Hi guys!
Hope your week had been good! Mine was a struggle but
I believe God has great plans for me in the coming months!
Anyway, I am back with my 5th Challenge by
Teenage Magazine and this challenge touched on the topic of “Skincare Myths!” I am so excited to
share my skincare journey because I learnt it the hard way and whatever that I
am going to share with you guys are journeys I’ve been through and held close
to my heart. This is the first ever time I am publishing this on a public platform
(I had my worst insecurities due to bad skin since young) and I hope people who
are in the same situation as me, to not be despair of your skin condition
because with proper care & discipline, your skin WILL improve. The skincare
myths that I chose are based on true experiences and I hope from here, you will
pick up some helpful tips and begin your skincare journey!
I started late with proper skincare regime and I am a
living example of a severe dry skin victim. In fact, I knew my skin was rather
dry with couple of white heads, (those you cannot see physically but when you
touch it, IT IS THERE. LIKE THERE) especially the nose, forehead and the chin
area. My cheeks were relatively in a better skin condition then the rest of my
face. So what I did for the past few years when I apply my make-up, is to apply
on my all parts of my face but the forehead. (yes, I had my bangs to cover
them). That is because my forehead tends to flake after just applying like a
layer of cushion and facial powder! (this was how bad my dryness was). For my
nose and chin, I usually only apply a layer of cushion and no facial powder
over it because it will turn “flakey”. You know flakes? Snow? But no, no one
wants snow from their faces.
I had this severe dry skin for many years but I did
not act to improve them because I thought well, we can cover with the make-up products. And throughout the years, there
has always been some flakes on my skin even just a layer of cushion. I
practically just gave up on how to improve my skin or well, being delusional
that my skin is good with enough makeup coverage. Even when I am on shoot, the
makeup artist(s) would always go “ahyo,
so young only, skin quite dry huh. And they had to apply a layer of serum
before setting my makeup) Now, one must go through an extreme painful experience
before he/she takes things seriously. My laziness for skincare regime was ‘banned’
when I experienced the worst skin condition while I was on trip to Japan/Korea.
Before
I get to what happened to my skin in my recent trip, let me just rewind a
little back to Primary School days – That’s right, Puberty days. (Gone were the days when I did not want to
attend school because I was so sick of my face condition) As I’ve briefly
shared a little above, I did not have the luxury of “milky white skin” but rather, skin full of blemishes (worst and
scary). It looks like a combination of blemishes
+ eczema. It was not like a few
pimples here and there but it was a bunch - Like
congested traffic around that particular area. It begun first on my nose,
and then it went to my forehead and lastly, my cheeks. My insecurities level
was the worst during that period and days were hard for me to live by. Every
day, I attended school with eyes looking at me and judging me with eerie expressions.
I looked down on the floor while walking and trying to avoid all the eye
contacts with people around me. During the quarterly “Meet the parents session,” it was supposed to be a talk from
teachers to my parents on how well I’ve performed on my term’s work but the
topic ended up on how they can help me to improve my skin condition. That was
HOW BAD it was and my teachers ended up trying their best in hope to help me
improve my skin situation. With such fearful experience, I had tried all ways
possible, hearing all different opinions, going to different dermatologist in
hope that miracle would happened. But nope, it was time and some hormones changes
that fortunately improved my skin and slowly I had my confidence back.
As
such, I’ve always been wary about the products I used and make sure that shit
does not happened. Thus, once I find a product that maintains the skin
condition as of now, I would stick to this forever and will never try any other
products unless I do a thorough research. I shall not be convinced of any
product unless I tried them and had me realized that these products work as
what they had brand itself as. So, you can trust my reviews ;)
Here are the Skincare Myths which I had collated through my experiences (courtesy of some inputs from my friend) and hopefully you can pick up some helpful tips and caution along the way!
Now, watch my video here first and see if you agree with me on these Myths! Thereafter, come back here on my blog to read on why are those myths.
Myth #1: Expensive
products are the best!
I’ve Tried and Tested. NO. I’ve shared with you guys
on a little history of my skin, and the desperateness at that time when my face
was literally 见不得人 (cannot show people), I spent all my savings on different and most
“atas” brands, it did not work for my skin and it further TEARED my skin. I
even cried after seeing it getting from bad to worst. I shall not pinpoint the
brands but I’ve been through it and I just hope to translate that one needs to
be careful when it comes to buying your skincare products. The expensive
products may work for certain people but sometimes, it may be too strong for
your skin to take on. Thus, it resulted in extreme dry skin condition and will
eventually tear your skin.
Myth
#2: You’re blessed with beautiful and smooth skin, so there isn’t a need for
skincare!
Well, congrats! You inherited good genes from your
parents! However, if this is the case, wouldn’t you be more uptight about
maintaining the good genes passed down to you? Ignoring skincare regime just
because you have perfect skin is a total myth! We are exposed and affected by
environmental factors which (sometimes, germs, bacteria and bad air) comes
along and stick to your skin. You can’t
see them but they can see you and stick with you! And if you do not act
upon it, and you allow your skin to continue getting exposed to these
environmental factors, the pores on your face will be clogged and this is when
problems are coming. Blemishes do not give chance, they don’t appear one by
one, they can appear as a bunch.
Additionally, in Singapore, we are always exposed to
the sun which gives no mercy, we perspire and produce more sweat and oil glands
more often, as such, without skincare products to help to clean these off, one
can get blemishes easily when pores are clogged.
Myth
#3: Face cleanser is more than enough!
Really? You think so? If that is so easy, I guess
skincare stores can start closing and stop trying to research on the follow up
products to further keep our skin in its best condition. I was a victim of this
myth. Because of a bad skin history, I am extremely wary of what I put or use
on my face. I try to minimize the products on my face for fear that it would
tear my skin again. So I only had one cleanser and one sleeping mask for my
skincare regime.
Now, even though I diligently applied sleeping mask
every single day, I did not feel that my skin was dewy or less dry. It was just
maintaining its relatively dry status condition. For fear that if more products
are used, my skin will not be able to take it, so I avoided using other
follow-up products like Toner and moisturizers.
Here comes my severe skin condition that happened just
weeks ago when I was on a trip to Japan/Korea. Due to the weather conditions
(it was cold), my skin condition went even drier and worse than before. Flakes
begin to show on my nose, my chins and my cheeks. CHEEKS? It has always been
the less problem area on my face??? With a pad of my usual face cushion, my
skin showed signs of dryness and skin started peeling. My insecurities level
went back to the top and I had to find toilets everywhere I go just to get some
water from the tap to ‘replenish’ the dry skins. It was so bad that I even used
my hand moisturizer to apply on my face. Desperate times calls for desperate
measures. I asked my friend why is it so that I’ve diligently applied sleeping
mask yet it isn’t showing through my skin? That was when she enlightened me on
the importance of a TONER.
A toner is an important follow up after the cleanser
to help to further cleanse the impurities that it did not got washed off during
the cleansing process. I used a cotton wool and had some toner on it and gave a
thorough wipe, (that was my first ever time I touched on the TONER from Dr Belmeur)
HOLY. The cotton wool had some slight black/dark brown ink! Wa, I wouldn’t have
expected this. From then on, I had my eyes fixed on toner and would apply toner
every morning and night without fail.
Thank God I brought Dr Belmeur series up with me
because it salvages my skin condition much! Dr Belmeur series has 2 toners
which one is for people who has dry skin (like me) and the other is for one who
has pretty much oily skin condition.
Myth
#4: Toner is a NONO for dry skin condition
That was what I’ve believed in for the past years. I
did not trust Toners because it will further dry up my skin. Well, the past
products or even products that I was convinced to buy had toners and it all
ended up badly for my skin. It dried my skin further and made it looked like I
had wrinkles on my nose and cheeks because it was so dry.
For dry skin condition (like me), my friend had me
realized that we should look for toners that are NON-ALCOHOLIC based. And
not ignoring the existence of toners. As I’ve mentioned above, toner is an
essential follow up to remove remaining impurities. Additionally, the reason
why the sleeping mask hasn’t been working for me to get my dewy and moisture
skin was because I had much impurities clogged up and my skin could not absorb
whatever substance that was given. Sigh, I’ve probably wasted 2 bottles of sleeping
mask (cries). It is ok, I’ve learnt my lesson and will diligently apply toners
to completely get rid of impurities before anything else goes on!
Myth
#5: It is perfectly ok to use the same products for different skin types!
There is a reason behind why skincare products often
had “for moisturizing” or “for oily skins” right? It definitely serves
different purpose! Imagine you already have severe dry skin and you go for oil
controlling products, (are there even more oil on the face for it to control?
Lol) you will probably wake up with wrinkled face the next day. :p
Do remember to find out which skin type combinations
are you! Thereafter, find the products that are most suited to you and not
randomly sharing or choosing skincare products with others. J
My
skincare regime:
I was once a person who do not practice proper
skincare regime and only got enlightened after how severe my dry skin condition
can get. My skin was put to the test by weather conditions and to determine if
a product is good, this is the best time for me to see if it improves my skin
under such environment. Desperate times calls for desperate measures, right?
Everything also need to try already la. I had no confidence if Dr Belmeur
series can salvage my pathetic flaky and dry skin but I decided to apply as
follows:
(I am purely using
the moisturizing series in PINK)
1st step: Cleanse thoroughly with Dr
Belmeur Daily Repair cleansing form.
2nd step: Drip a few droplets of Dr Belmeur
Daily Repair Toner and wipe excess impurities
3rd Step: Apply a sheet of mask (an
additional step for dry skin personnel, you can do this step about 3-4 times a
week)
4th Step: Apply Dr Belmeur Daily Repair
Moisturizer (Morning skincare routine ends here and you can proceed to apply
your make up)
5th Step: Apply Sleeping mask (for
additional moisture effect)
This is my current skincare regime and I am so so
happy with Dr Belmeur series because I’ve never expected that the daily repair
series is so gentle on my skin! The cleansing form first wow-ed me because
while it cleanses my face, I felt no irritation and completely no dryness! I am
amazed. This is the time where I am so thankful that I took a step and gave Dr
Belmeur series a try! The results delivered are beyond expectations. My skin
condition improved a lot and I felt smoother skin then I have never expected to
achieve.
Thank You Teenage and Dr Belmeur (By THEFACECSHOP) for
sending me these gems because I will be sticking on these skincare products
from now! I’ve never been so satisfied with the results of skincare products
and Dr Belmeur series gave me the confidence to glow my skin from within!
Lastly, this additional thing is a MUST to have if you
generally have dry skin.
Dr Belmeur Daily Repair Ato Salt cream! THIS IS A MUST
HAVE. When I met crisis with my skin condition in Japan/Korea, I am so glad to
have the Dr Belmeur Sea Salt cream which instantly soothes my skin. This cream
can be applied not only on the face (where severe dryness can be seen), it can
be applied to hands/legs or any parts of the body which is/are experiencing
dryness! This miracle provides deep moisturizing and itch relief for dry skin!
It needs an award for such wonderful product. (who needs to go to the doctors
when you have this for itch relief? Dr Belmeur series are all dermatologically
tested btw!)
Thank You Dr Belmeur (BY
THEFACESHOP) x Teenage for the love! I’ve found my new love for skincare brand
and loving how my skin is glowing from within!
Do remember to watch my Video on Skincare Myths right here!
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