I'm a Product Junkie and I Need Rehab

I have a skin problem and it's freaking me out. 

For the past couple of months, I've had an off-and-on rash around my nose, mouth and eyes.  It's bumpy and itchy and ugly.  At school, Instructors and students looked at it mysteriously and claimed it was a variety of things: A rash, acne, allergies, etc.  Then, last Sunday, I saw the light.  I was in a Skin Biology & Chemical Peels class, and up there on the huge overhead screen was a photo of exactly what I have: Perioral Dermatitis. Good Times!  I have a pretty mild version, but it's very difficult to treat.  I got a mild peel that day, and poof, it was totally gone the next day.  I was so happy.  I thought I'd found my miracle cure!  PEELS!  I used the Peel After Care products and was back to normal. Unfortunately, the rash has returned two weeks later.

(This isn't a picture of me...) For more info on Perioral Dermatitis

Apparently, it's very common, especially among esty students (two other students have the condition right now) but it's a mysterious skin condition, because nobody knows exactly how it's caused.  Some of the theories are: it's a rare form of Rosacea, a reaction to fluoride in toothpaste, over use of products, especially moisturizers, over exfoliating, stress, hormones, using steroidal creams.  Ok, I use toothpaste, and there's fluoride, chlorine and who knows what else in our tap water.  I am stressed and hormonal all the time.  One of the After Care products has hydrocortisone in it so that probably didn't help.  But, I've been in denial about this one: I am a Product Junkie.  I love to scrub and slather and experiment on my poor face and it's been especially intense since I started esthetician school. My face is seriously pissed-off at me.

I've heard that the only permenant cure is antibiotics.  I have a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I am going on a serious skin product detox: stopping the exfoliating and super moisturizing and steaming and masks (I thought I was giving my skin a treat??). I'm just washing with Ultra Calming Cleanser and using Barrier Repair by Dermalogica, for super sensitive skin. Nothing else. Not even sunscreen. It's been two days and it's extremely difficult.  I have abruptly stopped a routine of six or more products every day and night.  I have the DTs.

Dammit. I love products.  I love to make them and test them and buy them and smell them and sometimes even taste them.  I'm jonesing and I need my crack!

I didn't always have reactive skin. I now have sensitized skin, from abuse. And there's no guarantee that it will ever be the same. Be kind and careful!

Even if you don't have sensitive skin, you might want to read this article from SmartSkinCare.com:  "The Cardinal Rule of Skin Care: Do No Harm". 

The Cardinal Rule of Skin Care: Do No Harm

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Hey Ladies: Stop STRESSING OUT! Hints for Glowing Skin

I'm already performing facials and let me tell you, looking at skin up close is teaching me a lot.  I've always been my own guinnea pig.  Now I see how different everyone is and it's fascinating.  But there's one thing that we all have in common: STRESS.  


Women's skin has changed over the decades.  We now have full time careers (often the breadwinners), while taking care of kids and partners, trying to be healthy and pretty, on top of dealing with traffic, debt, processed office air, crazy people on the street, crime, office politics, housekeeping and pollution.  I'm getting stressed just thinking of the numerous ways that our daily lives are assaulted by ugly situations.  And most women put themselves last on their list of priorities.  Who has time for pampering?  The skin shows it.


Stress takes it's toll in a variety of ways.  First, we stop doing the things that are good for us:  drinking lots of water, working out, eating healthy, avoiding alcohol, smoking or caffeine.  Some nights, we collapse in to bed and the last thing we want to do is wash our faces and floss our teeth.  I totally get it.


Well, this causes break-outs (stress and hormones cause congestion specifically around the chin area).  Stress also causes dehydration, blotches, allergies, puffy eyes and (shriek!) wrinkles.  So, the fight for equality has some pitfalls.  Whatever. We're smart enough to look amazing while taking over the world, right?


So I have a few tasks that should help ease you in to getting prettier skin while kicking the world's ass:
1) Drink a lot of water, especially if you like to party!
2) THIS IS ONE IS CRUCIAL: Wash your face with a gentle cleanser (no soap) for at least ONE FULL minute, every morning and night and follow with a good fragrance-free & dye-free moisturizer.  Your face will get clean, and the massaging action stimulates circulation to get rid of a lifeless complexion.  This also massages out those worry wrinkles - seriously.  DO IT.
3) If you have acne or break-outs, BE GENTLE.  People tend to attack their skin with harsh products to dry up the break-out quickly, over exfoliate and touch, pick and obsess over the pimples.  Nobody's perfect, let the pimple run it's course or you will make it worse and possibly create a scar.  Over-cleansing and scrubbing causes the skin to overreact and perpetuates the problem.  A break-out is your skin saying "I need TLC, not punishment."  Be patient, it  has it's own schedule.
4) Take a multi-vitamin every day.
5) Take deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed.
6) Put yourself first every once in while.  Scratch that.  Put yourself first EVERY DAY, even if it's for only ten minutes while you wash your face and treat yourself with a little kindness.  You deserve it.

I Start Esthetician School on Wednesday!

After about two years of pondering, researching, reconsidering, interviewing, visiting, and worrying, I finally sealed the deal yesterday.  With the generous trust and financial support of my boyfriend, I handed over a check for $8,238.75 to Zenzi's Cosmetology Training Center for Hair, Skin and Nails.


I finally decided on this school for a few reasons:  It's the least expensive of the "good" schools; the schedule is more flexible and fits with my still-full-time day job; it's in a nice neighborhood (Hayes Valley in SF) where I hope to meet a good range of clients; Zenzi seems to be a super-kind, motherly type who has been very encouraging (well, yeah, it's still a business);  I know a couple of people who are either currently attending, or who have graduated from Zenzi's, and they seem satisfied with their education.  Not jumping up and down full of praise, but I haven't encountered that type of alumni reaction for any of the schools.


My worries: The schedule might make me crazy, as I'll be on-the-clock for 55 hours a week;  I will surely be older than every other student;  I am sometimes fiercely independent and the mothering-type might drive me nuts at times;  I don't do Saturday mornings;  my hands shake when I try to put eyeliner on other people;  I am going to have to wax bikini lines;  I have back problems;  I'm often very tired after work;  after I get my license...then what?  Jobs don't seem to be very lucrative or abundant right now.  Am I strong enough to overcome these things?


But I am passionate about learning more about skin care.  I have twenty-five years of work experience.  I am motivated.  I miss helping people.  I'm really excited about making good products;  I'm forty years old and ready to change direction in my life.  


One or two years down the line, I see myself as an entrepreneur.  I want to own my own business (Bella Forte), whether it's a partnership or completely on my own.  A day spa, a skin care line, a boutique...


Right now, I really love the idea of a neighborhood boutique that offers workshops and treatments, with a storefront selling products.  Business ownership is a ridiculous amount of work.  But if I am loving it, will I finally be content with my life?  Will I regret not learning to edit video like a pro or pushing myself to upper management in the media field?  Will I wish that I chased the dollar signs with more vigor?

I have absolutely no idea.  But I'll never know if I don't try.  So here goes...