Phase 2 of #skincareclub
Again this is directly from Dr Sam Buntings blog on "When Acne and Wrinkles Coexist Part 2" concentrating on brightening, even out skin tone and texture, getting rid of PIH (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation). Part 2 here
The skin should be turning over nicely now, although for myself I still had some acne and cysts at this stage and it was only around Phase 3 and giving up Gluten that I cleared up completely. This is the time now when your seeing results, your way past the purge stage, you can visibly see clear skin and others start to notice too, you also notice that you actually look younger upon closer inspection although it's hard to tell with that patchy, lumpy, still scarred skin tone.
What I used
Vitamin C with Hyaluronic Acid from KLUR skin
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser & SA Cleanser both with ceramides and hyaluronic acid and the SE stands for Salicylic Acid (I always leave these on for 3-5 minutes as a mask)
CeraVe AM lotion with SPF, ceramides and hyaluronic acid
CeraVe PM lotion with ceramides and hyaluronic acid
Other brands you can use for your main serums for phase 1 & 2 (vitamin A, Retinol and Vit C or Antioxidants)
Dermalogica
Medik8
Skinceuticals
La Roche Posay
Obagi
There are brands to suit all pockets, all are amazing too.
What I did
I carried on with my Vitamin A serum 3-4x a week in the evenings with my very carefully chosen supporting items (cleanser, evening moisturiser & day moisturiser with ceramides and hyaluronic acid, SPF and hyaluronic acid serum) and I introduced my Vitamin C serum, I went with KLUR Vit C & Hyaluronic Acid serum, every morning on dry or damp skin. The serum I had didn't sting or cause any adverse effects and it was difficult to believe it was actually working, don't know about you but I am used to using harsh stinging strong Vit C potions.
I trusted Lesley my skin mentor and Hollywood Aesthetician by now, in fact we had become firm friends. It would have been easy at this point to become complacent but I had worked too hard and so had Lesley, plus by now I had a few interested in #skincareclub and I didn't want to let anyone else down. I had become complacent in 2016 when I used Biologique Recherche with great results then gave up and added in lots of oils and heavy balms so I have been there, done that and really did not fancy repeating that mistake again. Once it's a mistake, twice it's becoming insanity.
It was so simple, easy to follow and affordable and advocated by a famous Cosmetic Dermatologist (in fact every Dermatologist) and KLUR skincare founder, formulator and Aesthetician Lesley so *shrugs* why would I stop?
At this point I just felt something give in me, something shifted and I knew absolutely that I would not fail!
Within 6 weeks or less
I really noticed a HUGE difference, not just in scars, but my skin was brighter, smoother, flatter no bumps, even coloured, thicker looking, healthy, glowing, I am so happy not wearing make up now its un believable. I am so happy and grateful to Dr Sam Bunting and Lesley at KLUR.
Why don't we listen?
I'm not sat here typing trying to tell you to spend a fortune on the next latest skin care that promises clear skin. I am sat here talking about a proven way that Dermatologists have been telling us for years and years, but sadly we mostly give up in the first few weeks of the Phase 1 Retinol as skin becomes sore, probably using too much product, the Doctor has labeled instructions saying "use every evening" and we did, no one told us about the purge so not expecting it when skin suddenly get's much worse with a sudden onset of volcanic spots at a rate you've never seen before we panicked every.single.time and stopped using it.
Years and years I have been in that cycle. Doctors really need to explain a bit more about avoiding the eye area, the dreaded purge, the sore skin, the impotrance of using SPF and I am sure many more would stick with it and have clear skin. Another huge blame is that no one explains what acne is, so maybe you get through the purge (more spots very suddenly), the flaky, sore skin stage and your skin clears, what do you do? well you stop don't you? after all you no longer have acne, its cured, right? wrong! Keep this up forever, unless your having a hormonal issue your acne prone for life, your skin cells are stickier and your skin produces too much sebum, the skin cream helps but it is not a cure, you stop, it comes back.
Around the point of starting Phase 2 I had a lot going on so I came away from Instagram a bit, I wasn't posting my routines nor interacting with other accounts. Truth be told I felt I had nothing in common any more, they didn't really seem as interested in me, and I wasn't buying all the things they were so we hadn't much to say anymore. I honestly started to question my account and "friends" I had made on there. I felt really left out, but it gave me a chance to concentrate on my physical and mental health, build myself up a bit before I came back online after my many breakdowns I had on there and a few struggles I had getting along with a few others.
I am so glad I decided to keep up with my account and blog, maybe even if it helps a few others stick with these three phases and start to love the skin they are in - then it will be worth it.
By the end of Phase 2 my skin was beautifuly clear! HALLELUJAH
From this ...
To this.....
To THESE
Part 3
Something else I wished to share is that I have had a difficult few years, many of my Instagram friends have virtually wiped tears away many times, at times I have over shared too many personal details of a breakup, the nitty gritty details, I have talked openly about being in recovery from an addiction, and the fact is I will always be an addict, it's no secret that I have struggled so much with filling a void within me, an empty place that I will sometimes revert back to old behaviours when my life isn't going as I wish, or I am not taking responsibilty for my life choices or I get sick.
Buying skincare obsessively was just one way my addiction can manifest. It's a mental health disorder of Obsessive Compulsive Behavior patterns that can start out so innocently and before you know it your kind of doing it against your will like "why the fuck have I ordered yet another cleanser when I know I have 15 unopened" and you know what, we become the master of self denial, the master of justification and deception. You don't have to have taken drugs to have the Addict Mentality, you just have to have something going on that your not dealaing with, a void in your life your filling with something else.
I also had undiagnosed Coelics Disease for years, slowly getting sicker and sicker physically but my mental health started to decline hugely too, and my personal relationship. I could barely get out of bed most days and my mind was so foggy I was being tested for early dementia, I was so frightened and out of my depth and with the Dr giving me many different diagnoses that just stun me now.. Anyway it just happened that he went over my tests again and found the Coeliacs, as sonn as I gave up gluten I started to recover, but I am left with M.E, which stands for myalgic encephalomyelitis a neurological condition.
So, you see I had so much going on in my life that my acne and skincare became a release, a bit of fun, starting the Instagram for beauty reviews to while away my hours in bed, soon became out of control.
I had to reasses what had happened, what I had allowed to happen while trying to keep up with everyone else. I liked the idea of feeling involved with the other skincare accounts, sharing tips, ideas, being one of the first to snag a new product and photograph it. I felt part of a community, and in all this time somthing else worth mentioning is that I was sick, and had been for a couple of years, which is again one of the ideas to keep me occupied from my bed was to start blogging.
I look back now and I am cringing, paying £150 for serums and what not just to look good and fit in with everyone else. Skin needs consistency and by that I mean a set of actives and good supporting products. What we all want (I know I am repeating myself) is clear, healthy and younger and fresher looking skin....right?
So I am sharing what I have found, what I did and why and I will continue to promote healthy skin with absolutely NO BULLSHITand no dressing things up, NO sugar coating shit from me any more. If you have problem skin, you really should read this and the following posts, not because I am the second coming and not because I have discovered something new, but because I have found the correct people to listen to and it bloody well works.
For the first time in a very long time I feel free, despite still having a neurological condition, I am slowly trying to rebuild my life and become used to and accepting of my new limits and enjoy my clear skin.
My advice to anyone caught in this trap is; if you have any kind of skin issues, even just a bit of congestion, there are no quick fixes is consistency (I see that word a lot on skincare accounts with no actual consistency). Find your actives (antioxidants, retinol/vitamin a) and your back up products full of hyaluronic acid, ceramides, vitamins such as A, C, E, K, B etc (cleanser and moisturiser - your serums A & C are your actives) and a bloody good SPF or you'll undo it all. Find a formulation that works for you in a price bracket you can keep up with and stick with it.
Some brands that are suitable for most budgets...
La Roche Posay
Dermalogica
KLUR
Skinceuticals
Medik8
CeraVe
Do your research and give it a go, what have you got to lose?
To find out how I cleared my acne and cysts Phase 1 Retinol
Part 2
I needed help...real professional help! I realised this isn't my expertise and I don't know everything there is to know about the skincare profession. Actually I knew nothing when it came down to it.
Unfortunately, I wasn't going to get the answers on Instagram. See most people use what works for them, they know what they like. However most of us skin obsessed consumers don't know what it's like to treat and help others and how other people's skin responds. What another individuals needs are. I even realized many of the brands I was using weren't created by people with any skincare background or knowledge. I was getting the wrong advice from too many of the wrong people.
This was a light bulb moment...I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, but I begin to focus my attention on dermatologist advice, talked to skin therapist and then I came across Dr. Sams Bunting's blog on Acne & Wrinkles. I decided that this would be the route I would go next. I would use the blog as a step by step guide and start over with basics, it really couldn't hurt. I was desperate and not willing to do Accutane ever again.
If you don't know her already Dr. Sam is a highly sought after Cosmetic Dermatologist, she has appeared on TV and has an extremely informative YouTube VLOG and Instagram account, she posts her weekly scolds series and Dr Sam in the City and has an incredible finger waggle. Lets face it, if I had tooth ache I would see a dentist, so why not the same for skin?
As fate would have it, that same week in Early February. I got a message from a woman in Los Angeles. She offered to help me, with no strings attached, genuine she wanted to help me. She had a very simple philosophy and with a few exceptions, she was pretty much on course with I read on Dr.Sam's blog.
Lesley is an Aesthetician from Hollywood who has worked with skin a long time, even for huge brands. She sees her own clients and makes her own skincare in a lab (not a cooking pot in the garden), but in a genuine certified kinda way. She spoke sense, was not pushy, did not bash other brands, wasn't restrictive, most of all her reasons for contacting me was nothing to do with boosting her brand, her motive was purely and simply to help me attain skin health.
In return for her professional assistance she asked for a couple of things, the most important was to do 90 days with consistency 3 skin cycles basically.
HER RULES:
1.) Stash away everything I owned so I wasn't tempted. (Obviously this was a little hard ).
This was major for me, I put everything in a dark place ..............
2.) Use only the products she shipped or recommend I purchase and that's it. (Brutal as I had no idea what I was getting into).
3.) Stay consist for 3 months.
( I'll say this wasn't easy I was tempted to introduce my oils etc, but I powered through it)
Wait, what? I have to put ALL my skincare away? Surely she didn't just say that!!
I did just that I committed to 3 months, this turned into 6 months! I put away everything I owned, sold off and gave away stuff. When she shipped a box from Los Angeles to Leeds in a few days, I knew I had to commit. All I needed to do was use them and listen.
Listening was difficult because I had been giving the wrong advice so many times, and spent so much money which only made my skin worse.
I was stubborn, thick headed and finally after weeks of skincare education, explanations, chatting, texting and her holding my hand! I let down my guard and just took the chance.
She became my skin mentor I posted on everyday what I used and when she saw things I shouldn't use she called me on my crap. And gave me a full educated breakdown of why I shouldn't use it, but not in a aggresive manor, she was more amusing, made me laugh.
Lesley at KLUR Aesthetician - reviews
We used whats-app almost every week to discuss the routines and she told me how skin works, why I needed to focus on REPAIR and not treating acne. That the products I would be using anyone could use. They weren't for acne, and it's not about the Acne--that my problem was inflammation, compromised barrier and skin mis-function. The products she created just make your skin work better and give your skin what it needs, to heal and repair itself.
The routine was so simple, it became addicting and refreshing! Finally not to think of routines at all this required minimal effort. It was liberating gave me freedom, mental clarity, extra time to spend with my son, and now I could focus on my diet and getting healthy inside.
Most importantly, they worked. Slowly but surely by obsession lessoned, I just used exactly what I was told. Check out these results 5-6 months later.....
click to read Part 3
