A Wren Says

31 days of luxury products only on my face. For the entire month of January, I exclusively used luxury, expensive skincare, and yet there I was on February 1 with imperfect skin. My skin felt tight and dry. I could see the acne popping up. My undereye darkness was there. And don’t even get me started on the discoloration and hyperpigmentation in certain areas. So, it was a waste, then, wasn’t it? The products were no good? Right? Even though I’m not happy with my results, I wouldn’t say that. I’d say that rather than learning about the products, this journey told me more about myself than it did about the brand. Let me explain.

January was a rough month. My schedule was busy. I was low energy. There were nights that I skipped washing my face. I maybe drank 8 ounces of water a day. My diet choices leaned heavily towards convenience, strongly based in fast and processed food. Most nights, getting to 7 hours of sleep would have been celebrated.  And in addition, I had naturally dry skin and was in a cold and windy climate. But, obviously I put some fancy skincare on top, hoping it would all be fine. I wasn’t doing any of the work to take care of my health and was asking a lot of my skincare. That’s work that it shouldn’t and can’t be doing.

We all want quick fixes. We would all much rather have a problem handled sooner than later.  Some of us choose to spend large sums of money if we’re promised quick results. However, we often find ourselves unwilling to invest an equivalent amount of time and effort. No matter how expensive a skincare product is, you still have to do the work.

Yes, a good skincare regimen is good for your skin.  It shows when you use moisturizer, sunscreen, and retinols and other actives. Here’s the thing. Your skin also is an indicator of your health. The state of your skin can also show if you get enough sleep, what you eat, whether you exercise, and how much water you drink. No matter how much you paid for your moisturizer and serums, you will get much better results if you also invest in your health.

Yes, you should be mindful of how you take care of your skin and what products you use. But I beg you, put just as much effort if not more into taking care of your overall health. Take it from me.