How well do you know your skin?

(image sourced here)

Remember my previous post on the benefits / downside of silicone in skincare? How well do you know your skin and what are the contents in the skincare products you use that you may be allergic to, that clogs your pores and those that you know would totally work in synergy with the chemical blends of your skin? Are you even familiar with parabens, mineral oil, zinc oxide and the works or do you just buy beauty products and make it work for your skin?

I know some people would just buy expensive skincare which doesn't improve their skin condition yet totally happy with the results because they psychologically feel that the products are good. Yet, I also have friends who tell me that despite the warning that mineral oil can clog pores, they went ahead and tried some products with it and realised after a month how their skin get unusual bumps on the jawline.

Some people seem to love a specific brand of skincare and use the entire range from the same brand while like with many beauty bloggers you may have read, their skincare usually consists of a mixture of products that they feel improve the condition of their skin.

There's really no right or wrong here as long as your skin remains healthy, radiant and youthful. The same products that work for me may not work the same way for you. 

I have a got a friend who reads my posts to know my opinion on products and she gets a little overwhelmed with the information I have on this blog. As I mentioned to her, some items work well 2 years ago on me but may not work the same way with me now. Hence, there may be so many of my "loves" on different types of moisturisers. My skin is uniquely mine, and does not behave identically to how your skin behaves. What I consume daily for my dietary needs is also very different than yours and all that accounts for the difference to my skin health vs yours. Then, you must also consider our genetics, our hormones, how much we exercise daily, how much my skin is exposed to the sun daily, how much I sweat, etc. All these would definitely differ very much from one skin to another. Hence, do not get overwhelmed.

It is important that you understand your skin. Does it get dry and tight after you cleanse your face? Does it get shiny within 5 minutes after cleansing? Does it sting when a certain moisturiser is applied? Does it redden easily? 

For me, I've dabbled in skincare since the age of 12. My mom made it a point that I start taking care of my skin at that age even if it meant just using a good moisturiser. At age 12, I noticed that I had my mom's genes where I get oil seeds quite easily. Hence, I started my first facial at the age of 16 just to get rid of them or at least keep them at bay. With such an early start, I learnt to understand my skin needs from my observation and experiments with different types of products.

And with 3 kids, I've had my share of hormonal imbalance that totally threw me off my normal levels. Hence, I do not just stick to one range of skincare and because of that, I've managed to sort of have various types of products in my collection, as long as they are within the expiry limits.

My skin was once super oily, super congested and I learnt slowly that harsher skincare makes it oilier. I've learnt that hydration can be very tricky as those hydrating creams are too rich for my skin yet oil-control products tend to dehydrate the skin surface. 

I've learnt that mineral oil is my number one enemy and only recently did I finally come to terms with my skin that silicone is now my number two enemy haha... from my observation, skincare with dimethicone does work to improve my skin condition until a good 3 or 4 weeks when my skin starts to clog badly and the worst part would be accumulation of oil seeds on my lymph nodes. They are hideous and very difficult to remove. 

Even in my later years where I discovered that my skin accepts glycolic peels quite well, the skin never really showed signs of clarity because the presence of silicone would make my skin congested again and again.

So now, with that understanding of my skin, my next adventure is to research on skincare without the presence of silicone and that is quite a challenge as I discovered that almost all the products in the market contain silicone, be it those from the luxury brands down to the cheapos. It is absolutely frustrating.

I have started doing some study and have gotten some interesting findings, so I shall wait and see if they work as well as those products with silicone. This will take time definitely. A change of habits will not be easy but I've started a small step by having a closer look at the ingredients before I pick up a product to put on my face.

So, what about you... how well do you know your skin?