Hey Mischevious,
Other than hair, I do also have an affinity with makeup and skincare. My face is not even close to flawless as you seen from my previous no makeup selfies.
Why I'm deciding to share #myskinstory is that recently in September I had one of my worst outbreak that was caused by a combination of hormonal imbalances and also hygiene. (gross! read more so I can explain all the gruesome details)
I have
- combination skin that sometimes get dry or too oily at some areas.
-Acne and pimple prone skin.
-Itchy fingers that pick on my pimples and scabs.
Disclaimer, if you are squeamish and easily grossed out, please don't read any further.
On the last 2 weeks of September 2016. I had a combination of breakouts and the case of itchy fingers. Initially I thought it was just due to that time of the month coming soon, but it usually isn't too bad, just big zits on my face that doesn't seem to heal completely until I the first blood.
My fingers just unconsciously gravitate towards picking my scabs and popping my pimples will that white sebum and blood comes out. When that happens I feel only then they will heal properly. But of course, I usually cannot wait to pop them and pop them prematurely. "Every went to the weird side of youtube"? I have. many times. Just search...cyst popping or those blackhead removal videos. Anyone has the same problem as I have?
My fingers....need....to stop picking on the scabs on my face....really. Learn how to control your pimple popping Nash!
Below picture is my skin condition that I had mid September. However some of my more disgusting scars have healed slightly. so they are less prominent here.
My pimples didn't heal or go away. I soon then realised that the pimples/irritation occurred in a pattern like a ring around my face. I deduced that it could be an irritation to my skin that was causing the pimples to form all over my face.
I had a few culprits that could be the cause of the breakout and it was time to eliminate them one by one.
- My skin would tingle after putting on my foundation. I though maybe it was my foundation or brushes not clean enough.
- My pillows or the things I touched with/to my face.
- My itchy fingers. Unwashed hands habitually picking on the pimples unconsciously while working.
- My facial wash solution, as I felt my skin go really dry and taut right after washing. Could be the astringent in the wash.
- Stress induced.
I had an interview sometime that week after and my boss thought that I was recovering from chicken pox! So embarassing! My mom 'tsk'ed me when she saw my face and scolded me for picking on my scabs and pimples.
I watched videos on what types of acne, and even googled what kind of facial wash I should be avoiding. In hopes to conceal my scars and pimples, I covered my face with medium/full coverage foundation when I went out of the house. You could see the texture of my skin and the scars on my face. It just accentuated my scars and dry skin. I think it actually looks much worse than it is on the picture. I was aware of my bad skin. I just had to do something about it.
I eliminated the causes one by one:
~ alternated between foundations to see if it is causing an irritation
~ washed my pillows, brushes, wiped down my handphone with alcohol swabs
~ reduced the touching and peeling of my scabs.
~ reduced my stress.
I figured that if your body can grow accustomed to any products, my current facial wash may not be as effective as it was before. It had worked wonderfully well months ago....why not now? I decided to test it out. I went online to search on this.
I bought a whole bunch of products from Innisfree after hearing raving reviews from friends on this korean beauty and facial care brand. It didn't help that I was accompanied by my friend who was with me and said 'this is good! you should get this" to a lot of the products targeted for problem skin like I had.
The whole lot of Innisfree products I bought.
*Bija trouble clensing gel
*Bija trouble spot patch x2
*Sleeping masks x2
*Wash off masks x2
*It's real squeeze mask, Bija x2
And given some free samples to try out
I tried drinking lots of water as well knowing that hydration will clear everything up from the inside out.
I had used the Innisfree facial wash for a few days and loved that it felt hydrating and didn't leave my skin feeling taut and dry. Bija and aloe sleeping mask was applied on my face for the pictures above and washed it in the morning when I woke up. As you can see, my face has significantly cleared up since the first picture.
The Innisfree 'It's real squeeze mask' as I relax for 40mins with the mask on. 20mins longer than the pack said to leave it on.
Now it has been about almost two month since I used this products in October and I have seen great improvements in my skin. It also has that youthful glow it has when I used to not wear makeup often.
The pic above was taken on 10th November 2016. Right before the time of the monthly for girls. I must say, my skin has some very far since mid of September to where it is now. I will definitely continue to take care of my skin better.
This has been #myskinstory and I'm learning to be comfortable in my own skin day by day, one step at a time.
Don't stop the MSCHFF
xoxo