Face it

This has been something that has been on my mind for awhile, nonetheless, I've wanted to research it and write up a little something about. Caring for your skin in your teenage years. I for one have had a skin care regimen ever since I was 16. Face wash, moisturizer, eye cream, zit cream, pore strips when needed, facials, microdermabrasion tools, pills, everything, I've done and used it. But a topic has popped up recently, and that is using anti aging products while you are still in your early teens and young 20's can have the reverse effect. I am a perfectionest, so when I saw pictures of me smiling, with crinkled sparkling eyes, all I saw was my Crow's feet (where the skin bunches up in the corner of your outer eye lid). Now, I do NOT have Crow's feet, I only have Crow's feet when I crinkle my eyes. But that's enough to get me to drop $30 on half an ounce of Origins eye cream. I went through a pot of that, and I am now using L'Oreal Eye Defense, but it's about to run out so I thought this was the perfect time to write about this. 

Like all teenagers, I have/had acne. I didn't have a horrible time with it, but I used about every product on the market. 

Proactiv worked really well like it was supposed to, but I noticed that the longer I used it, the dryer my skin got. This was obviously the combination of high doses of sacylic acid in the toner, and benzoyl peroxide in both the face wash and lotion. It also stained my pillow cases and turned the hair around my face blonde. A sign that there is a little bit too much peroxide in it. 

I also used a lot of the Neutrogena products. The Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub worked okay for awhile, but exfoliating your skin everyday isn't good for it. Dryness ensued. Another Neutrogena product I used was the Oil-Free Acne Stress Control face wash. This stuff worked really well, it heats up as you rub it on your face opening your pores, and doesn't contain any beads or scrubby bits, and it smells amazing. Although I would argue the "oil free" bit. It left my skin a little oily, but soft. 

Who else remembers Clean & Clear's response to Proactiv? I got a $5 off coupon for it, so I thought I would try it out. This was probably the worst thing I have ever put on my skin and not only did it not help my acne, it basically made me break out even more. There was way too much oil put in this product, and they didn't even give you a toner. This was basically a box of lotion. A cleanser, a lotion, and a special acne spot treatment lotion. Waste of money. 

One Clean & Clear product I did really like was their Dual Action Moisturizer. It not only helps heal dry skin, but it helps with pimples. I loved this stuff because some people have problems where they'll put their moisturizer on and THEN put the acne cream on their pimples. This DOES NOT work. You need to put the acne cream on affected areas, let it soak into your skin for 15-20 minutes, and then put your moisturizer on your face, taking care to lightly apply moisturizer where your pimples are. This lotion was great to use in the summer. 

The only electronic face tool I've ever spent money on was the Neutrogena Wave Duo. Before the Wave Duo, they just had the Wave. The Wave Duo had two speeds. You  might remember the commercials with Vanesa Hudgens massaging her Photoshopped face off with something that resembled a small computer mouse. It was okay. You can't really get into those small spaces like under your nose, on your nose, and the sides of your nose where blackheads are most likely to camp out. This is not something you should use everyday. The skin on your face is much different from the skin on your body. It is more delicate. You need to treat your face gently. I would not recommend this product. I ended up putting it away and when I went to clean out my bathroom one day I found it and it had brown spots all over it. Uhh, ew. 

The one product I will recommend for EVERYONE, because they make this for boys and girls is the Nature's Cure 2 Part Acne Treatment. The first part is a 30 day supply of homeopathic pills that you crush with your teeth and eat. They don't taste bad, but they don't taste good. I've heard them described as tasting like rotten milk, but my experience wasn't that bad. Maybe like a milk infused with flowers. Just completely odd tasting. They're homeopathic so they're completely safe to eat. The second part is a heavy duty, but still, homeopathic acne cream that is applied to the affected areas of skin. This stuff is magic. I used it once all over my skin, all my zits were gone the next morning. I highly recommend this product. You used to be able to buy it at Fred Meyer but it was discontinued for some reason. They are available to order on Amazon though. 

I started using the L'Oreal Go 360 Clean about a year ago, and I haven't really switched. I've tried all four of the different washes, but i think that sensitive skin white and blue one is the best. I think that your skin type definitely changes as you get older, and when I was like 13-16 I had normal skin but I definitely think that I have more sensitive skin now. It's all around better for your skin because there isn't as much perfumes or dyes, but if you do suffer from acne or oily skin, you're better off using the product that was designed for your skin. I do think that they should sell the scrublets individually thought, it takes me about 2-3 months to use up an entire bottle of the wash, and I really think that you shouldn't use the scrublet for more than a month, the plastic bristles on it wear down and don't work as well over time. 

 One night when I was probably like 13 or 14, my mom and I were at one of her friends house. I went into their immaculately lit bathroom and realized my skin was practically flaking off. It was winter, so this was normal, but I have never seen my skin like this ever before, or ever after. I tried concealing it by putting on a little loose powder, but even dragging a powder brush across my skin caused the skin to flake and fall off. I was so freaked out. But my mom calmed me down, and on our way home we picked up two things at the local grocery store every single girl should have. A cheap, plastic buffing pad and Nivea cream. You can find these at pretty much any store, even a grocery store because they are essential. Only use the buffing pad once a week, as it is very vigorous to your face. It will buff all the dead skin off your face, and leave you a little red. This is where the Nivea cream comes in. I don't care if you're worried about getting a pimple overnight, slather this stuff all over your face and, with clean hands, rub it in, and go to bed. Your skin will be so smooth and soft in the morning. Promise. 

And now onto eye care. I have only used about seven different products for care of my eyes. Now before you go out and spend a load of money, you have to understand something. Dark under eye circles are genetic and they can not be completely rid off your face. You can cover them up with makeup, drop $200 on Givenchy's Le Soin Noir Eye, but they will come back. They are with you for life. These are four products I've found to have done a great job with under eye circles. Again, I might be over exaggerating when I saw that I have horribly dark under eye circles, my biggest critic is myself. But if I think something is wrong with me, believe me I'll do anything to fix it. 

The first, pretty inexpensive eye cream I've used is Olay's Total Effects 7 in 1 Anti Aging Cream. It comes pre-loaded in a stick that is applied with a feather soft applicator. It does a pretty good covering the dark circle itself, but I haven't used it continuously as it is an anti-aging product so I don't know the long term affects of using it. Good for quick fixes. 

One of the better, but more expensive eye creams I have come across is Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. This cream is pumped full of caffeine from coffee beans, ginseng, and  magnolia extract to instantly depuff and brighten your under eyes. The first time I used this, I saw a difference. It also contains very, very small and subtle natural optic brighteners that make your skin look bright and awake. This is not an anti-aging cream, so all ages can use this! Drop by your local Sephora and scoop up a pot of this if you're having trouble with dark eye circles. 

I originally bought my mom the Clinique All About Eyes Serum De-Puffing Eye Massage roller ball but somehow it ended up in my room. Hee hee. This works pretty well, Clinique is good about not pumping their products full of chemicals and unnecessary parabens so it's very gentle and suitable for all skin types. I keep it in the fridge, the rollerball is metal, so when I use it, the cold acts as a extra de-puffer. Puffer. That's a funny word. It's getting late. 

Christian Dior Hydra Life Pro-Youth Sorbet Eye Creme. It's Dior. They wouldn't put their name on it if it didn't work. I received a few samples of this from my step mom because she went nuts at the Dior counter at Macy's. I had about 3 packets of it, which probably added up to around .1 of an ounce, which was enough. I squeezed them all out into an clean, old eye cream pot and placed it in the fridge. I used this for three days straight, my dark circles disappeared. Disappeared. I kid you not. Of course, after I stopped using it they faintly came back, but I believe if you really just want to blotch out your dark circles and make your under eyes look extremely bright, pick up a pot of this, $49 for half an ounce.

America is a society that relies intensely on image. Younger and younger girls are starting to use anti-aging products much too early. Your skin will never be as beautiful, soft, or supple as it is when you're 15. The clock is ticking, and you're not getting any younger. If you are anywhere in the age group from 13-18, I plead with you to not use any anti-aging cream. Focus on getting rid of pimples, and keeping your skin safe from the sun. Use SPF during the summer especially, but think about buying a moisturizer that has SPF in it for year round use. The sun doesn't always come out in the summer, and I've burned my face playing and skiing in the snow on bright sunny days up at Mt. Baker. You and your skin will never be as beautiful as it is now. 

For girls in their 20s, again, focus on keeping your skin safe from the sun and UV rays. If you must jump in that tanning bed, put an SPF on your face while you lay down in there. Do a skin check by yourself every month taking care to look everywhere, under the breasts, around your neck, back, inside of your thighs, the bottoms of your feet, and in between your toes. If you do find a mole, go see a doctor to make sure it's not melanoma. Women of all ages get acne every now and then, it may be dying down, it may be getting worse. Find an acne wash or cream that works well for you. Start using extra products, like toners. If you do find that you have a wrinkle or two, FORGET IT, wait until you're 28-30s to start using the anti-aging cream. 

All in all, the best way to take care of your skin is to keep it free and clear. I've found that my acne was worse in high school because I was wearing makeup all day. Once I graduated and started to not really give a shit about what I look like, because it IS what's inside that counts, my skin cleared up. Another piece of advice I can give, do NOT under ANY circumstances go to bed with a dirty face. This means no makeup on, no oil, no nothing. Wash your face before you go to bed. If you are coming back from a party and you're very drunk and tired, just remind yourself how much dirt and oil and makeup is trapped beneath your skin, struggling to get out. Don't be lazy, wash your face, brush your teeth, then pass out like the sleeping beauty you are. Your skin will thank you for it, for years to come.