We F*ck Up Our Skin.
I tried micro-needling at home like a psychopath
Because it was a surgery week, and one of the things that hurts me most is looking down (even prior to the cervical spine surgery) and using my hands- though I can only dream and hope that will help that some soon and “saved my hands”- I am going to conclude my Every Weekday Writing promise with a beauty piece I wrote before this.
So no, I’m not that magic at healing but… I hope you still get a giggle out of vanities and vanity?
xo
Thank you for this week!
You give me hope, meaning, incentive, and more motivation than my many words can put into words.
My life wouldn't be the same without my Word Nerds!
Do NOT do as I say.
Do not do as I do.
Do not take the advice of someone who writes in run-on sentences.
I am not a professional when it comes to skincare (I wish) and I know that everyone is different but I’m sharing this incase you, yourself, had been feeling like I was:
Like I wanted to do all the wisdom of all the grandmothers I’ve found who share gentle words online (Vogue Beauty Secrets? Can’t be swayed); the anti-trend. But we can’t be multiple people at once. And when we try to be: we f*ck up our skin.
But… don’t do as I say or do without warning and research.
I tried micro-needling at home like a psychopath, using Bactine all along the way (if something says, “go to a professional for this. Do not do at home” but I could never afford the pro, I do the wrong thing and take it as a challenge), but stopped it completely during the 1 month break up with complicated skincare and eventually (weeks later) resumed it gently once a week to see if it was a good match for me. I had watched so many videos and seen so many real-people testimonials but… Cannot shake the realization that it makes my skin “look worse”.
Upon research, many people say their skin does so before getting revitalized- almost like how we talk about Retinol- but I can’t wrap my head around the worry that maybe that’s just not right for me?
I saw on some Reddit that those with bodies that become easily inflamed or heal slowly are not always good candidates and it can actually make situations worse, and I wonder if I am one of those people (evidence would show). But where are THOSE honest YouTube videos, you know?
So much of what we see is pro tool, pro stimulus, pro fancy-something-or-other and… I can’t help but wonder if more of us should be saying, “This is not for everyone” when something isn’t, to stop the peer-pressure feeling that can be skincare?
Kind friends have sent me products that I am doing my (non-scientific) science on, but I’ll report back once enough time has gone on to feel confident about their timeliness.
I love doing this the most. I love slowly testing things for so long they we can only look back at 90 and know if it was worth my time. Less and less is these days, and I can mostly be bothered to bother my day with what feels given to me by time.
I found out that my skin does not look lustier (ew?) in the morning if I use lots of oil, even though it’s so often recommended.
I use baby oil gel as part of my exfoliating cleansing and I use oils on my neck, arms, body… but for some reason, certain things just cause an opposite reaction in my skin.
Acids, for example, are something I prefer less and less despite chemical exfoliating being a matriculated trend. I don’t waste any product if it ends up not being right for me. I either use less of it, use in other ways, or spoil my daughters who linger like Cranberries on every last drop).
Time is going to change all of us.
Our routines and needs will change too. So this is simply me, now, learning from pushing things too far.
Even as I wrote this, I feel joyfully irrelevant (maybe even to myself) because I can tell you what’s working for me throughout time. The items that after years of testing, I realized are worth returning to (by slowly adding them back in) and the items that don’t seem as worth the step…
But does any of my advice even matter if I’m almost 40, and haven’t reached the end of my experiment?
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If course it still matters. As you age your routines are evolving, and revolving. Perhaps you'll make the next big beauty discovery that something that really helped when you were 18 now suddenly helps you again at near 40. This is sort of like experimenting with life routines. Some you find work, some plain don't, and some need to be revisited at several points in life to see if they now work or are continuing to work. Humans are creatures of habit and pattern oriented so we like to revisit old patterns and see if and how they've changed in relevance to our current life stage. I personally think we need less "new" and more revisiting, and refining old and that this may be the key to adaptability to all stages in life.
So very relevant. I’ve been obsessed with skincare since my twenties and at 63 I can say with conviction it is worth it! But way back then we didn’t have to to deal with internet influencers (heck the internet didn’t even exist yet 😬) who every week proclaim yet another “favorite” “must have product” repeatedly. I mean seriously, just how many favorite, must have cleansing balms can one person have? And then throw in chronic illness where every other part of our body seems to have volunteered to dedicate themselves to science without our permission, and facial skincare becomes its own respite. At the very least, a place to go when the metaphorical storm is raging outside where we can find solace and peace in the ritual. After all, it’s one of the very few things still within our control. And that counts for something.