“My Skin is Freaking Out!” (Hey, skin happens. Relax—and get the facts).
Posted by Posted by Dana Ramos, author of the best-selling book: The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin . See below for purchasing info. on Jan 29, 2016
Just because your skin is freaking out doesn’t mean you have to… (but one usually causes the other. Right? )
I had a major skin freak-out recently, involving an acne breakout—the worst I’d had in many years. I’m not talking about a couple of little bumps like what happens sometimes, but an I’m-gonna-remind-you-how-you-looked-at-age-13 kind of thing. !#%&^@?!
There are so many ways your skin can freak out. Let’s look at three of the most common freaks—and some ways to get your skin to chill out again.
The Breakout Freak:
This one is foremost on my mind because of my own recent episode with this particular freak.
What causes it? It can be anything—like most things in life, skin happens. In my case, I’m guessing it was a combination of having some irritated skin, plus some hormone wackiness, plus extra stress in my life because someone very close to me is facing major surgery: These factors probably lowered my immune system, made me more susceptible to bacteria setting in—blah blah blah who gives a hoot just make it STOP!
The Fix:
To calm down the irritation, I temporarily stopped using all exfoliating products and/or anything with acids (such as glycolic acid) and used only the Gentle Cleansing Lotion to cleanse, and Emu Oil for extra moisturizing. Emu Oil also has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, which makes it an excellent moisturizing choice for irritated and/or acne-prone skin.
Benzoyl Peroxide is one of the top doctor recommendations for acne, but because it can be drying, I put Curoxyl Benzoyl Peroxide directly on my zits only, not all over my face.
Once the irritation was under control, I added in Glycolic Hyaluronic Serum in the 15% strength: The glycolic acid helped control the acne and the hyaluronic added in moisture. In my case, I used the Glycolic Hyaluronic Serum first, then slathered on the Emu Oil—ahhhh, my skin was so grateful…
If you have acne-prone skin you might really like the Anytime Anywhere Acne Wipes, a handy jar of 50 pads, pre-moistened with three terrific acne-fighting acids and other ingredients targeted to unclog pores, exfoliate, keep the zits under control. Toss them in your gym bag to control sweaty bacteria after your workout—and toss a jar in your teen’s bag, too.
By the way, if you have a whitehead zit and you feel you just must go at it, at least do it the right way (warning—shameless plug ahead): To find my article, “If You Must Pop a Zit,” click here.
You can also read more about zit care—and much more—in The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin (buying info below).
The Super-Dry and/or Irritated Freak:
This is the time of year your skin (and lips) are more likely to get really irritated from cold, windy, dry weather. The weird thing is that sometimes it can come on really quickly—one day your skin seems normal and the next day you might wake up with red, sandpapery skin that stings when you try to wash it. So just in case, you might want to keep some restorative, healing products on hand to relieve irritation symptoms as soon as they appear.
The best thing for dry/irritated skin is to prevent it from getting that way in the first place. First of all, don’t forget your sunscreen—the sun can irritate your skin even worse in the winter because you’re already battling other environmental elements. Have you seen Cotz Face SPF 40 Sensitive and the tinted version?
During winter, you should also pull back a little from using strong peel products; perhaps only treat yourself to a gentle-exfoliation peel every few weeks, like the Mandelic Peel in the 22%, which is even gentle enough for people with mild rosacea, or The 1-4-All Peel—using only 1 layer, this peel is mild enough for all skin types. (Each addition layer you apply will increase the strength).
The Fix: You want very gentle exfoliation while you get the irritation under control—put aside anything likely to irritate, and if you use Retinol or a tretinoin cream, set those aside for a while, too. Consider using a moisturizing mask such as Apple Stem Cell Caviar Extract Hydration Mask, and before bed, maybe try my favorite moisturizing treat as I describe above, applying Emu Oil on top of the Glycolic Hyaluronic Serum.
The Under-Eye Bags and/or Dark Circles Freak:
Annoying bags and circles can be genetic (thanks, Mom) or self-created (thanks, Wild Party and Wild Turkey).
The Fix: Start with a lukewarm water wash, massaging your skin to get the blood flowing. Finish with a very cold water rinse and if you have the time, lay back with a cold compress over the eyes for fifteen minutes to shrink swollen blood vessels. Eye drops like Visine (found in the drugstore) or moisturizing drops like preservative-free Bausch and Lomb’s Soothe can help, too.
Then, try some amazing new products that can provide drastic improvements, such as Platinum's Eye Duo. It is a discounted version of our amazing Eyelift Xpress Caffeine Eye Roller followed by a coating of Platinum Eyes Restoration Therapy. Both work amazingly on dark circles and puffy eye bags with state of the art ingredients.
Where can I buy Dana's Book?
The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin, available as a Kindle download or Buy paperback to buy your paperback copy from Platinum Skin Care. You can also read the first chapter--FREE--by click here to read 1st chapter.
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