Breaking The Myth

February 19, 2014

My own Island “I Do” wedding is fast approaching. Or so the current state of my skin indicates. With today marking two months I have to question, are these teen-like breakouts due to the stress of wedding planning? Or because come June I am a year closer to thirty? Or perhaps the clogged pores are the result of beads of sweat dripping down my face as I do my umpteenth rep on the Pilates reformer? All in the spirit of looking and feeling svelte in my wedding dress.

A consultation with Dermalogica confirmed it is all of the above and were quick to suggest a skin care regimen. That was of course after a Professional Skin Therapist stared unforgivingly at a magnified version of my face. She was quick to map it like a true explorer: noting deep lines snaking along my forehead, skin pigmentation ever-present on my cheek, dilated capillaries – the result of poor sinuses – at the tip of my nose. Ever worse, given my sheepish response to every dermatologist’s looming question, “are you applying SPF daily?” she let me in on the most frightening beauty statistic I’ve heard to date,

“A year of not applying daily sunblock adds up to a complete week of direct sunlight without sunscreen. The damage your skin will endure in one week is the same amount you are getting throughout the year while going about your daily routine with no sun-protection.” she says in a calm tone, which the voice in my head does not mirror.

Never did I suspect my hands gripping the top of my car’s steering wheel, or the left profile of my face closest to the driver’s window, would be my telltale signs of premature aging.

Then came my own anxiety ridden question, is it really wise to introduce a “skin overhaul” a mere two months before we say “I Do”? In far less dramatic terms, to simply implement a skin regimen in to my daily routine where otherwise one had never existed before? While Dermalogica does offer a 6 month package for brides, again we are talking two months. 8 weeks. 59 days until we are photographed as husband and wife. For the first time. Ever. Photographs that one day my son or daughter will undoubtedly ask to display as I have my own mum, grandmum, aunts and cousins. Breaking the myth, the resounding answer from Dermalogica is yes, it is far less risky doing so than attempting to combat my skin with no professional guidance.

I won’t post the pictures you most expect. Honestly how many more pictures of a blogger washing her face can we bear? Instead taking a more creative approach and putting Pavlov’s dog theory to the test I’ll pair the recommended Dermalogica products with seashells that mirror my current skin ailments. And just maybe when spotting one of these shells in my home I’ll stop and think, have I taken care of my skin today?

Blackheads_Dermalogica Products2 BlackHeads – Skin Prep Scrub + Skin Refining Masque