As I journeyed into motherhood, I noticed a common trend: our skin went to hell. Between late nights, hormone changes, and aging it's easy to find yourself in a skin funk. This was where I was a year ago.
Understanding my "New" Skin
After I had Ellis my skin started to revert to that of a teenager. My chin produced painful pimples called cysts and nodules. Blackheads came to the surface and made my skin look lackluster and blotchy. My pores visually increased their size and of course, my skin looked dull and my eyes were shadowed with dark circles which made my self-esteem crash. I kept searching for solutions but nothing would help until about 4 months ago.
Hello Dermatologist!
My first step was heading to the dermatologist. When I arrived, I immediately told her about my skin troubles but told her there was no way I was going on hormonal birth control to relieve acne and she agreed that that was not going to be her plan of action either. This was great, I thought, someone on the same page as me. So, I thought why not make a post about skincare products for busy moms?
5 Skin Care Products That Changed My Life as a Busy Mom
Retinal is the first step into helping skin, especially blackheads she explained. She could see them popping through my skin, although she had a technical term for them, I just called them hideous. Her speech included that my skin clearing wouldn't happen overnight and it may get worse before it got better. She called this the "shedding phase". I sighed but at this point, I was ready to try anything no matter the cost. After 5 months my blackheads have almost diminished! I do have a few here and there and some pop up occasionally but compared to before I am extremely satisfied.
Dry vs oily skin was the next topic we discussed in my visit and I was surprised to find I had dry skin. My impression was that only people with oily skin had acne, so I just assumed my skin was oily. She explained to me that because my skin was so dry it could be making my acne worse! So, I needed an intense moisturizer. I landed on Laroche-Posay's Triple Repair and have not looked back! This stuff is lightweight but packs a super moisturizing punch. I noticed a difference within a week and my redness cleared up!
Get the right cleanser. With cleansers, we did not want to make my face dry but we also wanted to clean out the pores to help reduce the appearance. I chose Laroche-Posay hydrating gentle cleanser for daily use and their ultrafine scrub for 2 times per week. The gentle cleanser cleans debris and dead skin away from the face while also hydrating it but the scrub exfoliates as it smooths and purifies the skin. It's a great combo and has worked wonders on my sensitive skin.
Make sure your makeup isn't the problem. Due to my sensitive skin, I need sensitive makeup. IT Cosmetics and BareMinerals have always worked well with my skin, but I mostly stick to power/mineral makeup. However, Hero's Rescue Balm has been a great alternative on days when I don't want to wear makeup. The lotion-type product is a color-correcting green cream that decreases redness and it's one of my favorite products. I love a lot of things from the Hero line, but this is probably my favorite.
Great Zit Defense. The last two products are for when you have an active zit and for when the zit needs a little TLC. I love the zit patches from Hero when I have an active zit because it sucks the white out of the pimple within 6 hours! It's amazing. I am an avid pimple picker but this helps me decrease the popping. Once the pimple has come to its end, I lather the spot with rescue balm post-blemish recovery cream from Hero. It's a great way to speed up the recovery of a pimple, especially cysts.
Skin Care is the New Trend that You Need to Jump On
Within the last three years of skincare in my 30's I have learned a lot. Skin is a muscle and it's your biggest muscle, so it's really important to take care of it. So, here are a few quick skincare tips:
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Water is life
Ice rolling is great for reducing swelling and promoting lymphatic drainage
Try not to pick your pimples
Facials are great
Stress less and decrease your caffeine (this one is hard)
Sleep is your best friend
If I am being honest, I am not perfect at any of these tips but I try. I don't get enough sleep, I am lucky to have time to get a facial, I love coffee, and if a pimple is white then I am picking it, but there are days where my skin thanks me for at least doing a few of these and for that I am grateful.
Be kind to yourself, and your skin, and results will follow!
Xo
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