Am I 15?

What is up with my darn skin? I was so gung-ho to try the Dermologica line but I have not seen the results I wanted. I have always thought I had combination/sensitive skin so that is how I have always treated it. I do believe I may have had that type of skin (once upon a time), however I have to acknowledge I am getting older and my skin is not the same. After trying to give my skin a break have realized that I am dryer than I ever thought I was and realized that using "oil free" products just dries my skin out even more. I still have many breakouts. I found an interesting concept on Pinterest called the Oil Cleansing Method. Hmmm.... What is this you say? The concept is not to dry your face out with soap, but to gently remove natural oils and debris with oils suitable for your skin type. This was so foreign to me I did not know what to think. After researching it on the internet I did find a following for it and some helpful advice. I was shocked the first time I did it. I have large pores due to constant clogging with debris and when I used the Oil Cleansing Method my pores looked flat instead of spread wide open as usual. I was so excited to see this! I think I overdid it in the beginning and my skin dried out and broke out a bit (more than usual.) My thought is that I used the wrong ratio of oils for my skin type and that I was pulling the gunk out of my pores that had been perpetually clogged, creating break-outs.

I have been tweaking my regime since October trying to find perfect balance. While my chin looks like a battle zone (this is my worst area for break outs) the rest of my face has improved. I have reduced using the Oil Cleansing Method to several times a week and resumed using some of my Dermologica products. While I would love to instantaneously have beautiful skin, I realize it took awhile to get into the condition it is in, it will also take awhile to clear up.

When will my skin ever clear up?

So I always thought that eveyone had trouble with their skin during the teenage years and possibly into the early twenties. I know I can't be the only person in their late thirties that still suffers breakouts. I have sensitive, combination skin. I have always struggled figuring out exactly what to do with my skin. I treat it for excessive oil and then I dry out, I treat it for dryness and get oily. I don't have horrible skin, just constantly have a few pesky blemishes. My forehead always seems to be oily as does my nose and chin. I also have large pores on my nose and cheeks (my nose seems to be constantly oily and my cheeks are sensitive and dry.) I have tried Proactive and it just seemed to make my skin more sensitive. I have tried many, many drugstore type cleansers and treatments and my skin might do okay for a while but then it will freak out again. I have even tried Aveda products which seeemed to work great for awhile but then my skin freaks out again. I most recenlty switched to Clinique moisturizer, but still have issues. So now after some research on Dermologica (read every review I could find) I am trying out some of their products. I am hoping that using multiple products from the same line will make a difference. Here is hoping my skin does well!

First week:

I ordered Dermologica Precleanse and Special Cleansing Gel from spalook.com and started them on Tuesday, October 11th. I LOVED the Precleanse! It smells wonderful and it took off my stubborn waterproof eye make-up! I am so excited that this product is supposed to gently pull the sebum (oil) from my skin so my cleanser will work better. After applying the Precleanse to dry skin, you wet your hands and continue to massage into skin causing an emulsion that helps with the sebum removal. This was a little messy but if it does what it says it does, I don't mind a wet counter while washing my face! After rinsing the Precleanse, I followed up with the Special Cleansing Gel. I used too much (you don't need much at all) but it cleaned my skin nicely without drying it out. As those were the only two products I had to work with, I continued using my Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion.

I had ordered Dermologica Multi-Active Toner and Skin Renewal Booster, as well as the Normal/Oily Skin Kit from whatgreatskin.com on Monday, October 10th and waited all week to receive them and try them out. I received them on Friday, October 14th and used them both that evening after using the Precleanse and Special Cleansing Gel. I LOVE the smell of the Multi-Active toner! I have used other toners and my husband always complains about the smell (he always thought the Aveda products made me smell like a pine tree.) I used the Skin Renewal Booster and felt a slight tingle in my skin (apparently this is common until your skin gets used to it) I also used the Active Moist moisturizer (included in my Normal/Oily Skin Kit) and was pleasantly surprised to wake up to a non-oily face but that it also felt nicely moisturized. So far so good. I love that I can't "feel" my skin like some products can do. Nothing like feeling a tight/dry/sensitive face.

Getting started (again)

Well...August just seemed to be a horribly lazy month for me. We had a wonderful weekend in Manzanita, OR for a family reunion and then the following weekend we were camping with a big group of friends so of course we weren't eating super healthy due to all the nummy treats available. After being sick through July and not having been very active I ended up being so lazy in August that I never got myself motivated to do ANY exercise. Even the house was neglected since every time I cleaned it up it was destroyed almost immediately (and Scott was just as guilty as the kids.) It was a losing battle and I just was too lazy to care. Now that the kids are back in school and we are getting into a routine again, it is time for me to get into an exercise routine as well. I have been feeling fat and frumpy so I weighed and measured myself this morning and was thoroughly disgusted (and no that information will not be disclosed!) After dropping the kids at school I went for a fast-paced 30 minute walk. It is a beautiful day and perfect to get me started again. I did not have any pockets to carry my iPod so I was left to my own thoughts which was nice as I was thinking of what will work best for me in regards to workouts and eating better. I have started a daily chart to check off things needed to get me healthy and fit as well as daily chores for our home. Ya gotta start somewhere and this feels good.