My Skin Journey
It’s here! I’m 40 and this past year I have taken my skin care to another level. I have religiously gone to Dawn Hawley in Dr. Dubrow's office for my facials.
She has helped me with hormonal cystic acne, brown spots from pregnancy and scarring from some bad breakouts.
Of course anti aging has always been part of the regimen but this past year I asked how do we take it to another level. Now remember, what she recommends for me can be different than what she would recommend for you. I always suggest booking a facial and she will take it from there. Same with any skin professional in your area.
Dawn told me to start with peels and then move into microneedling. She didn’t think lasers were necessary for my specific goals/needs.
My goal is youthful glowing skin and wearing as little makeup as possible. Think Gwynth Paltrow.
We started with a VI Peel. The downtime was about 3 days of serious peeling then a couple days of dry skin. All my brown spots came to the surface and looked pretty scary. My skin was peeling! I’m talking about flaps of skin peeling off where it became a joke with my kids. They called me the skin monster. But underneath those flaps was baby smooth skin. I was blown away by the immediate response.
From there we had such great results we moved on to the next peel. Next on the list was the Wiqo peel with the TCA peel. This chemical peel creates an all over glow and its nickname is a facelift in a bottle. My skin felt so tight and amazing after.
TCA helps deeply exfoliate and remove dead skin cells from the treatment area. The results are wow and the downtime is nothing. I experienced a little dry skin. I have had some friends/clients who felt pretty dry for a few days but that wasn’t my experience.
This was a week later with makeup on. I’m talking about minimal face makeup. My skin has never been so smooth. I have now done a few of these peels every 4-6 weeks. I love to do them a week before an event for an extra glow.
Now for microneedling. I have done this twice, 8 weeks apart. The downtime is you look sunburnt for a few days.
Here’s immediately after
Ok I’m red AF but you can already see how smooth my skin is. Dawn sent me home with this Avene face mist to spray as needed for hydration and cooling and I ended up loving it so much I bought it
Your face can feel hot and definitely dry. This mist ended up being a lifesaver and a great year round product for dry winter months or for a refresh in the summer.
Another product I used after microneedling that helped a ton with the dryness and has been a long time favorite of mine is the skinceuticals restorative sheet mask
I actually use these as part of my weekly routine and they are amazing. The hydration and glow is instant.
Here it is 3 days later. Zero makeup just sunscreen
The biggest thing I noticed was my fine lines. I get stopped at the grocery store, mall, wherever because people have skin questions. I’m getting compliments constantly.
Here is my skin a week after my 2nd microneedling with makeup on. No filter. No editing, just a selfie in my room after I filmed a tutorial
Taking great care of my skin has been a commitment. To me it is totally worth it. My makeup routine is less than 5 minutes. I am finally confident without makeup. I feel like I look more natural. I am aging and that’s life but I don’t mind slowing it down and I definitely don’t mind the shock when people hear I’m 40!
A few things I would love for you to take away from this blog post…
A skin care professional is a MUST! These are serious chemicals and all of these peels have a specific reason. What my esthetician chose for me was specific to my skin type and my personal goals.
Skincare is a marathon not a sprint. Depending on your corrections needed it might take longer. I have made a serious commitment to my skincare routine. I do my homework. I wash my face every night and not only do I have a daily routine but a weekly routine to maintain.
I am now also trying to keep what goes on my skin as clean as possible. Sunscreen is a must! I have 2 favorites
Unseen screen. This is also a great primer. It’s absolutely weightless. I have also turned my kids onto this. They put it on with zero complaints. I can reapply by patting over makeup and it doesn’t disrupt a thing
The tinted moisturizer I love for a little something when I don’t want to wear makeup is by skinceuticals.
Over the summer I switched to cream blushes/bronzers VS powder and I noticed a big difference in my skin. At first I was doing it for a more glowing look but once I noticed the congestion in my cheeks completely disappeared I never looked back.
Clean makeup picks
