At the end of February, I wrote about Biotin and Blemishes. Although I had incredible results hair-wise, my skin started panicking when faced with a relative imbalance of biotin (B7) to B5.
Skin Update
It has been nearly two months since I adjusted my usage, and happily, I haven’t gotten another cystic blemish. My skin isn’t completely clear all the time, but my annoying spots are reduced to what I usually deal with and in the times/cycles I usually deal with them. I’m calling this confirmation of my hypothesis.
Routine
Since, I’ve introduced two other things into my routine – once weekly usage of an at-home microderm device, and once weekly usage of a 10% AHA gel. Reviews on the microderm device are coming soon. I typically use it on Sunday evening, then the AHA on Wednesday evening. Additionally, I’ve changed brush heads on my Clarisonic to the Radiance head – and my love of the device is revitalized. More on that soon, too.
Morning
- Go over skin with Micellar Water OR cool water + FOREO Luna Mini
- Moisturize with either Argan Oil or a cocktail of Argan Oil and Dramatically Different Gel, depending on what I’m doing/what sort of makeup I want
- Sunscreen
Evening
- Remove makeup with Micellar Water
- Wash face and decollete with CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser (drugstore + skin pH-friendly) with the Clarisonic Mia2 (Radiance head)
- Sunday – Microderm device, then Micellar Water again. Wednesday – AHA treatment.
- Moisturize with Argan Oil
Hydrate
I started slipping on my water intake over the last six months. Armed with a new, insulated water bottle I can better hydrate throughout the workday or when I’m out and about. My Contigo Grace is still used at home (non-insulated), but it’s nice to not have my water warm up throughout the day from the room temperature or being warmed from being held. I always seem to forget how much better my skin feels and looks when I’m hydrated. Somehow, I always find myself surprised by it; sometimes, I’m a space cadet when it comes to this stuff.
The Bottom Line
Right now, I’m satisfied with the status quo. I don’t have any painful blemishes, I’m not dealing with insane breakouts, and I don’t have texture issues. I’ll always have to deal with sebaceous filaments, and I’ve accepted that. If the extent of my skin woes is a blemish near my hairline or the occasional tiny blackhead (that, in reality, no one but my ridiculous, obsessed, hyper-critical self notices) I’m happy.
Eventually, I want to incorporate a Vitamin C product – but I’ll wait until a Sephora sale to splash out on Drunk Elephant or Ole Henriksen.
You’ve got me curious about the argan oil. I feel like I should try this. (It’s super dry where I live and I suck at moisturizing and skincare in general. :( )
What made you choose argan oil for moisturizing and is there anything special you look for when choosing a brand?
Ultimately, the Vitamin E, A, Omega-6s and antioxidant content along with my results and the multi-purpose usage (hair treatment, add it to body lotion, etc) got me to stay, but there’s other good stuff too. Initially, I was intrigued by it being an oil that wasn’t greasy – anecdotally, I saw a lot of people with fairly solid results using it. It’s the first bandwagon-y product I tried that really worked for me. Previously, I had tried a handful of drugstore and prestige moisturizers and it just didn’t feel like they were much more than occlusives…or they clogged my pores.
As for how to find one? Skip Amazon tempting though it may be. There are a lot of blends advertising themselves as 100% argan oil, or products that are god-knows-what doing the same thing. Josie Maran’s at Sephora is reliable, but expensive at $48/oz. I currently buy mine from Mountain Rose Herbs (my experience with them here) at under $30/4oz and I find the quality to be comparable to the Josie Maran product. Garden of Wisdom is another reputable site; their site isn’t modern and fabulous, but a lot of blogs and Redditors endorse them (and Mountain Rose Herbs) sponsorship-free. I haven’t purchased one from a drugstore before. I’d say always check ingredient labels, but brands lie.
Such great information! Thank you very much.
I’ll be sure to look up those suggestions and see what works best for me here in Canada.
I’d recently started taking biotin for my hair and had the same kind of issues you’d described with my skin…I never made the connection until I read your post, halved my dose of biotin, and saw my issues clear completely up! I’ve gotten myself heavily into Korean skincare and feel like it’s done well for my skin
It is ridiculous how much of a difference it made. I was upset – like am I having to pick my hair or my skin, here?! Ugh.
And yeah – I haven’t tried too much Korean skincare, but I use MISSHA BB Cream. I also have a Biore Japan sunscreen that is awesome.