Skincare talks #1

Hello there lovely readers!

I have become quite passionate about skincare in the last few years, even more so over the pandemic as I was not expected to wear makeup daily anymore. This led to me hearing about certain trends in beauty such as hyaluronic acid, retinols, and mostly Western skincare in general.

Now, I do have dry skin that also can be sensitive. I have tried several hyaluronic acid based products and have been very satisfied with the results in general. I had also heard that it is good to start using products to prevent signs of ageing in your mid-20s, so I decided to give retinol a try. It did not go as planned unfortunately…

My journey with retinol started when I received the Kate Somerville Retinol and Vitamin C Power Serum in my FabFitFun delivery at some point last year. As stated in the instructions, I started building up the frequency of using very slowly, using it twice a week at first. I still felt tingling after a month so I stopped using it. I then received the eye cream from the same collection in a later FabFitFun seasonal box, so I decided to use the serum again and build it up again.

Not long after, I felt my skin being constantly tingly and burning, even worse when I would start sweating (which, as I try to exercise at least 5 times a week, was very painful) and my skin was getting very red after using the products. Also, whenever I would apply any other product at any other time of the day, like my morning moisturiser or morning serum or anything else, my skin would rect straight away and start burning up.

Now the advice given when using retinol products is to just “keep going”, it is all normal, and it will ease over time. Well, it didn’t with me, and I think this can be a very dangerous advice to be giving. Evidently, the research has concluded that retinol can be incredibly beneficial for the skin and effectively prevent signs of again; however, I would consult a specialist maybe before using it, or if anything as soon as you start experiencing any reaction and not just keep going. Maybe I was not educated enough before using it as I did not know I should probably have used products containing niacinamide or centella in order to soothe irritation caused by the use of acids in skincare.

As a result of my experience, I decided to stop using any retinol in my skincare, which led to my skin starting to peel off. The irritation was still present and I would feel my skin react to any product for about a week, but I believe that was the best call to make in that situation. I had also felt constantly tired, probably as a result of my ongoing depression as well, but when I stopped using retinol-based products, I realised that my skin, and my eyes in particular, had been quite swollen and puffy for the last few months, leading me to feel like my body was always exhausted because I felt that my eyes were as such. Ceasing the application of retinoids has not cured my recurrent fatigue, but it has massively alleviated the feeling of tired puffy eyes. It was also around the time I started learning about Korean skincare and its magical products.

As I was scrolling through TikTok, I stumbled upon a video by SkinCupid (whom I will talk about some more in the next article), and started watching most of their videos. That is when I discovered about Bakuchiol as a natural alternative to retinoids. I started researching a bit more about it, and here is a link to an article about the matter. I am currently testing this ingredient by using the ampoule from 23 Years Old, and I will report to you on it in a few weeks to share my experience. So far, I have had zero irritation or burning sensation, which is already far better than when I started using retinol products.

PS: SkinCupid was really kind to create a discount code to give you 10% off your first order by using “CLARA” at checkout!! I am literally getting emotional about this, thank you so so much!

This led me to scroll through TikTok a bit more to find out the secrets of Korean beauty, and a first advice I would like to share with you is: wear sunscreen every day, rain or shine, cloudy or not, and re-apply throughout the day!!! Probably the number one advice for beautiful and healthy skin!

Looking forward to share some more skincare talks very soon!

Lots of love,

Clara