Hey guys
It's lay.
So as some of you may know if you follow my Instagram (@simplylayxx), this week has been a very emotionally draining week. I'm in a lot of pain due to someone I used to care about and after what she did, I cut her off completely. I personally was going to talk about the importance of taking days off but I feel like I've been neglecting other topics on my blog.
May is mental health awareness month so a lot of the things I wrote were involving things that help mental growth. Also for 1/4 of the year my main focus of improvement in terms of my mental health so as summer approach my goal is taking shift to focus on my physical appearances.
Out of context it may sound superficial but I am a firm believer in you have to look your best to feel your best. However you should never change for anyone besides yourself. If you are going to change make sure the reason is to make you feel good in your own skin. If you already feel confident in your own skin, that is amazing and I hope you keep that energy going forward in your life.
Personally I never felt comfortable in my own skin due to being bullied from a young age and the constant rejections from people I had feelings for. It may sound ridiculous but those thing do take a toll on a person self esteem and every time I looked in the mirror I just cried and I hated pictures. I hated my weight, my acne and not only that I was constantly tired, fatigue and had so much back pain, shoulder pain etc. Basically I just was sick and no teenager is supposed to feel that way. So it wasn't till last year I decided to make a few changes in my life especially during last summer. I was determined to be the person I wanted to be and for awhile it worked until I went back to school. One quote that really stuck to me is: " You cannot heal the same environment that made you sick". Once I went back to my high school, I just felt drained all over again, all motivation was lost and I just felt discouraged until I decided to start over again with this blog (which I'll probably get into more in another post). I've been working on myself piece by piece and one thing to remember is you can't rush the process.
With all that being said, over the summer my content will most likely switch to things mostly about physical appearances whether it is differences I'm making in terms of my diet and exercise, different workout routines, products I'm trying or things more opinion based on things I've seen in media.
I'm sorry for the long introduction but it also adds some perspective to my blog which I love and before I get into tips I just want to say thank you for reading and I hope you will stay with me throughout my journey. Without further or due: here are tips to get healthier
1. Find out your skin type
This is the first step before even before creating a skin routine. I'm not a professional but here are the types I know of:
Normal skin- This is used describe skin that is well balanced skin. People with this typically have fine pores, soft, smooth skin with no blemishes. This skin could get dry with age though.
Oily skin (the one I have)- This is when your skin overly produce sebum. That is why a common characteristics is shiny skin, large pores and is prone to different forms of acne.
Dry skin- This produces less sebum than normal skin which causes it to be rougher and if it is really dry pealing is common
Combination skin- This is when your skin is oily in certain places , usually your T- zone (forehead, chin and nose) but then your cheeks are either normal or dry.
Sensitive skin- redness, burning and itching are typical signs of this skin and you need to be more cautious to the products you use.
2. See a professional
I'm aware not everyone doesn't have the money for this but if you can, I find this very useful. I feel like this is the best way to improve your skin because not only could they find out the type of skin you have but the cause of it. Sometimes skin reactions could be stress, hormonal, genetic etc. I went to the dermatologist maybe a year ago and my skin since then has made progress. It still breaks out from time to time when I’m under an overwhelming amount of stress but it’s still progress from before. Also I have a friend who went to a dermatologist too and she improved her skin with medication. Everyone has different skin with different issues and causes so seeking help from a professional help personaluse your skin journey.
3. Wash your face twice a day
Becoming more hygienic towards your skin will help. Some people only wash their face once a day and there are people who don’t wash it all or just splash water on it. At night (especially in the summer), you sweat in your sleep. Washing your face in the morning not only wakes you up but also remove the sweat from your face which keeps your pores from clogging. You also need to wash your face at night because your skin goes through a lot in day and there’s just so much bacteria in the world. Additionally, if you are a person who wears make up this is a really important step because make up is another thing that causes acne if you don't care for your skin properly.
4. Use mask every other day
There is no scientific reason behind this but from my perspective this helps your complexion. On top of that it is also really relaxing which lowers your stress. There are many different types:
clay masks
peel off masks
sheet masks
bubble mask
My personal favorite is amazonian clay mask from fresh. I get it at Sephora but it’s kind of pricey and unfortunately I ran out of it. Lately I’ve been using this mask from pink that was made from coconut oil and I actually really like it because it leaves my skin glowing. Coconut oil is one of the holy grails in the beauty community and you can search up the benefits of it.
5. Moisturize after washing your face
This is important for all skin types including oily skin. I learned that the hard way. When you don't moisturize your skin, it just produces even more sebum that clogs your pores. If you have oily skin, I recommend a water based moisturizer. There are different forms for moisturized just be sure to read the ingredients and reviews before purchasing.
6.Drink more water
The more sugar you have, the more likely your skin is to break out. Water hydrates you, clears out toxins in your body and keeps you from gaining weight so you might as well drink that instead of soda which has empty calories and loads of sugar.
7.Avoid greasy/ oily foods
From my own personal experience when I eat better, it shows. After eating junk food my skin breaks out literally the next day. There are many other health reason to avoid greasy foods but I’ll get into it in another blog post.
8.Wash your sheets more often
Your pillows just stay on your bed all day, collecting dust and bacteria. When you sleep on that pillow, all of those germs just transfer to your skin. If you was your pillows and sheets more often, your skin will thank you.
9. Exfoliate to remove dead skin
This isn’t something you should do frequently and you have to be careful to not do it so rough because it can damage your skin. However, removing dead skin cells is important so it doesn’t go into your pores.
10. Get more rest
When you don’t get enough sleep it shows on your face and can often a person‘s skin look dull. On top of that, it can cause dark circles and cause you to look older. Beauty sleep is a real thing so make sure you get some.
That is it for today. I hope you find this blog very helpful. On twitter, I ran a vote on what to write about this week and by time someone finally answered I was half way finished with this blog. In a way this kind of is a self care blog because you are caring for your skin.
If you enjoyed, please share with your friends and family and be sure to check out old posts. If you want to stay updated, don't forget to subscribe.
Until next time,
xoxo Lay 💋
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