Skincare Journal

Desperate times, desperate measures.

As a child I was allergic to nothing, well apart from cocoa butter but as a youngster I had very little need for such moisturising property. The years have rolled by and now it seems and certainly feels like every little thing irritates my skin. Funnily enough I have grew out of the cocoa butter allergy.

I can put up with the odd blemish and even the odd averse reaction but when your allergy sends you to the A&E all because you dared to use a face mask you know it is time to take action. I have been to a few doctors, told to avoid spicy food (they believe the reason my lips swell on occasion is due to my obsession with chillies) and new skin care. As much as I love Jalapeño, I can live without them. Easily. The second part is not so easy considering my job is essentially to try new products. This bemused my doctor greatly but I've got to hand it to her she isn't one to shy away from a challenge nor set them. I was told to go and buy a small notebook, a pen and never be without them. Slowly but surely we will get to the bottom of my allergies, one ingredient at a time if needs be.

The concept is that each day I write down what I eat and what I apply to my face. Now this is no flash in the pan idea, a six month time scale has been put in place. Most doctors only recommend it if your skin flairs up fairly regularly or in my case you are also trying to determine some food allergies. After that we will then go back and eliminate anything that simply doesn't work for me or minimise exposure to such environment. Personally I see it as a great idea and one I feel many will benefit from, all of our complexions play up time to time so to be able to go back and see what is causing harm is surely a great lesson?

Daily Points:
Breakfast (a list of everything you ate)
A list of morning skin care products (be they old or new)
A list of all make-up products used (be they old or new)
Lunch (a list of everything you ate)
If I did a pre-cleanse and what products I used (be they old or new)
Dinner (a list of everything you ate)
A list of evening skin care products (be they old or new)
Snacks
Liquids (drinks of any kind, yes that includes alcohol)
Water intake
Supplements and/or any medication
Did I do any exercise?
Was my skin exposed to travel and/or air conditioning?
Weather and sun exposure?
SPF (brand, factor and if I have used it before or not)
City I was in (this is to gauge if pollution is a factor)
Mood (to see if my skin acts up when stressed)
Sleep (how many hours and quality)

You should also note any changes to your skin daily be the good, bad or indifferent, as well as noting down any suspect products, i.e a new mask that left your skin feeling tight and so on.

It is pretty through but it is really interesting and if anything it has thus far encouraged me to eat better and drink more water. What was born out of necessity has so far been enjoyable. This is by no means a new concept but it might be helpful for some?