking care of my skin or the problems I had would just get bigger. He showed to me what the Beni Durrer powder peeling does and that it would be a better solution to me then using harsh grainy peelings that hurt my sensitive skin. I was willing to give it a try and bought it. For the beginning he advised me to use the peeling once a day in the evening. For moisturizing afterwards I used the Yves Rocher sensitive végétal (gel) cream. When I went back in July 2016 for my Make-up consultation, Daniel said my skin condition had improved but I should get a moisturizer with more lipids (you know – that group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E, and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others) in it, to help locking in the moisture and prevent dehydration. I got a sample of their 24h cream and was forcing myself to get at least some sort of daily routine, which was 1) cleanse in the AM and PM, 2) using the powder peeling twice a week and 3) applying their 24h cream afterwards. From time to time I also used my beloved japanese sheet masks. My skin did really improve and looked much better, but in december 2016 it clicked and I decided I finally wanted to really take care of my skin and find my personal skin care routine!
Less make-up, more skin care!
I read a lot about the 10-step korean skin care and started to research products that had positive reviews for my type of skin, but before we get into that, I would like to tell you a little bit more about pores, whiteheads, blackheads and acne.
information about skin and impurities
Underneath the skin we can find the hair follicle and sebaceous gland, which produces the oily secretion called sebum. It is preventing the hair from becoming injured through cracking, drying out, and brittleness. However, it is mostly associated with keeping the skin moisturized. If your skin produces too much sebum, you will have oily skin. If it doesn’t, you will have dry skin. Depending on your skin type, it is very important to regularly cleanse your skin. If you don’t do that your pores can become clogged by the oil, bacteria, dead skin cells and dirt on you face. When this happens your pores can get infected and you develop pimples or zits. Would these develop regularly, you would have acne. Acne can be found almost anywhere on your body, though it most commonly develops on your face, back, neck, chest, and shoulders. Acne also come in different types, some are also more problematic than others.
Blackheads and whiteheads could be called an early stage of acne and are also known as comedones. You will typically notice spots/pimples that are white or black in appearance. Blackheads open at the surface of your skin, giving them a black appearance due to the effect of oxygen in the air. Whiteheads are closed just under the surface of your skin, giving them a white appearance.
BUT you can take care of these, by regularly cleansing your skin and pores.
Everyone has different skin and also different problems, so my skin care routine is what works for me.I think it goes without saying though, that not everything works for everyone. If you really want to care for your skin, you need to learn about your skin type and what works for it, as well as what doesn’t.
Everyone should at least once in their life go to a professional and find out what kind of problems you have and what causes them. That way it is easy to target the problems and find out what skin care routine is the right one for you.
If you are like me and don’t have severe acne, there are a couple of tips on how to achieve and maintain healthy skin:
- use make-up that’s water-based or labeled as “noncomedogenic” (not pore-clogging)
oil based make-up’s can break you out
- thoroughly take off your make-up
make-up wipes are not enough (double-cleanse)
- make skin care fun!
get a cute hairband and fun sheet masks to help you through the daily process
- create your own skin care routine
cleanse and care for your skin daily – morning and evening
- use a mild cleanser to remove excess oil and dirt
read up on pH level and which cleanser would work for you
- do not squeeze or pick pimples and zits
if you have to do it in a sanitizing way
- regularly wash your hands
rails and handles in public are packed with germs, get rid of them!
- do not touch your face unless necessary
I used to touch my face without even noticing it too. Be more aware, the germs and bacteria you spread all over your face will break you out for sure.
- shampoo your hair regularly
heat under bangs and sweat can also break you out, try to avoid hats or caps
- you sweat, you shower
the bacteria in sweat can break you out
- regularly change your pillow case
during the night you sweat – again, bacteria on your pillow and sweat can break you out
- avoiding tight-fitting clothing
the skin needs air to breath – That doesn’t mean you have to be naked all the time, but it also doesn’t mean you have to suffocate your skin.
- drink lots of water
it helps cleansing from within
- eat a healthy diet with minimal refined sugars
you are what you eat….kind of
- reduce stress and enjoy life!
If you follow these steps religiously you can see your skin clearing up and looking better. If you don’t, you might have a stronger type of acne which should be treated by a doctor. A professional skin analyze might be needed to help you with your problems. A skin doctor may recommend medicine or additional procedures to treat the problems you have and prevent scarring.
That said I will finish today’s blog post. I know it has been a text heavy post, but I hope it was helpful and informative.
I will follow-up in my next post, telling you all about my personal skin care routine.
all the small stuff and things 