Skincare has become a modern day requirement as of late. It’s all about the hydrating face masks, snail creams and weird concoctions of avocado masks. If my mum saw avocado anywhere else other than a slice of bread she’d smack upside the head so hard my last two (somewhat sane) brain cells would be left traumatized.
Thanks to modern day media everywhere we go we are constantly encouraged to have some kind of comprehensive skincare routine no matter how busy we are. I mean even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a comprehensive skincare routine that involves balms and oil serums and she is a member of the Democratic Party.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve passed out with a full face of makeup and woken up hungover the morning after, only to find a raccoon staring back at me from my bathroom mirror. However, the thing about getting older and hormones is that sometimes these hormones start to act up. As someone who grew up blessed enough to not go through pre-puberty acne. I was now getting pimples the size of molehills on my face and let me tell you they looked angry.
It got to the point where my standard ‘organic’ facewash was not cutting it. So I decided to start a skincare routine to target the following:
- Skin dullness;
- Uneven skin tone;
- Pimples.
To address this I did what any rookie with no understanding of dermatology did. I brought a bottle of the Granactive Retinoid Emulsion 2% by a brand known as ‘The Ordinary’ because Kim Kardashian claimed that it worked wonders for her skin as part of her anti-aging battle. To this day I do not know why I listened to advise when I fondly referred to them as the #trashdians. It could’ve been my lack of sleep or exposure to one too many dog videos on YouTube.
But a week later the bottle arrived at my doorstep with vague instructions and more questions. So I decided to hit up my local skin care store known as ‘Deciem Australia’ in downtown Sydney. The skincare specialist in there was more than patient and handled by annoying questions like a champ because she could tell I was just plain nervous and confused.
Fun fact: I don’t do well when I’m provided with too many choices and will instead take on the role of a confused toddler. I’m hoping this will change in the near future but that’s a bit too optimistic at this point.
The skincare specialist sat down with me and spent a solid 45 minutes putting together a skincare routine for me, with appropriate serums aligned to my skin type. I walked away from that store 50 bucks lighter with a cheesy smile. All my problems would be solved once I massaged these funky smelling liquids on my face.
Or so I thought.
What followed for weeks after was a breakout like never before. At one point I was convinced these pimples were on guard duty. Almost like when one began to reduce in swelling and size another motherf*cker popped up to take its spot. Like two guards on night patrol switching guard duty.
My skin was basically flipping me the bird.
However, I read about this and knew that in some instances these serums (even when diluted) could cause your skin to breakout. The solution? Continue using the serums in smaller doses until your skin got used to it.
So that’s what I did. For six goddamn weeks.
It was around the seventh week when I saw some light at the end of the tunnel. A small speck of light but it was there and boy was I delighted. My skin started to clear up, face started to get brighter and the unevenness had lessened.
So why did I spend this long talking about zit wars and face serums? Because like a lot of things in life this clear’ish’ skin did not come easy. I had to persist through the minefield of somewhat irritated pores to get to where I am now. I had to persist through the frustration of waking up every morning and questioning if I had made the right decision to continue using that Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5.
We all know those good things take time and yet we are one of the most impatient generations of all time. We are so used to instant gratification that the term patience does not exist in our dictionaries. Everything from instant food delivery to instant messaging has led us to feed into this culture of instant gratification. We don’t have the patience to fill out job applications yet we want a new job. We don’t have the patience to invest in someone emotionally yet we want a long lasting sentimental relationship.
So trust me when I repeat what every Tumblr post has been saying for years ‘all good things take time.’ It took an interesting skincare system to drive this point home.
Strategic Chaos 