#Beauty #Skincare | Fixing my Breakouts 🙅🏻 Updated Skincare

I’m a skincare addict! 🙋🏻 My love affair with Korean skincare started a long time ago, I’ve been very diligent since then. I thought that was the worst skin breakouts episode for me, and then this happened. For almost a month now, I’m nursing facial breakouts (acne, eczema, rashes, what have you). Stress aggravated or allergies? Stress, most probably. Real life drama.

If you are following me on IG @chicsassymom, it has been a while since I posted a shameless selfie. Hah. Please indulge me. I thought with me doing the 7, 8, 9-step Korean Skincare, I’m covered for life without having derma visits and treatments. Oh well, I won’t probably have Sim Cheong’s skin (Jun Ji Hyun’s mermaid character), but at least I’ll have a passable one (enough for regular selfie since I do aspire to be a beauty blogger 😂).

Nursing skin breakouts. #UpdatedSkincare

I do have a sensitive skin, so I’m pretty careful on my skincare and makeup adventure. I tend to stick to what works. For me, it’s Innisfree, SkinFood (type SkinFood on my search box) and plus plus (Avene, Cure, Shu Uemura, SKII). As much as I can, I try to stay out of the premium, pricey lines like SKII and La Mer, maybe in the future. I know myself, I can get pretty addicted devoted. Haha. So far, for now, I’m sticking to the mainstream brands.

First photo (L), taken July 22, 2017. Last photo (R) taken August 8. Please indulge me, I’m vain. I’m on diet forever, so I only have my face, my precious. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Hah. When I had those rashes, I thought they were allergies. I ate something bad. I had the same episode last time, but I had rashes, which were super itchy, all over my body, not my face, goodness. As prescribed, I cocktail on anti-histamine (Co-Aleva, Celestamine, Xyzal, two of those are not available in the US ). It lasted a while, and I had to change my diet (so sad, I was in Japan and I couldn’t eat raw fish to my heart’s delight).  For this episode, I don’t have Co-Aleva with me. What helped me out at night was Benadryl, because I need to drug myself to sleep, otherwise I tend to scratch (though I learned to use the tip of the facial tissue for scratching). They started as red and inflamed rashes. Plus super itchy too, and eventually, flaky. Bad. More than the unsightliness, it’s the itch that was really bothersome.

I have to skimp on my daily skincare routine. I have to test everything out again on what will ease it out or make it worse. I kept only 3 steps, facial wash (but eventually changed it), wash-off fresh milk, and leave on Nature Republic Aloe Vera.

Nature Republic Aloe Vera. I brought it unopened from my Althea Ph Shopping. I haven’t really plan on using it for my face, I’m saving it for sunburns, burns, but thank goodness for it.  It’s halfway done. Fret not, there’s Althea US.

It works to calm the redness and swelling, and to relieve some of the itch. I generously slather it. I noticed that while it does the calming, I needed to manage the flaking and the dry skin.

Do I have Adult onset Eczema? I thought so. Ottoke?! 😱 So I tried the Aveeno Eczema Therapy Itch Relief Balm. I couldn’t find the cream, so on that hasty trip to Target, I got the Balm and the Sunscreen. The Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Lotion is a mainstay product for my son through the years.

Perhaps placebo effect, I thought the Eczema Therapy Balm is working. True, it doesn’t feel greasy, but there’s always that lingering moisturizer at work that doesn’t really get absorb unlike a cream or a lotion. So when I layer it with the sunscreen, it feels and looks greasy.  So after two weeks on it, I went back to Calming Comfort Lotion, the same effect minus the greasiness.

Aveeno seemed to work more often than not. Later on, as I read along the ingredients, both the Eczema Balm and Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Lotion are paraben-free etc. The Aveeno Skin Relief Overnight Cream is not. So  now, it’s just one more body lotion for me to empty. I do like the scent of the Aveeno Skin Relief Gentle Scent Lotion.

For the past three weeks, I tried adding more in my skincare regimen (essence, oil, lotion), then there will be recurrence, so I go back to wash, Aloe-Vera and cream/balm. Lately, I tried changing my facial wash from the Innisfree Bija Trouble Facial Foam to the Innisfree Sea Salt Whipping Cleanser.

The gentle exfoliating sea salt and the whip cream-like cleanser offer a more luxurious cleansing experience. I tried it out for days, I’m keeping it. From just 3-steps, I’m now doing 4. I added back the Innisfree Bija Trouble Skin. So far, so good.

For a week now, I’m off anti-histamine. But I do still have spotty itchy bumps and rashes. So I thought I’ll reach out to the good ol Lucas Papaw. Before, I tried healing a simple breakout with it, sometimes it works, sometimes not. I’m desperate, so I tried. True enough, it helps to relieve swelling, redness and the itching. Goodness gracious.

Lucas Papaw is a topical ointment that helps to relieve and cleanse boils, burns, chafing, cuts, cracked skin, gravel rash, splinters, open wounds, insect bites, and nappy rash.

Now testing The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser, soon The Body Shop Drops of Youth. Just today, I tried using the The Body Shop Vitamin C Moisturiser, I hope no more recurrence.

Taken August 13, 2017. Finally, selfie. 🤳🏼 #FOTD No makeup (foundation/bb cream/pact) only skincare creams + The Body Shop Lip Tint #ChubbyCheeksDontCare

Of the recommended ways to ease out the effects of stress on skin, I find exercising and getting enough sleep the hardest. I have no choice, it seems, in order to bid adieu to bad skin days, I run and exercise (finally…for three days now, props to me, wish me luck), and I’m sleeping earlier (meantime, no more Korean Drama binge watching). I can’t wait to go back to 7-8-9-step skincare routine, I miss face masks. Korean skincare gods, please, please be nice, hear me out.  Cheers! ;-D

To be updated…