So long Proactiv!

After 3 weeks of use, I quit proactiv. Despite all the precautions I took I ended up ruining my pillow cases. Just seeing how it bleached them really made me wonder if it was a good idea to be putting something so harsh on my skin. Thankfully my skin didn't become addicted to it or else I would have probably broken out really bad after stopping.

Realistically any product that takes over your life this much probably isn't worth it. Thank God for their money back guarantee!

Week 1 on Proactiv Update

It's been a little over a week since I started Proactiv and the results, while not huge, are still impressive. I have seen a significant improvement in the texture of my skin. New breakouts tend to go away by the next day. Even dark spots left by previous blemishes have begun to fade and whiteheads are being purged from my skin. In all honesty, the biggest improvement has been my nose area which is usually full of blackheads. The impurities have been going away slowly but steadily and even though this part of my face tends to be very rough, as of late I find that it is very soft.

I am still struggling with my cheeks and chin area getting breakouts almost daily. In case anyone is wondering, I do have pictures but I want to post them all at the end of the month.

How to use Proactiv correctly and some other suggestions

I want to start off by stating that this is my first test run of Proactiv and am by no means an expert. I decided to do a post on how to use it properly because I saw quite a few videos and posts that we're not following the steps correctly.

Cleansing

1. Thoroughly wet your face with warm water.

2. Squeeze a nickel size amount of cleanser onto the palm of your hand. You can either rub the cleanser between your hands and then work it onto your face or dab it on by area. The cleanser does not foam up.

3. In circular motions, gently work the cleanser all over your face (avoid the area around your eyes). I do not recommend the use of a clarisonic with this product. The cleanser has sand like grains that can easily scratch your face if you apply too much force.

4. Rinse the cleanser off by using warm water. Lightly pat your face dry making sure to leave some water still on your skin to dry on its own.

Toner

1. Squeeze about 3-5 drops of toner onto a cotton ball or pad.

2. Apply a thin coat of the toner all over your face (avoid your eye area).

3. Let it dry completely.

Repairing Treatment

1. Use a pea size amount of treatment to apply a thin layer on your entire face (avoid your eye area).

2. Allow the treatment to soak into your skin for 30-40 minutes.

*The benzoyl peroxide in the repairing treatment will bleach any dyed fabrics. Use a white towel when drying your face and a white pillow case when sleeping to avoid any damage.

Moisturizing

Even if you are tempted to purchase Proactiv's Green Tea moisturizer do not be afraid to use your. Personally, I use Josie Maran's light argan oil as my moisturizer and it has not clashed with the treatment at all.

Some suggestions...

1. If you are just testing out the system for 30 days, do not purchase it via the Proactiv website or over the phone. If you do, you will be automatically enrolled for a monthly renewal and canceling is a hassle. To avoid any issues, purchase a starter kit from a kiosk or Proactiv vending machine.

2. Despite what the instructions say, do not use Proactiv day and night. All this will do is make your skin resistant to the product faster. Instead, use it only once a day and use a different cleanser during the time of the day you aren't using Proactiv. In my case I use a regular cleanser in the morning and the Proactiv system at night.

Proactiv 30 day Challenge

I know it's been forever since I last posted but I haven't gone away. Life has been pretty busy. I hope this challenge makes it easy for me to come to this blog.

I have never had perfect skin per say, but this year has been really rough. I never had problems with acne but lately I look like a teenager in the middle of puberty. I have tried everything and as a last resort I am using Proactiv. It's only been 2 days so I can't say much but I will try to post every week until the 30 days are over.

For those of you interested in trying Proactiv, do not go through their website. Try to find a local kiosk or vending machine. From what I have been reading, Proactiv has a notoriously bad system that will renew purchases even if you do not want to continue using their system. Save yourself the headache. If there are no local places to make your purchase, try Amazon.

I will be posting a written tutorial on how to properly use Proactiv. This will include some suggestions on what to use to keep your skin moisturized while on this regimen. Stay tuned!

Long time no post!!!

I can't believe how long it has been. So many things have happened in my personal life that I haven't had any time to post anything new. Fortunately that is about to change. I have so many products I want to talk about, especially one brand I can't really find anywhere online. Be back soon...

1 Week Challenge Results

I can't believe how fast a week went by. Going all natural was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, but I got through with it without missing a single night. Since it was only 7 days I can't say I see a huge difference in my skin. Actually that isn't entirely true. Some of my dark spots cleared up but the texture of my skin isn't as soft as it usually is - not that it's the softest skin ever lol. Also, the oatmeal didn't do much to properly exfoliate my skin, so now the skin on my nose feels like it wants to peel but it doesn't. I have to admit that any routine has to be done for longer than a week to take proper effect but I'm not interested in switching to olive oil just yet. I will continue to use lemon juice until the lemons I bought run out. Unfortunately I didn't think to take before and after pictures...sorry! But I will remember to do that next time I decide to go all natural again.

1 Week All Natural Skin Care Challenge

The title pretty much says it all. I've personally challenged myself to only use natural products in my night skin care regimen for 1 week. I would do this during the day as well but I'm not sure what a natural substitute there is for sunscreen. I'm using lemon juice to whiten and even out my skin tone. For moisturizing I'm using extra virgin olive oil. I know, I know, no big surprise. I needed to see for myself if it really does everything it claims to do plus I'm hoping it reduces some of the redness around my nose. Truth is I started last night and this morning I was already getting compliments on how nice my skin looked.

So this is what I'm doing:

After I wash my face I take a cotton pad and squeeze about 4-5 drops of lemon juice on it and rub it all over my face - avoiding the eye area of course. It stings ever so slightly but nothing unbearable. I let it sit for 10 minutes exactly. Once the 10 minutes have passed I take about a penny or dime sized drop of olive oil rub it between my hands to heat it up and then massage it all over my face for about 2-3 minutes. And that's it. For exfoliating I plan to start using oatmeal again and for a mask I might try honey - we'll see though.

Remember that this is only for the night time. If you expose your face to the sun with lemon juice on it you risk staining your face in a really bad way. Besides, you don't want to go out smelling like a salad dressing in the making.

As for my eyes I'm still using my RoC Retinol Correxion eye cream and Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate. This has helped reduce the dark circles I had in a significant way.

A few things you should keep in mind if you decide you want to try this challenge out as well.

1. Don't buy those little lemon shaped containers that come with pre-squeezed lemon juice. Even though they say 100% lemon juice on the front on the back it will say that it has lemon oil and a few other things in it as well (preservatives ruin the juice). You want real lemon juice or even lime juice. Since we are looking for the most vitamin c possible stick with lemons - they have double the amount of vitamin c compared to limes.

2. Good extra virgin olive oil can be expensive at your local supermarket. Consider buying a bulk size container at Costco or other similar store if you can. If you can't, Marshalls sells imported olive oils at really good prices and the bottles are usually pretty big.

3. Try to put the olive oil on your skin a few hours before going to bed. This way you give it time to absorb properly and you don't risk getting grease stains all over your pillow. If you feel like your face is too shiny right before getting into bed take a piece of tissue and remove the excess.

4. Make sure to cleanse your face thoroughly in the morning before going out. As I mentioned above, lemon juice will react badly when exposed to the sun and could cause more spots on your face. Also, you want to make sure you don't have an oily looking complexion.