Skincare Nightmare
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I often find myself scouring the internet for solutions to a problem I have with my skin, my hair, my makeup, etc. and I wind up on the YouTube channels of people who actually know what they are doing. So, I listen to them as they talk to me like I am also someone who knows what I am doing lol. With the experience I am about to share, I have learned that I absolutely…do not…have ANY CLUE, what I am doing. Which makes me the perfect person to help you avoid disaster. With each skin mishap, I have slowly learned that researching the very first steps is more important than looking at someone’s outcome. My research process used to look like this:
Have problem + Google problem + See someone without problem using product = buy product
Recently, I’ve learned that it takes much more. Let me give you an example:
If you’ve been following me on Instagram you know I’ve been in the market for a new Vitamin C serum. After trying and loving Sunday Riley’s C.E.O. Glow, I decided to test my luck with something more affordable.
Enter The Ordinary brand’s Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% solution. I want to start off by saying these two products are not even in the same stratosphere (something I learned the hard way). This product is to be used for a very specific purpose by people with very specific skin. I will get into that later. While it proved to be more of a learning experience than a great skincare product, for me, I would not go as far as to say the product doesn’t work. In fact, it was recommended by someone I trust and whose skin is flawless. But it taught me 4 valuable lessons about skin care products that I want to share with you today.
Research the Product Itself
I tend to research a problem vs. a product. In doing so, I have often made the mistake of generalizing the products themselves. I will think to myself “I want to get rid of these dark spots so I need some Turmeric or Vitamin C”. This betrays my lack of knowledge about skincare, but it is who I am. What you should know is that products, like Vitamin C serums, have various subcategories based on your skin type or the active ingredients you are looking for. In order to find the best product for you, you should tailor your search based on both. For instance, I bought a Vitamin C serum and had no idea what “Ethylated Ascorbic Acid” was. To make a long story exceedingly short, it is a chemical that stabilizes the Vitamin C so that it gets into your skin before evaporating into the air. Want to know the punchline? It ALLEGEDLY makes Vitamin C less irritating to the skin. Anywho…the moral of the story is that it works exceptionally well for people with oily skin. Want to take a wild guess what skin type I have? I’ll give you a hint…it ain’t oily.
Don’t ALWAYS Focus on Price Point
As someone whose skin has broken out from $100 creams and $20 creams alike, I can tell you that price isn’t everything. That being said, while being frugal can seem like a better bet, wasting $20 is still a waste. To avoid that in the future, we can try samples. I swear by Kiehl’s, and they love to give the store away when you purchase one item. For a wider variety, Sephora also gives away samples both in store and online, and the options are update weekly.
Carefully Introduce New Skin Care Products
From my last skincare disaster, I learned to slowly introduce new products to my regimen.I fully intended to use this product once a week for a few weeks, then every other day, before introducing it fully. However, after the VERY first night using this serum my skin started to react. I noticed a small patch of irritation under my eyebrow which is actually typical for me. But by the end of the next day, I looked like an actual reptile.
After furiously Googling how to fix the problem, I learned that you are supposed to spot test new products. I mean seriously…who freaking knew? Apparently, everyone. Including The Ordinary brand itself. They have a Patch Testing Guide right on their website.
Be Patient
If disaster strikes, the most healing thing you can do is take your time. Resist the urge to go buy new products to fix what the first product broke. Determine if you are having irritation or a reaction. If you are having a reaction see a doctor! Patience is the prescription for irritation. But, if the irritation does not improve in 2 weeks, see a dermatologist.
Having narrowly avoided permanent disaster this time, I can promise I’ll be much more careful in the future. It’s been exactly 1 week and my skin is pretty much back to normal. But I hope my misfortune will help you avoid crisis in the first instance. Good luck, and Godspeed.