Taking Some SKIN-itiative!

I’m sure that many people out there suffer from various skin problems. I know it’s not just a Lupus thing, but what I do know is prior to me being diagnosed with Lupus and being put on a plethora of drugs, I had pretty good skin. In fact, everyone in my family has great skin.

While I still do get the occasional breakout here and there, my skin has definitely come a long way. My skin used to be completely out of control until I saw a dermatologist. At the dermatolgist’s office, I underwent blue light therapy. For me, it worked pretty well and brought my acne down quite a bit. I was also put on some topical acne medications: tazorac and benzamycin. They helped, but they also dried out my skin. This concept of “dry skin” was foreign to me as I have oily/combination skin. Aside from that, each blue light treatment was $60, and I had to do it weekly. I want to avoid having to go down that road again as it is quite expensive…and simply not practical to pay such a cost frequently. But i’ll admit..at that point, I was desperate.

I’ve always looked for skin care treatment that would be good for me. My current face cleanser, tersaseptic, is awfully drying. I know I have oily skin and the ultimate goal is for my skin to not be oily, but I also don’t want my skin to be partched, flakey, and downright painfully tight.

My sister sent me a yahoo internet link the other day for a skin care line tailored to african american skin. The name of the product is rx for brown skin. It was created by an african american dermatologist. I thought it would be a cool idea to give it a try, so I went to the rx for brown skin official website. Much to my chagrin, this website doesn’t deliver to Canada. So I searched around some more and I found out that the product line is available on the Sephora website. I called up the local Sephora to see if it was available in stores in Canada, which it isn’t. I went ahead and ordered the Bright and Clear skin cleansing regime off of the Sephora website. That was just a few days ago, and since it’s coming from the states, I am yet to receive it. I’ll definitely do the before and after pics so we can see any progress. For updates, please click on rx for brown skin in the label cloud to the left.

Makeup is another big thing for me. I’ve used many a makeup and many have made my skin woes worst. After doing some more googling, I came across a much praised mineral makeup called Everyday Minerals. Now for me, buying makeup for the first time via the internet has always been a sketchy thing. How can I possibly match the colour to my skin without the possiblity of choosing the wrong colour and end up having useless makeup left over? Well, Everyday Minerals gives you the option of ording a sample kit! The sample kit lets you select 3 different foundation colours, a blush colour, and a concealer. Because I live in Canada, the shipping cost for me was $4.50. Not bad. Much better than paying like $30+ somewhere else for a full sized foundation that doesn’t even work out well. I ordered that yesterday. Again, before and after pictures to follow. Click on Everyday Minerals in my label cloud and updates will be posted as available. Click here for a direct link to the everyday minerals page where you can order free samples. A small fee for shipping will apply.

Lastly, I found reviews on another make up line called KMS Minerals. I noticed that they carried samples as well. When I went on the page where I could order samples, I noticed that while they had foundations in my skin colour range, they didn’t seem to have samples. I emailed the company to ask about samples for dark skin. Much to my surprise and delight, I got a response in about 5 minutes. A wonderful lady named Kristi replied to my email and told me that they did, in fact, have samples in my skintone. The KMS website was recently updated and there must have been an oversight. She asked me for my address, which I did provide to her, so that she could send off some samples. When I inquired about the cost for shipping…she told me not to worry about it! Talk about great customer service! Click here for a direct link to the page where you can order free samples. Remember you’ll have to pay a small fee for shipping.

I look forward to trying out all of these new products for my skin and hopefully finding something that will become a part of my regular routine. Again, stay tuned for pictures, reviews, and preferences!