Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hey guys- so maybe some of you saw my edit in the last post that I made about how I'm not going to continue with the advent calendar. It basically broke down into two camps: People who were new to skincare telling me how helpful this was, and people who have been around a while telling me how much I suck. I know on the internet you're going to get a few mean comments which I'm pretty whatever with, but this was like really stressful and just not fun to have people DMing who were (irrationally) angry or getting a new comment notification that was just so pissed off at me for whatever reason. I've also had people going through previous posts and comments downvoting or DMing me about them, so that's always fun. I apologize to those DMing me asking to continue, I truly would love to as I have fun writing these, but I can foresee that the comments will just get worse and it's too negative/stressful for me to feel it would be healthy to continue.Anyway I feel like I wanted to type out more of a response, but at the same time I'm not going to change anyone's minds.... so let's just do a FINAL DAY OF THE HOLIDAYS POST woooo!Oh I was asked to do another disclaimer. Hey, this is a disclaimer. I am not a doctor or a scientist. I have been in skincare communities for about seven years. I have compiled some tips that you can choose to try out. Thanks!I'm going to kind of just spitfire off some tips, and link to some helpful posts on the subject if you're interested!Second Step: Water Based Cleanser (to cover this briefly)With a water based cleanser (to follow up first step: oil based cleanser or micellar water it is your personal choice) what you're looking for is something gentle for most occasions. A lot of old school advice was to use drying products to dry out your skin in order to clear it, but as a lot of us have experienced that usually just leaves your skin feeling dry and tight and overproducing oil. I'd recommend finding a cleanser billed as gentle, and then using a chemical exfoliator as your treatment. This is helpful because then you can space how often you use your chemical exfoliant, whereas most of us don't want to purchase multiple cleansers to rotate around. Some good keywords to look for in a water based cleanser are:- Gentle- Milky- Gel/Jelly- HydratingI will caution though that it's always important to check out the ingredients list. For example the much loved Cetaphil face wash has a pretty shitty ingredients list for sensitive skin as it includes Fragrance and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, known as SLS, which is what they recommend you not use if you color treat your hair since it's known to be too stripping. I personally used Cetaphil for a while and always wondered why when I applied it it felt stinging to my skin (IF YOU LOVE CETAPHIL THAT IS FINE).Ok some other random tips with associated articles that you'll hopefully find helpful:- Learn the difference between hydrators, emollients, and occlusives. Knowing the difference can really help you address different dry skin concerns, but as someone with formerly oily skin I also found it helpful to fix my dehydrated skin (if you have oily skin you should ensure you have hydrating products in your routine, that's the step I was missing!)In short:Hydrators: Use humectant ingredients to bring water to your skin, i.e. Hyaluronic AcidEmollients: Help prevent water loss and give products/our skin a smooth feel and texture, i.e. siliconesOcclusives: Think of these as "occluding" water from leaving your skin. Won't provide hydration on their own, but will prevent water already in your skin from leaving it. These are usually thick, i.e. vaseline, but also include ingredients like beeswax and lanolin that are found in moisturizers.I would HIGHLY recommend watching this video by Gothamista as a perfect introduction since this topic can get a bit confusing at times. However I really think it's worth investing some time into learning about these properties and how they work with your skin. Very interesting stuff and definitely worth understanding!Don't forget to hydrate your lips!One thing I hate is how dry my lips feel sometimes even though they're very smooth. I would always apply a product like Aquaphor and then not understand why my lips felt so miserably chapped. The issue was I wasn't giving them hydration, i.e. products like hyaluronic acid.Shoutout to u/goldenxox who has a great comment summing this up perfectly: https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/51h5s8/misc_can_we_talk_about_lip_care_too/d7by2xr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2xA Guide to Vetting ProductsOk so this one I wrote up a huge ass guide a little while ago so I shall just link it here. Basically a guide on how to vet a product before buying and how to find reliable product info online:https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/dli2ix/miscellaneous_a_very_comprehensive_guide_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2xDon't forget your neckA lot of people neglect their neck when it comes to skincare. While I don't use a chemical exfoliant on my neck, I do bring the rest of my products down. Part of the reason is because YOU NEED TO USE SUNSCREEN ON YOUR NECK! and therefore I want to make sure it's removed at night. I also found that, since I roll around on my pillow so much, I was leaving makeup and sunscreen on my neck by not cleansing and exacerbating my acne, even if I washed/changed my pillowcase daily. Moisturizing your neck will also help stave off wrinkles, as the skin on our necks have less collagen then our faces. Not totally necessary, but still a good habit. I actually use moisturizers I didn't like for my face on my neck so I don't let product go to waste!If you're oily don't be afraid of moisturizingThis is pretty common on this sub, but it bares (bears?) repeating: if you have oily skin do not be afraid of moisturizers. A lot of us have horror stories of going to a dermatologist as teenagers only to be told to use a very harsh cleanser and to follow it with no moisturizer to "dry out" our acne (for me it was Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash and to follow with a benzoyl peroxide spot treatment). This resulted for a lot of us in extremely oily skin. Like I still remember being over at a boyfriend's house when I was like 14 years old and his little sister saying "Why is your face so shiny?" Isn't it fun the things our brains hold on to forever?It wasn't until I found this subreddit about 8 years ago that I first came across the idea that, hey, maybe completely sandpapering my face of all moisture is causing it to overproduce oil? I had used oil-free acne moisturizers over the years (most moisturizers specifically targeted towards acne contain salicylic acid) but had always used a harsh cleanser and acne-targeting masks in conjunction. When I first found this sub I decided to buy a gentle cleanser (I think CeraVe foaming cleanser) and use a legit moisturizer. My acne did not disappear magically, but I did get slightly less oily. Once I found r/AsianBeauty and really started hydrating and moisturizing the shit out of my skin I went from extremely oily skin to slightly oily, to completely normal skin in the course of about a year of trial and error. If you have oily skin I highly recommend you evaluate how hydrating and moisturizing your products are, despite the fact that we've been told this is a "counterintuitive" approach. Yes, this might not work for everyone, but I know it has helped a lot of people.To any compulsive pickers: Set a limit on how closely you can get to the mirror!Ok this one is kind of weird, but really helped me to stop nit picking (heh) my skin. Basically I'd do the thing where you lean over the sink until your face is like 3cm from the glass and then be like, ah man! my skin is so bad! look at all these pores and blackheads! Which is straight up ridiculous because no one (should) be looking at our skin that close, and everyone is going to have pores... that's like a fundamental component of our facial skin. So set yourself a limit. For me I usually picked in the bathroom so I said I was not allowed to lean over the counter to look at my skin. I found that I couldn't find anything to pick at when I was that far (lol like 1 foot) away from the mirror. If you have a picking mirror that doesn't have a counter maybe even put a little piece of tape on the floor a foot away and say you have to stand there if you're looking at your skin. Seems silly, but it helped me realize that I actually don't have anything that needs to be picked at.Find a sunscreen you'll actually wear!So it's a broken record at this point but just wear sunscreen dude. Face and neck + any exposed body part. The important hurdle I think is finding a sunscreen you'll actually wear. For years I had greasy ass sunscreens that I hated wearing and so would find any excuse not to. Hint: American sunscreens generally suck ass. Like going down to the drugstore to find a sunscreen that's not greasy and doesn't have a whitecast is pretty difficult- even more so for anyone darker than pale. If you fall into this boat I would HIGHLY recommend trying out an Asian sunscreen. They are decades ahead of US and European sunscreen in application, feel, and finish of a product. Here is a great video on sunscreens and I'd recommend James Welsh's YouTube channel to anyone interested in skincare. There are also plenty of HG sunscreen posts over on r/AsianBeauty. Trust me I hated sunscreen for years and thought of it as such a pain until I discovered asian sunscreens.Also remember if you suffer from hyper-pigmentation, uneven skin tone, etc. that having a daily use sunscreen is KEY to achieving even skin, especially as you're likely using chemical exfoliants in your products. Without a sunscreen you will likely cause more damage then you'll reverse if you're using chemical exfoliants.Don't be afraid to seek outside help if you have stubborn acneAnd I'm not just talking about a dermatologist. I have been to 4 dermatologists and had a negative experience every time. I know a lot of people have great experiences, and the dermatologist should be the first place you start if you have insurance and are able to see one without breaking the bank. However if a dermatologist just isn't working for you don't feel like you have no other options. Frankly that's how I felt, I felt as though if a doctor who specializes in acne (the last 2 derms I saw had clinics targeted towards acne patients) then I was just screwed. I'm 28 years old and just will continue to have acne.But there are always aestheticians and medical spas! I had ruled out the former because I for some reason had the idea that they were like scams for some reason, and ruled out the latter because I thought it would be too expensive. I had spent probably close to $1000 over the years on products that hadn't worked... but someone a few medispa treatments were too expensive....Anyway went to a MediSpa because I figured I had nothing to lose by hearing them out. They recommended some Microdermabrasion that does a salicylic acid infusion as it goes along to clear out my congested skin. I bought a package of three treatments for around $300. I had the first treatment, purged for about 5 days, and no longer have acne. I did the rest of the three treatments which has helped keep my pores clean, and now keep it up with chemical exfoliants at home. I haven't had acne since my first treatment about a year ago. I frankly wish I had gone a lot sooner.Please make sure you do your due diligence first and find someone/somewhere that is well reviewed (both in quality and quantity) and remember that the cheapest option probably isn't the best option when it comes to your skin's health.Additional Helpful Resources:I'm going to link to some YouTubers who I found very helpful in learning more about skin care. I feel like sometimes hearing someone talk about it is more helpful than reading past Reddit posts. A lot of times I'll hear about a product or topic on YouTube, and then google it alongside the word "reddit" to read through posts on it, i.e. Google "hyaluronic acid reddit".Gothamista- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-X4BAoKxwGYIKrKfqk7yugLiah Yoo- https://www.youtube.com/user/YellowyCreamJames Welsh- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPP291gN79qI1QZY1znOscgHyram - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2sYit3cZ2CuD_8FHYH7O_QOk well happy holidays! I'm now going to leave Reddit for a long time because this went from really fun to shitty in two days! Thank you everyone who sent me kind words, I really appreciate it and wish you all the best on your skincare journeys!
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by MySkinsRedditAcct
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