Gosh… so this is my bare face. On the internet. That’s freaking me out a little bit, I won’t lie. Yes, I am very freckly, I know.
In the middle of last year, my skin flared up. I had a horrible rash across my forehead, I broke out on my chin and on either side of my face and I just felt low about it. Now – I’ve mentioned this in a post before too. Everyone’s perception of themselves is a 1000x worse than how other people view them. If something truly bothers you, it bothers you. Regardless of what other people might think, and my skin did start to bother me.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never suffered from bad skin, and it was only up until recently that it started to get worse – maybe the last year or two. Granted, I have been under a lot of stress and lack of sleep. I’d been using several different cleansers, toners and face masks, but nothing seemed to help; in fact, it made it even worse.
So I sacked that all in, and went back to good ol’ face wipes and water (gasp from every beauty lover, ever). Although this didn’t really make much difference either, the rash settled on my forehead, which made me feel a tiny bit better.
Back in December, in the midst of my skin troubles, I was contacted by ProActiv+, who invited me to a breakfast that you may have seen me share on on my Instagram, back in January. I was introduced to Dr Laura Savage, a dermatologist from Leeds, who took a look at my skin and told me the following:
-My contraception may be the cause to my skin break outs (I have the implant), and to change it if I possibly could (Note: I need to do this).
-I have quite an uneven skin tone.
-I had a hoard of blackheads across my nose and under my eyes that needed to be cleared.
I’ve was given the Proactiv+ 3 step skincare range, alongside the cleansing wipes and face mask, which I have been using religiously, every morning and every evening for a whole month. Before I go into how my skin has gotten better, then worse, then better again, let me run through the products:
-THE SKIN SMOOTHING EXFOLIATOR: Containing salicylic acid and exfoliating beads, this is the first step in the range to gently remove dead skin cells and dirt. (I’ve been using this with the deep cleansing brush with this product)
-THE RETEXURIZING TONER: Helps to unclog your pores for a smoother complexion.
-PORE TARGETING TREATMENT: Delivers salicylic acid into pores where blemishes begin (and acts as such a great primer too).
-COMPLEXION PERFECTING HYDRATOR: Does what it says on the tin – hydrates, deals with redness, tone, post-blemish marks, dryness and lack of brightness.
I kept a weekly diary to ensure I knew what my skin was going through.
Week 1: Here we go. My skin is getting used to the change, I had several white heads from before starting the 3 step course, and my skin was red, blotchy and dry. The exfoliating is really helping to dry the spots up. I also have bad scarring near my left cheekbone and I’m really hoping this helps. I have noticed that the last step is separating my foundation during the day, so I might stop using it in the morning and continue as normal in the evening. The Pore Targeting Treatment is really pulling out the blackheads though but they’re so stubborn, and staying put, still.
Week 2: My skin seems to be liking the extra hydration. I’m really enjoying the toner, it’s totally clearing up my skin and it’s so gentle. So far, so good. I’m just really pleased I’m not breaking out in a rash to be honest, every other skincare product has done that in the past! I’m finding that my skin tone looks a lot more even in the morning, and I’m slowly but surely feeling a bit more confident about not wearing as much make up as I used to.
Week 3: I’ve been a little red and blotchy again. I’ve also broken out in between my eyebrows and on my chin, and top lip. I forgot to mention before that I’m trying to eat a lot better and I’m trying to drink a good amount of water during the day, as suggested by Laura, so fingers crossed this makes the world of difference to my skin! I was expecting this to happen, and it probably will again, so let’s roll with the punches.
Week 4: My skin has cleared up, thank God. I have a bit of scarring on my top lip from more spots that appeared last week, but it’s feeling a lot more supple and brighter than before, so I’m pleased! I have such a bad habit of touching my face, so I’m trying to stop that in case it make things worse. I have noticed though, that the skin around my nose is feeling a lot less dry and flakey, which is something I was so conscious of before! The blackheads are also clearing up so well on my nose. The area around my nose, not so much, but I’m hoping if I’m persistent with the course it will start to shift.
I’ll be keeping you updated on how my skin does with the skincare over the next six months, so be sure to keep an eye out for more updates.
This post is a sponsored post in collaboration with ProActiv+ but all views are my own – if my skin doesn’t enjoy this course then you’ll sure know about it!
