There are times when my skin needs a shove in the right direction and that time my friends, is now. HydroPeptide is a line I turn to when I’m at a dead end with my skin. You know those times when you stop seeing results and you look dull and tired and old? Although it can’t come over in the middle of the night and take Everly back to her room when she’s sure it’s time for pancakes at 1 AM, HydroPeptide can get me looking a little less haggard pretty quickly. I worked with a celeb client years ago who raved about the line and it has been on my radar ever since. It’s all medical grade and uses the power of peptides, which are proteins that signal skin cells to basically talk to one another. When a breakdown in cellular communication happens, you’ll start to see dullness, aging, uneven tone, and essentially everything my skin is right now. There are different kinds of peptides, but HydroPeptide uses 62 medical grade ones to relax wrinkles, plump, firm, and renew in a noticeable way. Wait a skin cycle or so (about a month) to see what a difference it makes (take before and after pics) because they’re so sure they offer a 30 day money back guarantee.
I must be less brave these days because the 50% Glycolic Peel I picked up for $14 on Amazon (sounds safe right?) that I was so pumped to try is now collecting dust. I have no idea who the random company is that makes it and most of the glowing reviews are in broken english (a sure sign they’ve paid for them) so I’m convinced it’s either formaldehyde or urine. Or both. I know better than this, and I won’t do it again. Instead, I’ll peel away my scaring and pigment with these 5x Power Peel pads which are soaked in Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Exfoliating Peptides, and Mushroom Enzymes which resurface the skin in a gentle and effective way. You don’t even need to rinse it off, just swipe and sleep which is more assuring than that other peel’s instructions which involved a DIY neutralizer with baking soda and an extreme urgency so you don’t end up with severe burns. Seriously, why would I ever do that?
Eye Authority is an all-in-one deluxe solution for wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness, and dehydration and it works the first time you use it. Crushed pearls illuminate the skin giving it a pretty glow, while hyaluronic acid hydrates, and 13 peptides get to work lifting, firming, and improving skin. It’s also free from gluten, artificial fragrance, parabens, phenoxyethanol, PEG’s, phthalates, and sulfates. Most days I look tired all day long so this is what I’m committing to morning and night until I look like a single person who’s only concerns are which dog park has the best grass and where to brunch this weekend.
Also categorized in the ‘I should know better’ file is what I did last week when I couldn’t get control of this recent breakout. I literally took rubbing alcohol (80%) and wiped it all over my face after cleansing twice a day for two days thinking I was going to quickly dry my skin out and watch all my problems shrivel away. This only lasted 2 days because that’s when I realized that the dehydration changed my skin so drastically that I looked like I was wearing an old lady mask. Lucky for me it wasn’t a mask, just my leathery face that I’d inadvertently aged like 20 years in another skin experiment gone array. Why am I doing stuff like this? For post (or mid) breakout, Aquaboost is a little miracle. 6 peptides that clear the skin and reduce redness the way a retinoid would but without the harsh drying. It also has Seabuckthorn in it- one of my faves for softening the skin and delivering tons of antioxidants. It’s a grown up way to clear your skin without all the crazy treatments that make you look a million times worse than any breakout ever could.
Save the DIY skin treatments for body scrubs or lotions and leave the hard core stuff to the pros. And, yes I’ll take my own advice this time.