My eyes caught this bit when I was flipping through Allure: Confessions of a Beauty Editor, and I thought I’d share it with you. Take note of commandment number 10.
1. Wash your face just enough to remove dirt and makeup, not to leave skin feeling tight.
2. You wouldn’t leave the house without brushing your teeth – the same goes for wearing broad-spectrum SPF15 (minimum).
3. You can use regular cream around the eyes; we often do.
4. Choose a moisturiser with antioxidants hat protects skin from the elements.
5. Reapply moisturiser hourly when flying, if you don’t want to look DOA.
6. Look for anti-aging cream with retinoids. It works.
7. Apply anti-aging or -acne ingredients before any other products to keep from blocking their penetration.
8. More isn’t always better; a pea-sized mount of face cream is enough.
9. Exfoliate skin every week with a gentle scrub.
10. If you want real results, give products up to 6 months to work.
I’m sure you’ve probably heard of numbers 1 to 9, which are all informative, but number 10 intrigued me.
You see, whenever I buy a new skincare product, as soon as it starts breaking me out, I stopped using it immediately. And then I never used it again. It’s very seldom that I would think it could be other factors that broke me out, such as hormone changes due to that time of the month (or when it’s about to come). I immediately blamed the product. Hence the large amount of hardly used skincare products sitting in my cupboard.
After contemplating on this, I’ve been giving number 10 a try, as in to finish up the product (e.g. a tub of moisturiser) before deciding if it works for me or not. Or at least give it a month or more to see real results. To my surprise, after the initial zit or two, more often than not, they started working for me.
What I’m trying to say is, don’t immediately knock off the product just because it broke you out once. Give it the benefit of the doubt that it could be other factors. You’d be surprised that it might actually work for you. If you start getting pimples again after the second use, or worse rashes, then stop using them immediately.
Give ’em a chance, would ya? 🙂
I totally agree with you on point number 10. Usually for a product to work, it’ll start getting worse before it gets better.
ahh for the #10, usually i am so so impatient, i have to see IMMEDIATE results. but it is also true that it takes time to work its magic, or not.
I do believe that your skin will get worse from certain products before it gets better so I do continue using for at least a month before deciding on it. But I stop faster if my skin starts to flakes.
Products rarely break me out but if they do, then I’m unlikely to use them anymore. Eg mineral makeup! But I’ve given a mask a second chance and yes, it worked well the 2nd time around.
To add to Point No.3: I usually swipe my serum very gently over my eye area too. Like after I’d massaged it into the rest of my cheeks/face, I’d dab whatever that’s left on my fingers onto the eye area.
Step 10 is sooo true!!! I used to have really bad acne and i started using proactiv. First my skin got worse and I was really tempted to give up on it but after a month it completly transformed. I think proactiv got out all the oil and impurities and then I was able to have nice skin.
What about peeling and small bumps like contact dermatitis? What’s your personal take? I’m kinda scared to continue with a product for another 6 mths, on faith, if I get that kind of reaction … but I wonder if I’m giving up too quickly …
ooo… great tips…
Ohmypetticoat:
To be honest, I don’t know about whether skincare products is supposed to make your skin worse before it gets better. By right it’s not supposed to irritate the skin in the first place. My idea of it breaking skin out is that it could be due to hormonal changes. Hmm I’m going to look into this and see if there’s any valid research on the subject.
Prettybeautiful:
Sorry, luv, it’s very difficult to see immediate results in skincare products. If so, then they’ll be miracle products and the rest of the beauty industry will “chap lap” 😛
Connie:
I agree. That would closely equate to contact dermatitis, thus you’ll have to stop using the product immediately.
Sesame:
Sadly mineral makeup started giving me problems after almost a year of using them. Which is funny, ‘cos it was all right before.
Geekchic:
Good idea to use up the extra bit of serum near the eyes 🙂
Mpink:
I’ve heard mixed reviews on Proactive (mostly good though), and I’m glad it worked out well for you in the end 🙂
Karen:
Once you start getting small bumps, rashes, peeling or any extra nasty stuff, I’d suggest you to stop using the product immediately. Contact dermatitis is your skin’s way of acting out against the irritation of a particular ingredient (or more) in the new product. Do a process of elimination. Stop using the product first. Use gloves when washing dishes, etc, give your hands a good cleaning before using the product. Go back to it after a month when your skin’s stop flaring up. If it comes back, then you have your answer. Contact dermatitis could come from anything that comes in contact with your skin, not just new skincare products. I’ve had contact dermatitis on my face from my hands which touched a particular liquid detergent (hands were okay, facial skin started flaring out).
my advise… always use toner ! Always toner after washing face after a long day. This helps in cleansing areas which are missed by facial wash … this helps prepare the skin also for your moisturizer to be absorbed better. hope this helps