Okay guys, let’s get real about meeting Dear Skin in real life. Sounds fancy, right? Honestly? It just means finally figuring out what works for my actual face. No magic potions, just some trial and error. Here’s exactly how I started:
The Confusion Phase (AKA My Bathroom Looked Like a Chem Lab)
First things first, I knew nothing. Googled “simple skincare routine” and boom – a million steps, acids I couldn’t pronounce, fancy gadgets. Felt overwhelming. Decided to strip it right back. Went to my local drugstore.
Grabbed stuff super cheap to experiment:
- A gentle cleanser – nothing with those harsh beads.
- A basic moisturizer – looked for “non-comedogenic” (means won’t clog pores, learned that!).
- The cheapest sunscreen spray they had. Hate sticky sunscreen, needed something easy.
Took my greasy, confused face home. Snapchatted my boyfriend like “wish me luck.”
Actually Trying It (For Real This Time)
Next morning? Did it:
- Splashed water, put that cleanser on my hands, rubbed gently. Rinsed. Easy.
- Tapped my face dry – seriously, no rubbing! Annoying but did it.
- Put a tiny blob of moisturizer, rubbed it in. Felt weirdly nice.
- Shook that sunscreen can like crazy, sprayed all over my face and neck. Walked into it. Felt silly. Less sticky though!
Took a “before” pic right then. Skin looked… meh. Kinda dull, bit shiny on the nose. Not great.
The First Few Days: Felt like nothing happened. Kept doing it morning and night (minus sunscreen at night). Was kinda boring.
Week 2 Drama: One spot popped up near my chin. Panicked! Thought the moisturizer sucked. Almost quit. My boyfriend said, “Dude, chill, sometimes skin freaks out.” Kept going.
Then Something Clicked (Week 3-ish): Woke up one Wednesday. Looked in the mirror. My skin wasn’t shiny. Like, at all. That weird red patch on my cheek? Less angry. Didn’t glow like an angel or anything, but it looked… calm? Solid. Took another pic. Holy crap, side-by-side? Legit difference! Felt smug. Sent pics to my sister. She was like, “Shut up, what did you do?!” Just being kinda consistent!
The Game Changer & Keeping It Simple
Realized sunscreen was the MVP. Didn’t stop using it. Even cloudy days? Sprayed that can. Noticed less new dark spots on my nose? Probably that cheap spray doing work!
Here’s the thing I finally figured out:
- Started Crazy Simple: Didn’t need ten bottles day one.
- Stuck With It: Even when boring or things got ugly.
- Cheap Stuff Worked: That $8 cleanser and $5 sunscreen became my Holy Grail. Save money for pizza.
- Just Paid Attention: Stopped slathering stuff without looking. Used my eyes.
So yeah, how do you start meeting your Dear Skin? Literally just grab three simple things. Do it tomorrow morning. Do it tomorrow night. Take a pic. Do it again. See what happens. Forget the pressure. It ain’t magic, just showing up for your face. Surprisingly lit once you stop overthinking it.
