In the first part we went over the need to face the face and most importantly – why. The real face. No makeup, no leave-on products, especially not that all important SPF lotion.
Set aside everything. Everything.
Find a mild cleanser – find two. I like REVIVE from 302 Skincare. I also like their FACE & BODY BAR, that is rich in extra virgin avocado oil. Green stuff. They have other lotion type cleansers. Not much foam, but very effective and super mild.
In choosing a mild cleanser a good rule of thumb is to avoid any with “____ acid” or with a “_______betaine.” Such as “salicylic acid” or “cocoamidopropyl betaine.”
Now that will limit your choices quite a bit.
Assuming you are down with a mild cleanser and have found two that you can happily rotate through, limit them to once per day if at all possible. More often if you workout heavily or spend a good part of the day in a grotty environment.
In using REVIVE if that is your choice, you can also re-apply after cleansing with it and leave-on as a light moisturizer. REVIVE is also your best choice if you must cleanse/wash more than once per day. Interesting product and a good value.
Okay, we are down to two cleansers and nothing else. Let the games begin.
First thing, coach, as you begin the subtraction process to evaluate your team (skin) is to observe carefully what is happening. In many cases skin gets worse looking fast. This is usually caused by addiction to products. Your skin is weak from them and you just pulled the chair out from underneath.
A flare up, itching, a breakout, dryness, or all of the above is unsettling. Your first impulse will be to go right back to the Old Trouble and a losing season. So, unless it is date night, no makeup.
It is not the cleansers at fault, unless you got a hold of something all wrong. It is just that your skin needs time to become itself, get back to baseline metabolism.
Skin takes 30 days to be all new at the surface. The process to build a great skin with the TRAINING MODEL is not overnight. Anything that works overnight is a head fake.
This “back to baseline” is vitally important. The Training Model (see REFERENCE TOPICS at 302Skincare.com) is quite simple. You will rebuild by prompting your skin with powerful metabolites. Prompting means infrequent application. We will get to that in our next posting, Part III.
But, for now you are using only two cleansers. That’s it. The entire skincare regimen. Your skin over the next few days and weeks will begin to feel less dry. It may not be happy, it may experience some strange events (like big lesions that come and go like whales in the night on the open ocean). Strange events are usually the result of using benzoyl peroxide and then discontinuing it.
If you are a benzoyl peroxide user, you will need to discontinue gradually over the course of a month. But be prepared for strange creatures coming and going over the next six months to a year. That’s what benzoyl peroxide does. It tried to kill your skin.
Anyway, as your skin levels off to its own dynamics and not what has been influenced by your previous topicals regimen, you can begin to rebuild.
If your skin is not prone to flare ups, breakouts or other trouble, you should now choose a way to protect from the environment. If you do have flare ups and breakouts every time you blink, then we will address your issues in a discussion on flare-ups in the coming posts.
For those in the “normal/sensitive” category: In the past after you washed you reached for some sort of moisturizer. Sometimes layering them. This practices weakens your skin.
Drat.
To protect, you want the absolute minimum. I would choose a super refined, highest quality non-comedogenic oil (meaning it will not promote acne and buildup). Jojoba oil or medium chain triglycerides or safflower oil will do. Avoid polyunsaturates. Super refined. Not inexpensive but it will go far.
A few drops mixed with water, or REVIVE or a neutral mist will do the job. Do not worry if you have oily skin, just use less and spread further and use more REVIVE.
Now, some have asked if petrolatum can be used (often referring to Vaseline). The short answer is, yes. Again, a BB sized amount and spread evenly all over the face with REVIVE.
Petrolatum is useful during the winter months, northern latitudes, or dry deserts. But so are the oils mentioned and finding the sweet spot in amounts to use is not as touchy as it is with petrolatum that can be easily over applied.
Okay, you have a very light undetectable application of a super refined oil. No greasy spots or patches, texture is smooth and the same all over.
If you are in cold, dry environment and need more protection, then I would add REMEDY from 302 Skincare. This is a mineral based (zinc oxide) ointment. You take a smidgen of it and mix with the smidgen of super refined oil or petrolatum and spread evenly with REVIVE or water or neutral mist.
The after-feel should be undetectable, supple, smooth. If it is patchy, or greasy anywhere, you need more spreading agent: REVIVE or water or mist. You’ll get the knack.
By the way, if you are going to choose 302 Skincare products you want to read up about them in the PRODUCT PAGES at the website. Lots of good stuff there by the 302 group.
Could you use your SPF lotion instead of REMEDY? There are a few ‘mineral-only’ SPF’S out there. Very few. Most that promote themselves that way have also a snake in the grass lurking – a synthetic UV inhibitor. If you cannot pronounce it, that’s the snake. These are uniformly and without question bad actors to avoid.
Some SPF’S are advertised as moisturizers. Avoid these at all cost also. You want a workhorse, all mineral SPF.
302 Skincare has a product called MINERAL MOISTURIZER. You could use that but the Dork prefers REMEDY when doing the super-refined oil method to moisturize.
So read the SPF ingredients label carefully and pay no attention to the directions. You are not applying these SPF products as a drug to ward off the sun, but to moisturize. You would use ONLY A SMIDGEN and mix with the super refined oil and spread with REVIVE or water or a natural mist.
The Skin Dork recommends REMEDY over an SPF lotion because it has a proven record and costs less and flat out is amazing in super cold, super dry conditions (use more REMEDY) or in hot, dry enviros use less REMEDY.
All right, we are into this new build out for only a month. We have two great cleansers and a new way to moisturize. Your skin is happy but not vibrant, not glowing. It’s nice.
Nice. The Dork’s byword of the week. Often pronounced “nass.”
Next week, let’s get rolling, hit the go button, all that. We begin the rebuild. We reset the age clock on our next odyssey with you as your own skin coach. Your ability to observe well is key.
I cannot over-emphasize how important it is to limit the amount of material that goes onto your skin. The chemistry is vital, too.
The Skin Dork has avoided getting way into the nitty gritty ingredients because at this point, it is only a matter of avoiding bad guys. Acids and strong cleansers are the enemy. If your skin squeaks after you wash it is screaming.
You look nass. Live with it. For now.
Stay tuned.
