SKINCARE Part C

.......... 43/50 SKINCARE Part C ..........

Here is my PM routine:

1. Cleanse: If I am wearing make-up, I use Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm. Easily handles face/eye make-up. Or Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser.  Followed by 2nd cleanse with micellar water. If I'm not wearing make-up, I just use the micellar water with a cotton pad. Trendy product...it's all the rage. Attracts/traps dirt due to micelles, tiny oil molecules suspended in water. Was using Garnier Micellar Water (much cheaper dupe for the holy grail Bioderma) but it has ingredients I didn't love so switched to Caudalie.

2. Serums: again the serums are what do the work. I pick products with actives such as niacinamides, peptides, and fruit acids (glycolic or lactic acid). On half of my face (the half with Retin-A), I'm using Drunk Elephant Framboos Glycolic Night Serum (great name, cool packaging, cult following) It has both AHA and BHA (two types of acids). Listed as 12% glycolic.

On the drug-store half of my face, the best comparable I could find is the ProX Olay Nightly Purifying Night Peel, which may be about 10% glycolic acid.

I'm able to use both an acid (night) and a retinoid (day) because my skin is used to it. May be too much exfoliation for sensitive or virgin skin.

3. Moisturizer: the expensive half of the face gets Dermalogica (won't re-use when this runs out) or Mad Hippie (delightful natural cream with safer ingred). Drugstore half gets Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream. A great product, pleasure to use. One of the industry's and Olay's best seller of all time. For a reason.

Skin Treats: once or twice a month I use Dead Sea Mud Mask by Pure Body Naturals. 4.5 stars with over 8,000 reviews on Amazon 😱!! This is especially good for acne, rosacea or irritated skin. I just like using it....it makes me feel all spa-ish and fancy.

I use the PMD Personal Micro-Derm tool 1-2x /month.

Glycolic peel (30%) after the PMD. * Do NOT use with active cold sores. Caution with dormant HSV.

Obviously you can see, I employ both chemical and physical exfoliation.

Finally: love, love the luxurious Mahalo line: the company, philosophy, branding, packaging, name, everything about it. And opening a package from them is pure awesomeness! Check out their beautiful IG feed! I'm not a big fan of oils...but if I'm especially dry and feeling indulgent... this is the oil I reach for.

My two-sided experiment isn't perfect. There are lots of influencing variables....but I can definitely see a difference between the two sides of my face. Which side do you think is looking better?

Thanks for stopping by.... let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions!

xoXo,
Ms Fish

SKINCARE Part B

....... 43/50 SKINCARE Part B .......

Here is my current AM Skincare Routine:

1. Cleanse with Kirkland wipes from Costco. They are soft, gentle, and a good price. I've tried several others (Yes to Cucumbers, Neutrogena, etc.) but these are hands down my favorite.

2. Tone with either Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel (Natural Grocer or Amazon) or Pixi Glow Tonic (Target) with 5% glycolic.

3. Vitamin C serum. This is the backbone of a complete skincare routine. Proven in clinical trials. This is an antioxidant which treats and prevents photo damage, the biggest precursor to aging and cancer. It is unstable in heat and light, so needs to be from a reliable source that mixes the product fresh. I use this. There is a LOT to learn and know about Vit C. There are lots of different types and the formulas and secondary ingredients used depend on the type of Vit C. Not all C serums are equal!! Despite what you can find on the web, do not try making your own serum.

4. As mentioned in Part A, I am experimenting with drugstore versus higher-end products on my face, hoping really there isn't too much of a drastic difference or I'm going to look might funny. hahaha.

 So on one half of my face, I use Tretinoin Cream (Retin-A*). It comes in different strengths. Right now I'm using mid-potency of 0.05%. This is the worker bee, prescription only. Lots of good long-term data with good efficacy. It thins the top layer of skin promoting rapid cell turnover. Thickens the deeper layer of skin, to boost collagen, improving wrinkles. Reduces age spots and evens skin texture. May reverse pre-cancerous cells.

On the flip side of my face: Neutrogena Anti-Wrinkle serum.  This has retinol, a weaker cousin of the prescription Retin-A with the potential for more irregular absorption, depending on face conditions (pH, dryness, inflammation, etc).
*avoid retinols if pregnant

5. Moisturize: don't do this daily in the am unless looking dry. If I wear foundation, I use Embryolisse, a light delicious moisturizer as a base.

6. Sunscreen: Every single soul, regardless of age, should wear BROAD SPECTRUM daily but imperative if using Retinoids. This can be in the form of a moisturizer with SPF (love Cerave AM), in a tinted CC or BB cream, or as a stand-alone. Currently using Neutrogena Ultra-sheer with Helioplex in SPF 30. (Anything more than 50 is wasting your $$).  This chemical screen is ok if driving to and from work. If outside for awhile, I prefer a physical block. Like Badger-an organic and natural zinc oxide.

7. Don't believe in eye creams.

8. We can talk about lips on request..... comment here if interested....

Continue on to Part C for my nightime routine.

xoXo,
Ms Fish

SKINCARE Part A

****Hi there!
I've been doing a countdown on IG (jennifher66) until my 50th birthday of 50 changes I have made over the last couple of years to feel healthier and happier than ever. It's been fun, but I recognize that my posts are a little lengthy for the quick scroll-through format / mentality of IG. Plus IG is so annoying it wont let me put in page breaks, making it hard to read longer passages.  So I'm putting some of my posts here*****

.......... 43/50 SKIN CARE Part A.......

This will be a 3-part series. I could talk about skin for D.A.Y.S....but I'll reign it into to a couple of hours 😂jk. #maybe Plus check out my IG feed to see mad picture grid skills #justusedanapp #nbd

So here's the SKINny.

Two years ago I looked older: wrinkled, tired, dull complexion, under eye puffiness and darkness, and lentigos (age spots). What??? You mean the people who talk about the importance of skin care were actually right?? Dang it!!! I never, literally ever, washed my face (outside of the shower) or used ANY kind of product on it...except for Sea Breeze a few times during HS. Oh how we loved that astringent burning feeling.

Enter operation skin care. I've been studying and experimenting for two years. Here's what I know: it can be overwhelming with so many products and claims and opinions and conflicting data such as the right order to apply products (has to do with pH), etc. But there are certain products that do have evidence to show efficacy. It's also simply a matter of finding what works for you and your skin type

I'm in the middle of a 6-month clinical trial (n=1).  On 1/2 of my face, I'm using drugstore products, and on the other half, higher-end products of comparable ingredients (not crazy high-end like LaMer, SKII or medical grade like Neocutis, Obagi or SkinCeuticals) I want to know if you really have to spend more. I may start looking lopsided.... 😂😂😂

In the next two posts, I'll explain my am and pm skincare routine. I have researched and deliberately chosen each product. #triedlots! I think my skin is looking better and younger than 2 years ago!! Although I still have hollow blue eye bags.  There are many causes of this, mine is genetic, so there isn't a cream that will magically improve that. It requires a filler like Juvederm. Also, no cream will remove my deep set wrinkles. Those require needles or knives.

If you are interested in how your skin products measure up (safety, efficacy) Beautypedia, thedermreview, or EWG Skin Deep database are good resources. BeautyCounter is a great place to explore safer options.

Continue to Part B for my AM routine.