I don’t want to jinx it, but lately my skin has been really, really good. I haven’t broken out in weeks, my skin is smoother and less blotchy, and I only got one small whitehead before my period instead of my usual angry cystic spots. (A quick background on my skin: it’s mostly normal but leans on the dry side, I’m very prone to dehydration, and I’ve struggled with adult hormonal acne for almost four years now.) I’ve made quite a few changes in my routine lately, and I think they’re all helping to contribute to this skin improvement. My skin isn’t perfect, and I don’t think it ever will be, but the changes I’m seeing lately are enough to motivate me to stick with all these habits that are helping.
Reduced Stress
A look at my skin now (I don’t really have a before and after because I never documented when my skin was really bad). This is at the end of a workday when my skin tint has mostly worn off. I still have some marks from old acne but no active breakouts or blotchiness.
I’ve been going on a lot about how much better I’ve been feeling now that I’ve changed jobs, but I really can’t believe how much my old job was bringing me down. It felt normal while I was in the middle of it, but now that I’m out on the other side I feel like a whole new person. (Don’t worry, I’m still working on that “How to Spot a Toxic Workplace” post) I was constantly on the verge of a panic attack all day every day at my old job, so it’s no wonder my skin was always a mess. Stress really does show in my skin, so having this huge source of stress out of my life has led to much improvement.
A Strictly Consistent Routine
After changing jobs, the next thing I tackled was taking a good hard look at my skincare routine, or lack thereof. I was doing the same basic steps every day and night, but I was constantly changing up the products I was using. It was too much fun to use whatever I wanted, and I justified it by saying I was simply “paying attention to what my skin needed” and adjusting accordingly each day. Well, I started sticking to the same exact products every day and every night, and I saw a huge improvement in my skin. Whoops. Now the only time I change something up is when I use up a product. It’s not great for Instagram content, but it’s better for my skin.
Introducing Retinol
I had been meaning to introduce a retinol into my routine for awhile, now that I’m almost 28, but I just never stuck to one consistently (probably because my routine was always all over the place). Now that I have a set skincare regimen, it was really easy to just add in a retinol and use it consistently. I decided to go for the First Aid Beauty Skin Lab 0.25% Retinol Serum. I’ve had great results with other First Aid Beauty products, and since it was a low percentage I had high hopes it wouldn’t cause any irritation. I started slow, using it once a week, and now I’ve bumped it up to two or three times per week. I use it in my nighttime routine right after cleansing. I’ve noticed my skin becoming smoother and more even, and old acne marks have been fading. I’m excited to keep using the retinol and seeing more results. I think the First Aid Beauty one is a winner too, and I’ll be sticking with it. I had no irritation, dryness, or flakiness at all, even when first starting use.
A Better Diet
This is the most recent change I’ve made, but I think it’s definitely made the biggest difference. I thought I had a decently balanced diet, and I assumed I was good because I was cooking a lot of my own meals instead of eating frozen dinners loaded with preservatives or going out to eat. When I actually took a closer look though, I was eating a lot of pasta, a decent amount of fruit, but not many vegetables. I was also sick of slapping together a PB&J for my lunch everyday at work. I decided I’d start meal prepping my lunches every week, and after looking around at recipes and nutrition facts I settled on roasted vegetable bowls with quinoa and lentils. Now every Sunday I’ll spend a few hours roasting all the vegetables and building the bowls. It’s so convenient to be able to just throw a pre-made container into my lunchbag every day instead of having to make something in the morning. The veggie bowls taste great, are really filling, and I can’t believe how much better I feel now that I’ve been eating them for lunch every weekday for almost a month. My energy levels and moods seem much better, and I saw the quickest improvement with my skin after making this change. I’ve done some research, and apparently cruciferous vegetables (ie broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts) help to balance hormones, so for a lot of people it helps to get rid of hormonal acne. I think it has for me! I seriously have not gotten one breakout since I started eating these bowls for lunch. I have a quick recipe saved on my Instagram highlights, but let me know if I should post a recipe here!
A small disclaimer that this is just what has worked for me, but hopefully it works for you too!
What do you do to keep your skin clear?