When I moved to Chicago in the fall of 2016, I decided to work on building better life habits. In my 29 years I had never really paid attention to my skin care routine. My skin wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great either. The extent of my routine – if you can call it that – was just washing it in the shower every morning. I went to bed each night with makeup left on and used zero products beyond facewash.
In creating new habits, I began washing my face every night before bed. Slowly but surely, I discovered creams and serums that reduced wrinkles, diminished spots, and cleared up small breakouts. Now that the routine is set, there are maybe only 2-3 times a month I lapse. I’d say that’s pretty good – and my skin has never looked better!
Falling off the skin care routine wagon …
After surgery though, my skin care routine was just too much. It hurt to move my arms up to my face, I was exhausted all the time, and to be honest, it didn’t seem to rank high in importance at that moment.
But, unfortunately, I discovered how much my skin care routine made a difference. I know it’s hard to believe, so I’ll let pictures speak for themselves. On the left, we have my skin pre-surgery; in the middle, two weeks after surgery; and on the right, two weeks after starting my routine back up!
Holy crap! Can you say breakout? My forehead completely revolted against my lack of product – both with acne and those deep lines coming back in full force. My mom reminded me that there could be other contributing factors – lack of sleep, not as much water as normal, weird meds in my system. But, the fact is, just four days after getting back to my routine I was already seeing a noticeable improvement.
So, what’s the secret product sauce?
I have a number of products I’ve found that I love, so I’ll share what they are, and how I use them.
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Botanical Cleansing Oil
My skin tends to be on the oily side, so I fight oil with oil using this cleanser at night instead of a traditional wash. I love how soft it makes my skin feel and it does help some in controlling shine.
On The Spot Acne Treatment by Neutrogena
I typically pull this Benzol Peroxide treatment out when I have a single spot. But as of two weeks ago, I started using it liberally all over my forehead. Noticeable difference overnight, and 90% cleared after 4-5 days. I’ll likely go back to using this sparingly now that my skin is back to normal.
Organys Spark Rejuvenating Eye Formula
This is a new addition to my routine, so I can’t totally speak to its effectiveness yet. It was gifted to me by the amazing folks at Organys. I’m looking forward to seeing dark circles disappear!
Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum
Speaking of dark spots, I have a lovely little sun spot on my nose (don’t worry, I’ve had it checked!) and this serum helps tone it way down. I target my use to only where needed so I can save by using a small amount instead of all over my whole face.
Organys Retinol Cream
I was listening to a podcast with Kate Sommerville as a guest and she said the biggest product recommendation she would make is a retinol cream that contains hyaluronic acid. I started doing some research and while her version is $85 / bottle, this similar product is $18. I decided to give it a try and have not been disappointed. You can see the difference in my lines – especially from the first photo when I’d been using it for months to the second. Plus, after just two weeks back on it, my lines are already starting to fade yet again.
Bonus: Organys Eyelash and Brow Booster Serum
Okay, not exactly skin care, but it does help my lashes grow longer and it’s definitely a staple in my nightly routine. Read more about the reasons I switched to it from another name brand lash serum here – not the least of which is that it’s under $20!!
I’m so happy to have my skin getting back to normal. What products do you use in your skin care routine?
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