Skincare has been important to me since the age of 12. Like most teenagers I visited a dermatologist to help control my acne, even though I was lucky enough not to have any serious issues with it. Ever since then I have been dedicated to washing my face every single night. It wasn’t until I entered my early twenties that I started to really pay attention to the skincare products I was using, and developed a maintenance, repair and prevention regime. No more Lever 2000 soap for this girl! Once I experienced the results of good skincare I was hooked.
I even became a skincare consultant and associate trainer with a company called BeautiControl because I loved their products so much. Sadly, this company closed last year and since then I felt sort of lost when it came to the direction I wanted to go for skincare. In my search for new skincare I experimented with a few popular drugstore products, was never very impressed and quickly learned you get what you pay for.
Why I’m Switching to Clean Beauty
Long story short, late this summer I had a terrible sinus infection that required some serious medication. I visited three different doctors, who put me on and took me off different medications for about a month to cure the infection. But I was not getting any better. My upper lip even became extremely swollen for a week, and the doctors were baffled about what was going on in my body. In case you are wondering a severely swollen upper lip is not a symptom of a sinus infection. {I’d show you a picture of my horrific condition, but I don’t like the idea of seeing myself on Google images under swollen lip – haha!} It’s a really scary feeling when you don’t know why you are having such an extreme reaction. I was a mess. Finally, my general practitioner sent me to an allergist who was able to pinpoint exactly what I had and put me on a very light medication to clear it up. And thankfully, it worked.
As it turns out what was going on in my body could have been caused by the strong medications I was taking. I wasn’t allergic to them, but I clearly had a reaction to them. On top of all of this I realized I was even experiencing a reaction {a small rash} to one of the moisturizers I was using. Fabulous. I don’t necessarily have sensitive skin, so it made me wonder about what could possibly be in some of these products that would cause such a reaction.
After that ordeal I felt like my body had had enough, and it was time to find something better. Enter clean beauty! {For the record I’m also done taking any type of strong medications too – there are much better alternatives for all of us!}
What I’m Using Now
A few weeks ago, I was introduced to a company called Beautycounter and was very intrigued. Their primary focus is on creating better, healthier beauty products for us in a market that is saturated with chemicals and harmful ingredients. They even have a list made up of more than 1500 chemicals that they’ll never use in their products. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t even aware there were so many harmful chemicals used to make beauty products! Scary stuff. Beautycounter does not claim to be 100% clean, but they do work hard to ensure their products are a better, safer option. You can read more about their mission and see The Never List here.
Now onto the exciting stuff – the new skincare products I’m using!
Beautycounter Countermatch Adaptive Moisturize Lotion: Once I finally realized the drugstore moisturizer I was using was most likely causing my little rash I pitched it and started using this one. I’ve used this moisturizer solely for a full two weeks now and love it. And great news – my rash is pretty much gone! It’s light, but gets the job done. As crazy as it sounds, I know the difference between a good and bad moisturizer. This is a good one!
No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil: I used to go to tanning beds, and was even a lifeguard for 5 years {best job ever, btw!}. Unfortunately, my skin has started to pay the price for this stupid tanning obsession of mine – now I have pigmentation spots. I don’t mean cute freckles either. This oil has Vitamin C in it which helps lighten these spots and create a brighter complexion. It’s a bestseller for a reason! I’ve only used it for about a week and can already tell a difference in my spots and skin clarity. I put the oil on my face in the morning and then apply the Countermatch moisturizer.
No. 3 Balancing Facial Oil: Since I have loved the No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil so much, I started using this oil in the evenings. Wow! It balances your skin tone and also helps with overall clarity. I initially thought putting an oil on my face would be weird, sticky and messy so I was surprised I liked them so much!
Charcoal Cleansing Bar: I’ve always loved using charcoal masks, so when my friend Amanda recommended the charcoal soap, I knew it was a must-have. I can’t believe I never purchased a charcoal soap before! It detoxifies your skin and leaves it feeling smooth and looking bright. Can’t wait to try their Charcoal Mask!
When starting a new skincare regime, I think it’s important to ease into it. Think about the areas you’d like to focus on and select a few products to start with. If you are new to a skincare regime I’d think in terms of maintenance and start with a cleanser and moisturizer. If you have questions or aren’t sure where to get started let me know – I’d love to help!
Why I’m Sharing Clean Beauty With You Now
Beauty is never an area I thought I’d cover on this blog, but the more I thought about it I wondered why not! As you now know my skincare regime has been very important to me for the last two decades. Why am I not sharing something that I’m so passionate about? We should all be focused on taking better care of ourselves, and we can easily do that by paying more attention to the beauty products we use.
Wow! This was a long, but really fun post for me to write. I can’t wait to share my better beauty journey with you! Beautycounter also has makeup that I’ll touch on eventually. 😉
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