Someone forgot to tell my face that I am not a teenager anymore. I have struggled with acne and blackheads my whole adult life. Not bad enough to warrant a prescription solution but bad enough to make me insecure about my appearance.
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| Thankfully I do not look like this anymore! |
Here is a really horrible picture of what I dealt with. This was probably one of the worst breakouts I had. But I usually always had 3-4 pimples across my forehead, at least one on my nose and plenty around my mouth. And the acne I had was usually the huge lumps that were super painful. And I always had blackheads on my nose. I would go through those Biore strips like crazy but the next day it would look like I hadn't even used one.
I'd have good weeks and bad weeks but I always had something to cover-up. Not to mention the scars all over that were left behind.
It's all a downward spiral too. You have acne so you cake on make-up to cover it up and that only aggravates your face more. That leads to more make-up and more acne...like I said, a downward spiral. I even bought premium make-up like Bare Minerals in hopes that it wouldn't aggravate my skin further but it honestly only made a big dent in my bank account.
I have tried so many products. SO MANY. Ones as basic as generic cleansers and Dove soap to the mid-level Proactive and Clearasil to the expensive Aloette and Nerium products. I have even done just water and olive oil. Nothing helped. Until I found Formula 10.0.6.
I am not a paid spokesman or salesperson for them. I just really, really like their products. Like A LOT! I discovered them in January when I was aimlessly wandering Ulta looking for something to turn the tables on my blotchy face. The three products pictured above are the ones that changed my skin's life.
Before I go into my routine or go on and on about how awesome these products are let me talk about lifestyle. Lifestyle is a huge factor in skin health. Pretty much everything we do affects our skin, especially our facial skin.
DIET
First, is diet. I have a decent diet. I eat fruits and veggies (maybe not enough servings every single day). I don't eat a lot of junk food or processed foods (but I do eat them occasionally). And I drink water. I carry a water bottle everywhere I go. So if your diet is not so stellar, like you never eat fruits or veggies, you eat a lot of processed foods and you don't drink enough water you are going to need to fix that. Water is so so good for skin. (I'll talk more about water and pregnancy skin later this week.) So drink lots of water.MAKE-UP
Personally, I think putting make-up on every single day is not good for your skin. Some companies say that their make-up can clarify your skin or won't clog your pores. But I find it hard to believe because I have used all of those brands of make-up and noticed nothing special. The fact is you are putting something on every day that covers your pores. How is that not going to cause problems? How is dirt not going to get all trapped in your pores?
Now I am not saying that I never wear make-up. I used to wear it all the time (which I think exasperated my problem with acne). I like looking pretty and getting all glammed up when occasion calls for it. But just try, if you can, to go a couple days a week without caking anything on your face. Let it go all natural! Your skin will thank you for it!
STRESS
It's hard to avoid stress. I think stress is kind of inevitable. But dealing with it as best you can can really help with acne! My outlet is exercise. When I am stressed I love to hit the gym. A good workout gives me time to think though my problems, releases happy chemicals in my body and typically helps me sleep better.Find your outlet for stress!
ENVIRONMENT
Are you in the sun all day? Or do you walk through the city were smog and exhaust assault you every day? Prepare your skin for this! Click here to read an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about pollution and your skin. And protect your skin from the sun by using a moisturizer that has SPF in it. Thankfully Formula 10.0.6 has one!
Click here to check out this cool chart that tells you the likely cause of acne on various parts of your face and neck! Our bodies try to tell us things all the time. I truly believe that! Find out what your acne is telling you.
It's basically someone handing you a road map to your face. I have used it many times. Though thankfully, since using Formula 10.0.6 products I have used it less frequently!
Now that we have talked about lifestyle let's talk about the products I pictured above and how I use them.
1. Best Face Forward Daily Cleanser $5.99
I use this every time I get in the shower. Honestly, as a stay-at-home mom, showers don't happen everyday. My shower schedule is so unpredictable. Some days I shower twice, others not at all. But it gets the jobs done even though I may not use it daily. It doesn't have salicylic acid so it is safe for pregnancy. (Apparently salicylic acid isn't suppose to be used when you are pregnant...who knew? Not me until about a month ago...7 months into my second pregnancy haha!)2. So Totally Clean Everyday Cleanser $5.99
This I use everyday. Twice or thrice. (I just really wanted to say thrice). But I have used it three times in a day before. This cleanser is for sensitive skin so it contains no salicylic acid. Again safe for pregnancy use and gentle enough to use multiple times a day.This stuff is the bomb.com. I had to pull out a phrase awesome enough to describe this and bomb.com comes the closest. I apply it with a cotton pad every morning when I wake up and before bed every night. I like to use cotton pads and not cotton balls. I think a lot of the product gets wasted inside the cotton ball. Since the cotton pad is flat product can't get sucked into the middle where you can't use it.
I also apply this stuff whenever I need a freshening up. It feels so good and leaves your face feeling clean and fresh.
3. Deep Down Detox Mud Mask $5.99
This I use 2-3 times a week mainly before bed. You leave it on for 15 minutes then wash it off. It honestly leaves your skin feeling tight and bright! I love it.
So those are the three products that I walked out of the store with in January and have used religiously until around the beginning of March; which is when I discovered that they made more products! After two and a half month's of use I couldn't believe the difference. I seriously had so many people compliment my skin! That has never happened to me before. Never.
So just using those three products drastically altered my skin for the better. Since I had had such great success with those products I decided to get more.
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| This is a great moisturizer if you spend a lot of time in the sun. I only use it for days that I know I'm in going to be in the sun (like a day at the pool) because it's a bit heavier and I like the light feeling of the Seriously Shine Free moisturizer. |
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| BEST MOISTURIZER EVER! |
All of these products are $5.99. And Ulta always has a $3.50 off $10 coupon! So you can get the three original products for $14.50! Click here for the coupon.
Out of the new products I just pictured here are my favorite and how I use them.
1. Get Your Glow On Brightening Mask
I use this every 2 weeks or so. It peels off dead skin cells and seriously brightens your face.
2. Keep Your Cool Skin-Calming Gel Mask
I use this whenever I get a pimple or a breakout. Again, since I've started with these products in January I have had maybe 1 breakout (I ate a unhuman amount of chocolate) and 5 random pimples. But as soon as I get them I put this on and leave it on over night. It reduces redness like crazy and makes your skin feel cool.
3. Seriously Shine Free Moisturizer
I have always struggled with moisturizer. They make my skin feel oily and sticky. But this stuff is amazing. It's like a cloud. A cloud of moisture that lands lightly on your face and you can't even feel it. I use this morning and night right after I cleanse.
So that's Formula 10.0.6! Click here to check them out on the Ulta website! Right now they are on sale for a $1 off! And they have a coupon for $5 off $15 which lasts until the 18th. Click here to go to it. (The $3.50 off $10 coupon is always available!)
Because of this product and bettering my lifestyle just a bit, this week, for the first time in a long, long time I was confident enough in my skin to go to a social event with only bronzer on my cheeks and eye makeup. There was no foundation, cover-up or any over-all make-up applied. I felt so airy and natural, yet beautiful!
I hope you all can become confident with your facial skin! It is an amazing feeling to feel beautiful with little to no make-up on and to feel like you have healthy skin!
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