Skincare Routine

Hey everyone, I want to get on here and share one of the things I have recently made a priority in my life, and that is taking care of the largest organ of my body: my skin!

Honestly, I get on instagram and see influencers all sharing their "skincare secrets" and to me it just has never been a big deal! I was fortunate enough to go into my 20s with minimal skincare at best. Wake up in the morning, wash face with a wet wash cloth and on with my day I went. I used to wear lots of foundation and face makeup (cringe at my old eyeliner routine; seriously, it looked like I was trying to impersonate Avril Lavigne!), and discounting the awkward 6th and 7th grade puberty skin, never really had issues with acne or blemishes.

Over the years I have gradually significantly reduced my makeup regimen to a natural routine; most of what you see on my skin is pretty natural. I still do the mascara, occasional bronzer, fill in my white eyebrows, but largely don't wear anything else on my face. Stilll, I didn't really have any skin issues.

Well when the COVID pandemic hit and we were all wearing masks, especially with my job as a nurse, my skin started to turn on me. Cystic acne started to show up, and it really forced me to be more intentional about what I use on my skin, or more importantly what I was going to stop using.

I quit the store-bought facials, the facial scrubs, and the perfumey products, reducing my routine to my tried and true products, the noxema facial cleanser (I have been using for years years years, since I can remember honestly), and the cerave moisturizing cream, which I have been using for a few solid years now. This is my maintenance routine, what I continually do to keep my skin healthy and clear.

I also added Rodan & Fields Spotless skincare regimen to my routine, and I love it! It clears up my acne within days, however, it is pretty drying to my skin, even when I eased into it like instructed, so after my acne clears up, I stop using it and go back to my noxema & cerave until the next breakout I get, which honestly are becoming fewer and farther between the longer I have been using R&F. No I do not sell Rodan & Fields, and no you do not need to buy it. But I am just sharing what works for me, and alternating this regimen into my skincare routine has cleared up my skin and made me feel so much more confident in my own skin.

So generally I will cycle in my R&F when needed, but on the daily, I still wash my face with just a wash cloth and plain water in the mornings, put on a good layer of cerave, my minimal makeup, and then before I shower at night, use my noxema to wash off my makeup and cleanse my skin while I shower.

It's also important to mention I drink plenty of water throughout the day (the best skincare you can do!), and I attempt to have a healthy diet, because for me, eating greasy means greasy and blemished skin.

I think that everyone's experience, skin, and life are so very unique, and therefore require different care, but my advice is to not get caught up in people and their $200 skincare products that they use to complete their 7 step skincare routine. Keep it simple if you can; just because it is simple does not mean it is not effective, which is a good motto for a lot of things in life.

Most importantly, listen to your skin. It has a way of showing us what's going on in our body, and if you start to notice changes in your skin that are not typical ask yourself what you are putting into your body in terms of diet, how you are caring for your skin in terms of hygiene, or what might be going on in your life, such as subconscious stress or stage of life that might impact the health of your skin. And if questioning anything about your skin, always consult your medical provider.

We all deserve to feel comfortable in our own skin, and I hope that someday everyone will.

you are blessed. you are gifted. you are loved and appreciated, just as you are.

mindfully, molli