Making the Switch to Safer Skincare

Making the Switch to Safer Skincare

My journey to better skin has been long and frustrating ever since I went off birth control 4 years ago when I started following the Paleo lifestyle. I knew the pill was doing more harm than good to my body so I decided to finish my last prescription pack and be done with it. My skin was still clear for about 6 months after that then all of a sudden, I woke up one day with hormonal breakouts all over my jawline and neck, some of which are cystic but most are those annoying little bumps that multiply by 20 overnight. It was disheartening. The more I covered them up with makeup, the worst they became. Not only were my breakouts out of control, once they’re gone, they leave dark spots on my skin that take months and months to fade.

I even broke out on my chest and back making me end up in a panic and straight to the Dermatologist’s office who put me on Doxycycline antibiotics. I was also prescribed with a Retin-A gel which I religiously slathered on every night but irritated my skin like crazy. The Doxycycline worked for a couple of months, I will be happy thinking everything is back to normal and so I’d stop taking it then Bam! My hormonal acne would come back again, even worse than before. I also realized that Doxycycline was causing me extreme anxiety which was pretty scary. I did some research online and found out that anxiety was a side effect of this drug. Holy moly. I vowed to stop using any type of medication for my acne and started looking for a better way to help heal my skin.

I realized that stress and the products I was using on my skin were the biggest culprits to my hormonal acne and random breakouts.

I’ve always wanted to switch to safer skin care products and have been hearing about Beautycounter but I wasn’t convinced yet. My good friend and then consultant Diane Sanfilippo knew about my acne struggles and recommended that I give the Charcoal Cleansing Bar a try because she swears by it. I’ve always trusted her advice and she’s never steered me wrong so I took the plunge and said “okay! I’ll give it a shot”. I wanted to see if the Charcoal Cleansing Bar was as good as she claims it to be.

For the first couple of months using the Charcoal Cleansing Bar, I had a love-hate relationship with it. There were days that I loved how clean it made my skin feel but there were also days where it made my combination, acne-prone skin super dry. After a while, I realized I was over washing my face and wasn’t moisturizing enough so I doubled up on the Cetaphil moisturizer I was still using back then but my skin still didn’t seem happy because it still continued to breakout.

I talked to Diane again and she recommended I try the No. 3 Balancing Facial Oil to help calm my skin and the Rejuvenating Radiance Serum to even it out. My skin LOVED these two and soaked them in. A couple of months later my skin *finally* started to show progress. My hormonal breakouts reduced by 50% and I knew the next step was to tackle the dark spots left by my breakouts. I ordered the No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil, No. 1 Brightening and #3 Charcoal Facial Masks. Fast forward to another couple of months, my skin is 80% better! I was hooked.

Do I still get breakouts? Yes. In fact, I still get them during that week before my time of the month but I’ve finally nailed down my tried and tested routine to address my breakouts when they happen. I’m also able to fade my dark spots in under a month by combining 2-3 Beautycounter products.

Making the switch to safer skincare has helped heal and transform my skin! It took me close to a year to figure out the right combination of products that work best for me and I’m sharing them with you today.

• Charcoal Cleansing Bar + warm water
• Rejuvenating Radiance Serum – 1 pea sized amount
• No.1 Brightening Facial Oil – 3 drops (*I’ve started using the Countermatch Adaptive Lotion instead of the oil lately and my skin has a more matte finish that I like!)

• Charcoal Cleansing Bar + Clarisonic
• Cleansing Balm + warm washcloth – 1 pea sized amount
• Rejuvenating Radiance Serum – 1 pea sized amount
• No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil – 3 drops
• Primal Life Organics Banished Blemish Serum (*when needed)

My AM and PM routine are pretty much the same. I use the Cleansing Balm to get rid of every last bit of makeup on my skin and the blemish serum when necessary for new breakouts.

• No.1 Brightening Facial Mask – On my forehead and cheeks
• No.3 Charcoal Facial Mask – On my jawline and neck
• Rejuvenating Toner Pads – I cut these in half to last longer

Are you ready to explore safer skin care products?

After my positive experience with using Beautycounter’s products for almost a year now, I’m happy to announce that I finally signed up to be a consultant! Why? Because I believe in what they stand for (read more here) and I want to help YOU address any skin concerns or issues you may have.

Beautycounter’s Mission: To get safer products into the hands of everyone.

Making the switch to safer skin care products will help reduce our exposure to toxic chemicals. Check out Beautycounter’s Never List – it has details about the 1,500 questionable and harmful chemicals that are used by a vast majority of skin and makeup products on the market today.

I eat clean whole foods to nourish my body and I needed to do the same for my skin.

If you’ve been curious about Beautycounter but aren’t sure which products would work for you, I’m offering a FREE Personalized Beautycounter Skin Consultation! I’d love to work with you to identify the products and/or regimen your skin needs to look and feel its best.

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