Week One – The First Step Is Admitting There’s A Problem
I finally decided that it is time for me to take care of my skin. I’m 27 years old and my skin looks at least 30. #notwinning
Irish Skin, No Sleep, And Way Too Much Sun
My prematurely aged skin was probably due to a few factors. To start with, I get an F in the genetics department with my paper-thin Irish skin. I also break the hydrate and sleep rule far too often! The main reason for the general “haggard” look of my skin, however, is sun damage.
The Fierce Colorado Sun
I grew up in Colorado at an elevation of 9,000 feet, that’s 9,000 feet closer to the sun than New York City. I skied 60 days a year and got sunburnt almost every day I went skiing, leaving me with a wicked “goggle tan” every ski season. I also spent too much time studying abroad (drinking abroad) on the beach and never seemed to learn from my sunburn mistakes.
I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s rocking a classic goggle tan.
Leather Face
After 27 years of careless skin care and thousands of sunburns I’m well on my way to getting that wrinkled leather-face that you see on old women in Florida – not what I was going for!
New York Woman Take Skincare Seriously
Now that I live in New York City where women actually pay attention to skincare, I’ve noticed that my skin is not as youthful looking as it should be at my age.
How Does Everyone Else Take Care Of Their Skin?
I started asking my high maintenance New York girlfriends what they do to maintain their skin. I heard a lot of repeat advice:
- Use good products, you get what you pay for
- Exfoliate regularly
- Get facials and peels by a professional, regularly
- Get laser treatments every year or two to completely restore the skin
- Use Botox now to prevent wrinkles from ever forming
- Don’t wait until you’re 60 to get a facelift, take care of your skin everyday
- Sleep and drink water
Professional Help
I seeked out the professional help from Skin Bar and I am now ready to start a six month experiment to see if I can really reverse the sun damage and overall youthfulness to my skin.
My Skin Story
This week, week one of My Skin Story, Skin Bar specialist Shawn has been taking UV photos of my skin in Skin Bar’s Fit Skin Photobooth – and they’re SCARY! These photos were enough to scare me into committing to whatever skin care regime necessary to restore my poor skin!
I told Shawn that ideally I want to reverse sun damage and discoloration, reduce the size of my absolutely massive pores, control my unpredictable acne, and prevent wrinkles.
- A new home skincare regime
- A chemical peel
- A deep-cleansing facial
- A Fraxel Dual treatment
- Then peels or facials every two weeks
- A second Fraxel treatment six weeks after the first treatment
Shawn’s home skin care regime consisted of:
- Ph balanced cleanser
- Stem cell serum
- Vitamin C serum
- SPF 50 moisturizer
- Stem cell night cream
After a week of using these expensive, but lovely products, I will be ready to start my first ever facial treatment; a chemical peel.
Stay tuned for the next update on My Skin Story!
