I think I’m finally turning a corner with this skin thing that has plagued me for nearly a month. Whenever my skin goes into this death spiral, everything I use gives me a reaction. The other day I tried a powder foundation that literally gave me some sort of weird rash around my eyes. My face is just letting me know it has had enough. Enough of the nightly masks, new serums, different makeup. Enough. Whenever this happens, I go back to basics to those tried and true things I know are calming and won’t cause any more confusion. Currently- here’s my routine.
Forces of Nature Acne/Pimple Control $22 It’s a little pricey, but totally worth it- this is my 3rd bottle and I’m always happy with the results. On clean skin, I mix 2 drops with the grapeseed oil and use it all over my face. You can spot treat with it too, but since my breakout was spreading like a wildfire across my face, I thought I’d just douse the whole thing. It gives a fresh tingle so I know it’s working and it does bring down inflammation quickly. It’s organic, homeopathic, and super concentrated so this tiny bottle will last 6 months if I use it twice daily. It’s a treatment that works without tearing my skin apart like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic do. You can also use it when you’re pregnant which I never needed because that’s the only time my skin behaves for some weird reason.
Banish is designed for acne scars so everything I’ve used from them like THIS Organic Grapeseed Oil to their Vitamin C serum, to their masks has all been awesome. Apparently they have a new serum that combines aloe and grapeseed oil with other vitamins and soothing essentials that’s just $29 and I’m sure perfect for breakouts.
I just bought another Weleda Iris Day Cream ($15) a few weeks ago which makes my second. It’s one of those that’s not too greasy or heavy which is perfect for daytime. My foundation has SPF so it’s ok that this one doesn’t. It’s a cream that isn’t too fussy, or expensive, or detectable that absorbs, softens, and just basically minds its own business which I like in a cream (and a person.)
I was so happy Weleda sent Skin Food ($12) over, because I’ve been wanting to try it for years. I first saw that Makeup Artists were using it to replace Embryolisse in their kits which had been an industry go-to forever. I’ve been using it where I have these weird dry patches around my nose (probably from assaulting it with every mask I own before I calmed down on the over-treating.) It’s actually a whole-body cream that can be used where you’re most dry. Hands, feet, elbows, whatever.
Then I roll. This is the most important part of the whole routine I think and one that makes the biggest impact. Rolling. Everyone I know has the roll kit from Banish because of my urging, and it’s something I’ve talking about a zillion times. It makes skin clearer, eases scaring from breakouts and also moves along those bumps under the skin that are just stagnant. Don’t believe me? Use it and take pics, it’s totally worth the extra few minutes a night it takes (and the feeling of your skin being used as a pin cushion.)
There are a zillion different ways to treat compromised skin, but using as few ingredients as I can seems to be the way to go for my skin. Next up- peeling all of my pigment issues away and potentially a dermapen treatment or two.