Preparing to graduate - skin care

I have never been sure how much to share about my life outside the blog, but last Friday was my graduation. After 4 long years the chapter finally closed on my university days with the idea being to celebrate the achievement with family and friends………. call me shallow, but my main concern was having the best looking skin I could for the photos.

This meant the weeks leading up to it were spent with a strict facial routine, exfoliating and using a face mask every other day. From what I have read exfoliating so often is not recommended for dry skin, but I have always found it to be good for keeping my skin clear and getting rid of any marks.

I have been using the "greatest scrub of all" by Soap and Glory, which really lives up to its name. A little goes a long way with this scrub and the 125ml I am sure will last me for a few months even using it so frequently.

The scrub reminds me a lot of the re-surfa-stick I just used up as part of my project 10 pan, with the obvious exception that it isn’t in a solid/stick form. The particles of this scrub feel very similar to the microdermabrasion crystals and do not feel harsh on the skin. You only need to scrub for less than a minute to get really smooth, clean and fresh feeling skin with no dryness experienced at any stage.

I would usually use the scrub in the shower and would immediately after use the Soap and Glory “The fab pore 15 minute facial mask”. The mask is quite thick and a pale pink colour with blue beads which you rub into your skin so that they disappear. I have always left it for the maximum 15 minutes. The mask does tingle initially but this stops quickly. The mask doesn’t dry hard and is easy to wash off. I use a muslin cloth since it adds another mild exfoliation step.

Finally I would moisturise with Re-Gen cream, which I purchased in Asda for around £4. I had read on other blogs that the oil (found in 99p stores!) is a dupe for Bio-oil, which I have used since my teen years. The cream has a nice smell and is a very light, absorbing easily.

Like bio-oil, re-gen is meant to help reduce the appearance of scars, stretch marks and blemishes as well as be moisturising for dry skin. It certainly helped reduced the appearance of small red spots and they then did not develop into anything larger.  Each morning my skin would also feel very smooth and moisturised and in my opinion the cream can also be considered a bio-oil dupe. The first time I opened the tub I did not realise the cream was so fluid and spilt quite a bit which has been the only negative.

This night skin care combination worked extremely well for me, in a short time-frame my skin was clear, with reduced scarring and very smooth. Since Friday, I haven’t been so strict with the routine and I can see the difference in my skin condition already so I plan on keeping this up and would repurchase all the items mentioned.

Be sure to look out for my next blog post in this series which will be teeth and nails!