In my budget conscious journey (twenty years) towards aging gracefully (I'm turning the big FOUR-O this year), I have learned a thing or two or three about beauty products, procedures and the dreaded gimmicks. In my efforts to find that miracle fix and fountain of youth in a tube, I've won some and lost more. My losses included my time, my hope and a lot of money. In my blog, I'm going to give some tips and advice and hopefully save you a little grief.
Today, I'm going to talk about freckles, age spots, hyperpigmentation and other pigment oriented concerns and how to get rid of them and obtain and overall even tone and glow. Although I do a combination of several products (microdermabrasion, Retinol, alpha-hydroxy, salycilic acid, hyaluronic-acid, etc...)...Whoa...stop....GEEEZE...I just made myself look like an addict. Before I continue, let me clarify that I don't use all of these products together and I don't use them everyday! It is skin care "regemin" that is a process over days -- weeks -- months -- years -- and decades and that will continue for as long as my feeble little hands are able. Okay, so maybe "gracefully" was a bit strong...how about, "I'm not going down the inevitable road to looking OLD without a FIGHT!!!!
Alright, back to healthy, even-toned skin. I will break down many of the products I use and why I use them in future blogs, but today, I'm going to focus on Hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is a cream or gel that comes in an over-the-counter 2% or a prescription strength 4% mixture and is used most commonly as a "fade" cream. Hydroquinone is the most recent product that I've added to my arsenal of beautifying amo...and I do mean arsenol!!! Mwaaahh!!! (That was my evil laugh). I had noticed over the last five years that I'd developed some hyper pigmentation along my jawline called malasma. It looks like a concentrated area of freckles, but to the point that it appears like a mild birthmark. You can't really see it when I wear makeup, but sans makeup, it is noticeable. Kind of looks like my face is a little..."dirty". I remembered a girl-friend of mine at work mentioned to me that she had malasma and she used a products called OBAGI Nu-Derm Clear with 4% hydroquinone ($85) and it completely went away. So, I went to CVS (because I'm skeptical and want to save money if at all possible), and stumbled across an over-the-counter version of fade cream with 2% hydroquinone and was labeled for fading freckles, sun spots and malasma. So, for $40...I bought it. I've been using it now for three weeks and I am starting to see a very noticable reduction in the malasma around my jawline and the uneven pigment on my forearms. Yes...I'm a woman and I CARE about my forearms!!!!!! (Eye Roll) If you're a guy, you may not ever be able to relate, and if you're a woman under the age of twenty-five, please don't judge me now. In order to be fair you must wait until you're at least thirty-five...then take a hard look in the mirror and THEN you can judge me. If you're a woman close to fourty or above...I believe that somewhere inside of you, whether you care what people think or not...there's a tad bit of vanity!! Don't deny it!
Okay, so the moral of this blog is that the 2% hydroquinone product that I bought at CVS to reduce my malasma, freckles and uneven skin-tone is working and I'm planning on getting the 4% product online. I use it on my chest too. I said, "chest"...not... "breasts"...there's a difference!!! What's more interesting is that my husband who has dark circles ALL THE WAY AROUND his eyes has now been using it for two weeks and we can both see a difference.
Disclaimer: Do a little of your own research before putting anything on your face. Some of the products that I use required caution and a little background checking to make sure it is safe for me. I recommend you do the same. By "caution" I don't mean gloves, fire extinguisher, or 9-1-1 on my speed dial, I just simply mean that I had to learn which products would make me more sensitive to exposure to direct sun or might dry my skin out...things like that.
Tickler: I can't wait to discuss chemical peels! This one is exciting for me!!
Future topics to look forward to are:
Chemical Peels
Retinol
Sun Damage
Moisturizer
Make-It-Yourself Potions, Masks and Scrubs...Useful?...or a Hoax!
"Procedures" aka "Botox, Lipo, Chryolipolisis"
Microdermabrasion
Henna Tattoos - The ONLY way to go in my opinion!
I look forward to seeing what you have to say about Chemical Peels and sun damage. My mom was schedule to get a chemical peel and never went through with it. I'm 21 and my mom just turned 42 and she is always telling me to cover up and to stop tanning in a bed-which I have because I ended up with some discoloration on my back and had to get medicine for it. Anyways my mom has sun damage from being outside with my sister, brother, and myself -we all play outside sports- so I am interested in what you have to say about that.
ReplyDeleteI ended up having to put this in Microsoft word because this didn't have a spell check on it! One of my blogs is going to be about how I feel spelling in the very far far future night become obsolete.
Olivia, thank you for your response to my blog about beauty products. It's funny, the reason that adults your mom and I's age fuss about sun screen is because hind sight is, in fact, 20/20. Tell your mom, there is life after too much sun! There are many things that she can do at home to reverse some of the damage and instigage collagen production again, but that are gradual and slow going--more maintenance and then there are procedures that she can do that are a little deeper such as clinical chemical peels that would immediately take her back five or ten years.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading your blog about how you feel spelling in the distant future might become obsolete. Interesting!!!
Lydia