My Favorite Skin Care Products

Nobody likes a pimple. They can hurt, really, really bad - you know the kind I'm talking about. The great, big, red ones that like to hang out just under the skin, or the blackheads that make themselves comfortable right where your nose connects to your face, or the whiteheads that appear, well, anywhere they gosh darn want. Bleh. I don't even want to think about them.

Since I've started my gluten-free, grain-free, low-carbohydrate lifestyle, my spotting has reduce dramatically. But I am not immune to the occasional outbreak. Here are my favorite skin care products to keep your face healthy, happy, and hopefully pimple-less.

• Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash. I absolutely love this cleanser and use it every single day. Once applied, I can almost feel it deeply cleaning my pores, and the soap has never dried out or irritated my skin. Note that everyone's skin is different and Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash will likely not work for each individual. In my experience, however, this cleanser is excellent in treating any pimples that may pop up, and in preventing them before they surface.
• Neutrogena Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Daily Leave-On Mask. That's a mouthful. I do like my Neutrogena products, folks! While this product may be a little expensive, and I've had a hard time finding it at my local Target lately, it really works! If I do have a spot or two, this Rapid Clear medicine is wonderful in reducing their size and redness. Like the Oil-Free Acne Wash, I find that this product helps control any breakouts without irritating my skin. My favorite feature of Neutrogena Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Daily Leave-On Mask is that it doesn't have to be washed off after half an hour or so. You can leave it on all day, and it continues to treat and lessen your acne. What a deal, eh?

• Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer, SPF 15, Sensitive Skin. Post wash and application of my adored Leave-On Mask, I make a point to moisturize my face. Consider the feeling of having chapped hands. That problem typically occurs, at least in my case, when I wash my hands but do not thoroughly dry them or apply lotion (we'll get back to said lotion in a bit). The same thing tends to happen to my face. Dry faces suck - they hurt, and they make me feel like rubbish. That's why this All Day UV Moisturizer is such an important element in my skin routine. Furthermore, it has a bit of sun protection, which is very valuable to a girl like me, who burns as easily as a leaf under a magnifying glass. 
• Rocky Mountain Sunscreen, SPF 30. I live in a city high above sea level, so the sun's rays have less atmosphere to travel through. This means that I burn even more easily than I would ordinarily! Rocky Mountain Sunscreen definitely helps prevent this, and I make sure to slather on a whole lot on days I plan to be outside for long periods of time. It's fragrance free and hypoallergenic too, both of which are huge bonuses. 
• Remember that hand lotion I mentioned earlier? Well, I was talking about O'Keeffe's Working Hands Cream! It's excellent! A few years back, there was a really bitter winter in my neck of the woods. My old elementary school's bathroom hand driers weren't exactly state of the art, and I reverted to the typical 'wipe-your-wet-hands-on-your-shirt' method. A cruel winter plus the 'wipe-your-wet-hands-on-your-shirt' solution resulted in very, very chapped hands. My mom went to Hobby Lobby and bought enough O'Keeffe's Working Hands Cream for the whole family. Let me tell you - that stuff is practically magic. 

Well, there you go everyone! Always remember that plenty of water and sleep, a good diet, and exercise can help clear up your skin, too. In the future, I hope to try out some coconut and avocado oil based skin care products. While my current routine works well, I would prefer not to put gobs of hard-to-pronounce chemicals on my face. I like the idea of naturally derived masks and lotions; after all, the skin can absorb "an average of 64%" of what we put on it ("Your Skin: It Absorbs!")! Do you have any you think I should try?

Happy birthday, Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling!

- Maya

Photo by Autumn Goodman on Unsplash, Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash,

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash, Photo by Isabell Winter on Unsplash