All About My Skin
I make a lot of videos about my skin, skin care and just products in general that are good for the skin. I have however, never told you guys about my skin. Skin type is one of the most important aspects about your skin that will make a big difference in the way you treat it. For the most part, your skin type stays the same but it can fluctuate from time-to-time depending on your environment and your lifestyle which is why it is important to monitor any changes in your skin and adjust your regimen accordingly. In order for you to know how my information can apply to you, I figure it is important if your know what I base my opinions.
How to find out what is your skin type!
TWEEN YEARS
For as long as I can remember, I have always had really dry skin. I suffered from eczema since my childhood on my elbows, thighs and at one point it was even on the bottom half of my face. I had it around my mouth, spots on my face, over my eyes, lets just say I had it pretty much everywhere. These skin conditions started to fade as I hit puberty.
ADOLESCENCE
I have never really had a lot of pimples growing up because my mother made me wash my face with facial cleansers as soon as I reached puberty. I love my mom for doing this because it helped me get into the routine of properly washing my face and prepared my skin for the hormones that were about to be released.
By the end of high school, my acne went into hormonal overdrive. I got a bunch on my forehead, in between my brows, on my cheeks and on my chin. The majority of my breakouts at this time were tiny bumps, few mountain pimples but mostly blackheads. However, few pimple left scaring on my skin. In my Senior year, my acne came back hard, and I tried everything from Proactive, to Skin ID, to Spectro, to the Nutrogena advertised to get rid of it. I even used a few banishing creams to even out my skin-tone but most of my acne spots just clung to my skin. My skin was still pretty dry-skin type during this period.
UNIVERSITY
During university, my skin became fairly clear. This mostly happened in the summer. I started to experience some more oiliness than usual in my T zone but not too much to handle. My skin went from being excessively dry to combination skin in a little under a year. During the most stressful times of the year (aka exam season) I did notice my skin break out. At this point I was done with my teen years so I thought acne should stop popping up, but no they didn't stop. Towards the end of my scholarly career, my acne had increased in severity. I have tried so many benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid acne spot treatments (Clean and Clear, Neutrogena, Clinique, The Body Shop and everything at Sephora. I tried natural remedies like toothpaste, tea tree oil, acne masks....). Nothing seemed to cure my skin.
What was worse, was that my skin really clung to the hyper-pigmentation so even now my face is covered with acne scars from University. To make matters even worse (if it wasn't already), I started to break out all over the rest of my body. My back, neck and arms, are covered with acne scars and hyper-pigmentation that I has been impossible to get rid of. I've tried using acne fighting body washes, I have switched out my detergent, changed my bed sheets every week, replaced my commercial body lotions with natural oil. I turned to my diet and cut out dairy, I cut out sugars and carbs. I drank so much green tea that my pee turned green (I'm exaggerating but it might as well have been green). I drink water so much I have to pee every second of the day. I have all but turned my life upside down in attempts to clear up my skin.
ADULTHOOD
Now in my adult years, I have experienced a whole new side of acne. It just seems to be getting worse and worse. I have developed what one of my subscribers pointed out to me as cystic acne. I have very painful red bumps, and pimples betheath the skin. Acne on the surface of my skin, what would be categorized as pustules, are also large and painful. My skin is more oily than usual and I learn more to the side of combination-oily-sensitive skin. Its crazy how in such a short period of time my skin has done a entire 180 starting from excessively dry to crazy oiliness in just a few years. I focus my skincare more on exfoliating my skin both cosmetically with AHA's and beneath the skin with BHA's. I'm currently trying to be more gentle with my skincare.
The pores around my nose have enlarged and my T-zone has just gotten more oily. My breakouts are often centered around my cheeks and bottom of my chin but I do get the occasional pimple on my hairline (I have started slicking my baby hairs down so this might be a result of the edge control I use). As time goes on, I have seen improvements in my skin in terms of the amount of acne I have on my skin (it tends to increase with menstrual hormones as usual though). But my skin isn't as oily as before.
I'm still on my journey to clear skin, and I make it a point to monitor the changes in my skin so I can alter my skin care routine as need be. It is a journey that will be well worth the wait.
xoxo
