I am of northern European ancestry and grew up in North Central Montana in the years before sunscreen. When I was little, I played outside most of the time. I had more sunburns than I can count! If I wanted to go in the house, my mother would say, “what are you doing in here? Go back outside and play!”. I can’t totally blame my current sun damaged skin on my mother. As a teen and young adult, I smeared myself with baby oil and ‘baked’ as soon as summer rolled around.
Need I say more about my skin today? In addition to sun damage, I also have highly sensitive skin and rosacea. By some miracle, I don’t have skin cancer….yet. But I do have a full body screen every year.
I have tried several anti-aging products and my sensitive skin isn’t happy at all with any of them. For my skin to improve, I would need new skin from head to toe.
I have more or less given up on improving things. I am now of the mindset that I want to use products that don’t irritate my skin or make it feel worse, aren’t fragranced, and feel good on. I look for products that aren’t super expensive. I also try to use products that aren’t tested on animals. I use the Beautypedia site for their expert reviews.
After much trial and error, I have landed using oils. I had oily skin growing up and never thought I would use oils like I do.
Here is my current skin care routine:
- Kiehl’s Nourishing Dry Body Oil (on my arms and legs)
- Bioderma Sensibo H2o Micellar water (to remove makeup at night)
- CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser (morning and night) – my dermatologist loves CeraVe products
- Paula’s Choice Skincare Calm 1% BHA Lotion Exfoliant (on my face in the AM)
- Elta MD UV Clear Broad Spectrum SPF 46 (on my face in the AM)
- Acure the Essentials Marula Oil (on my face in the PM)
Every time I branch out, I end up regretting it. And not using a product is throwing money away! So I am trying to stick with my current regimen. Some are still tested on animals (yuk). Things are finally slowly changing in that regard; but not fast enough.
Allene
Note: I have no financial interest with any of these companies. I just buy their products.
Travels with Allene 