The Skinny

The last eight months have not been good for my skin. I feel like stress has aged us all, but on top of that there’s maskne from wearing face coverings and certain dullness from falling behind on my maintainence  (if you aren’t leaving the house, why bother with a skin care regimen?)

I’ve also run out of my usual cleansers and serums. 

Now my Grandmothers Winnifred and Winifred were both pretty wrinkle-free, but both had some aging issues. Grandma Bissett had hyperpigmentation and Grandmother Riche had rosacea. They both had a similar take on skin care which was don’t wash your face with soap, don’t wash it too much, and moisturizer at night. I believe they were both adherents to slathering on a mask of cold cream before bed. And wearing bed caps to preserve their hair dos between weekly sets.

Anyway, I’ve been following this advice for five decades. It has largely worked. But in 2020, it’s not enough. Also I suspect good genes probably have a lot to do with my good skin.

I have picked up some pore strips and masks over the summer, but none have worked. In fact, they usually caused more zits. My biggest issue is with blackheads, big pores and dry patches. I was at the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions and saw this tube of St. Ive’s Blackhead Clearing Green Tea  Scrub and thought I’d give it a try. And guess what? So far so good.

I’m not saying that this will be a permanent addition to my skincare routine, but the exfoliating aspect of the scrub is leaving my complexion looking brighter. And the Green Tea part is designed to calm my skin so that it doesn’t fight back with raw, red patches or even more zits.

It’s early days still. As you can see in the photo above, there are still pore issues. The biggest lesson I think is that when it comes to skin care, sometimes you gotta change up your routine to see results.