Skincare to me is just as personal as style is. My skin is the way it is today because of the decisions I’ve made, where I’ve been, where I’ve lived, and what I’ve put in my body. Truthfully, I haven’t always felt very comfortable with my skin for a lot of reasons.

While I’m grateful to have never had to battle with acne or breakouts, my skin tone is very uneven from the years I’ve spent outside playing soccer and I have dark circles that I would love to erase with anything you could give me. Not to mention, my ethnicity is known for having thinner skin where the layers are just more transparent and thus you can see everything going on underneath like a sheer gown.

As a result I am usually wearing some form of light makeup and always concealer. I hit a point recently where I really hate that and thought that there must be a way to reverse some of that damage and even out my tone a bit more.

So, I’ve embarked on a bit of a skincare journey more recently thanks to some new products I’ve been introduced to and some articles that really caught my attention. You’ve been hearing people talk about “clean eating” for years, but clean beauty is something that I just recently started hearing about.

Well, I take that back. I’ve heard about it but I wasn’t really paying attention to it that is – that is until now.

You know what saying “you are what you eat?” The same thing kind of goes for your skincare and makeup. Did you know that there was a study that proves the products that a pregnant mother put on her skin ended up in her baby’s bloodstream? It really hit home when I realized that the products and things I put on my skin everyday make their way into my bloodstream. You could be taking great care of yourself and your moisturizer or foundation could be causing waves of damage in your body.

When I was younger I took horrible care of my skin. I didn’t wash my face until I got to college, I often slept with my makeup on, and I spent 18+ years of my life in the sun playing soccer. No one really thinks of aging as a “good thing”, but I see it as an opportunity to use today’s advancements in technology, research, and products to do what I can while I still can.

I don’t believe in knives and injections and hope that the work I do now taking care of my skin will lay the foundation for improved skincare for the rest of my life.

I’ve made a few big changes recently that I wanted to share in case you’re also looking to make that kind of investment in your skin.

1. Do a mask once a week

It wasn’t until recently that I started doing this, but I noticed immediately what a difference it made. We had a few weekends in a row where we ended up out late and I woke up several Sundays with major hangovers. My skin felt dry and the quickest way I knew to fix that was to put on a mask. I started using the La Mer Brilliance Brightening mask at night during the week after that and noticed that my skin was looking brighter and the overall quality was improving. I recently spoke to a skincare expert who told me she does them once a week as well and realized I was onto something!

2. Use an oil based cleanser

I had never used an oil based cleanser before, but after reading about the benefits and having a friend suggest one to me I’m totally hooked. It’s a gentler and easier way for me to remove my makeup and get a deep clean – there’s no intense scrubbing involved. I started using the Eve Lom cleanser which is full of oils and minerals but is a balm. Think of it like a decongestant, but for your face. It comes with a muslin cloth and that you run under warm water and press against your face once you have put the balm on your skin. You repeat the process 3 times and you’re all set. I’ve also been using the morning cleanser which is also a balm but doesn’t require a cloth. I swear, my skin has never felt so clear!

3. Use at home remedies for blackheads

After I started changing things up I started noticing these little spots on and around my nose and sure enough, they were blackheads. As soon as I saw them I wanted to grab a piece of tape and rip them up and out of my skin, but I knew that wasn’t possible. Some people use Biore strips for this but I’ve heard that’s actually terrible for your skin so I went searching for an at home remedy. It turns out you can use egg white and some toilet paper and you heard it here first – it actually works. Take a little big of the egg white and spread it on the area you want to treat. Take a strip or two of toilet paper and layer it on top (kind of like paper mache if you’ve ever done that as a kid). Then add another layer of egg white on top to seal it. Let it dry and then pull it off and rinse off the area.

I did this process over the weekend twice in a row and immediately saw that I had gotten rid of some of the blackheads on my nose. It sounds ridiculous, but egg whites are rich in vitamins and minerals and work to tighten the pores and remove them. It’s more natural and better for your skin than applying harsh chemicals and ripping off dermis.

4. Embrace serums

If you’re looking for something to make a big impact immediately, a serum is what you want. They’re highly concentrated solutions that are jam packed with collagen boosting, moisturizing, anti-aging and water retentive properties. I just started using True Botanicals and combine their renew serum with the Vitamin-C booster (it comes in a powder to maintain it in its purest form) as my last step of my nighttime routine. I’ve been doing it for about a week and have woken up feeling like my skin looks brighter and more even.

Great skin isn’t something that happens overnight, but I’m taking steps to make myself feel more comfortable than ever in mine.

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