Treat Yo'self
Happy Monday, Kittens! How was your weekend? Good? Did you go to brunch? Like me, is your weekend really a work week? Did you at least get yourself a damn drink? Me, neither… let’s do better this week, m’kay? We work hard… we deserve a treat, dammit.
Speaking of treats… lets talk about treat… ment… serums! Do we really need them? Do they work? How are they used and for why? “Are you just trying to get me to spend up all my hard-earned money, Nandi?!?” Of course not! What I want to do is help take some of the guesswork out of shopping for skin care. I want to equip you with the tools you need to choose the best products for your skin without getting taken to the cleaners by over-eager sales associates or uninformed folk on the internet. Yes, I'm on the internet too but I'm Google'able. And yes... I just made up a word. Use it freely. You're welcome.
Whatever your primary skin care concerns, the most effective & efficient way to address them is through specialized & targeted treatment serums. Different from your moisturizer, serums contain high concentrations of active ingredients to address specific skin care issues. Treatment products can come in a few different formulations and are generally more lightweight than moisturizers for faster & deeper absorption of key ingredients into the skin. Choosing the ideal treatment serum for your skin can be tricky. Most of us suffer from multiple issues making choosing the right one as difficult as college level Calculus. I may have been terrible at math in college but I know my way around an enzyme or eight.
Multi-Taskers Are Your BFFs: You don’t have to go for the most expensive treatment serum on the shelf. Spending more scrilla doesn’t mean you’ll get better results. Once you determine what your main skin concerns are, choose a serum that has the best combination of active ingredients for your issues. Almost always, one major skin issue comes with a side of secondary concerns. Dryness brings her evil friends Flaky & Redness with her everywhere. Acne is friends with Redness too but messy Oil always shows up with Blackhead leaving his junk all over the place. Choose a serum that tackles your number one concern and all the accompanying problems may go packing with it.
A Dollop’ll Do Ya: Serums usually come in very lightweight formulations so you don’t need much to get your desired results. Use just enough product to get even coverage on your face & neck to stretch your beauty buck. More product doesn’t mean faster results. Applying too much can result in excess product rolling or rubbing off meaning you could be wasting all the good stuff! Remember, you’re putting moisturizer on as well so there’s no need to overload. Drag out that bottle as long as you can & save your coin!
Night-Night, Sleep Tight: The prime time to use most treatment serums is at night. While you’re sleeping, your entire body is healing & rejuvenating itself including your skin. Your body isn’t being exposed to outside environmental aggressors like pollution, UV rays, or free radicals while safe & cozy in your bed. Active ingredients can penetrate deeper & work more effectively while you're at rest. For an extra boost, use your favorite exfoliant at night as well.. all those hard-working, dryness-damning, problem-solving, pimple-busting ingredients will be delivered farther into the skin and work even faster. The exception to the rule? Antioxidant serums. Those are used during the day to help fight environmental aggressors and protect from UV damage all year round.
It’s What Inside That Counts: The better the ingredients of your treatment serum the faster & more effective your results. Go for as much quality as your wallet will allow. Dry skin loves hyaluronic acid, collagen & humectants like glycerin. Oily skin needs balance from ingredients like Salicylic Acid & Tea Tree Oil. Serums designed to treat hyper-pigmentation may have various Alpha Hydroxy acids or ingredients like Kojic acid to exfoliate and even out skin one. All skin types need & crave antioxidants and nourishing vitamins. Try to find serums that have a mixture of skin-loving stuff to get the best results quickly.
There you have it… a guide to the next step in the evolution of your skin’s best self. You’re closer than before to achieving Master levels of Sexy Summer Skin! Wanna experiment? Visit your nearest beauty boutique or department store and ask for samples. You won’t know how the product works until you try it & they are always ready to send you home with a try-size of any products you’re interested in. Have any burning questions? A beauty problem you haven’t solved yet? Send me an email at blushandbourboncast@gmail.com and I’ll answer it here.
Until next time... may your fros grow & your skin glow.
