Skin Deep Secrets

  Gentle AHA chemical exfoliant Hello my beauties!!! So today, as promised, I've got an update on reintroducing actives and where I'm currently at. As previously mentioned in my last post I've successfully reintroduced ascorbyl glucoside into my routine except I've swapped to using it daily in the AM, whereas before I was using it 4 times a week in the PM. I haven't noticed much of a difference from changing it to my morning routine but it makes sense as it's meant to help boost the effects of your sunscreen. Maybe after a longer period of time I'll see more noticeable results. For those of you who don't know what lactic acid is, it's a form of AHA (alpha-hydroxy acid) which is a chemical exfoliant that increases cell turnover by getting rid of dead skin cells. There are a few other types of AHA but lactic acid is known to be one of the most gentle forms of it. I have fairly sensitive/reactive skin so I picked the 5% solution over the 10% one because...

A form of inactive Vitamin C   Hello my beauties!!! So if you read my last post you'll know that for the past 6 weeks I've been trying to repair my skin barrier which I damaged by over-exfoliating. However last week I started incorporating The Ordinary Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% back into my routine. In this post I will be recording my experience and how the whole process is going. I took this out of my routine on the 5th of December 2020 as well as TO Lactic Acid 5%. This is because it's an acid with a high pH which also increases cell turnover and makes your skin more photosensitive. Ascorbyl glucoside is one of the more stable forms of Vitamin C and is a lot more gentle at lower concentrations such as 12%. However, when your barrier is compromised it needs ingredients that are soothing and calming which strengthen it and keep it healthy. This means that whilst repairing your barrier you need to stick to skin pH-friendly products that balance the skin and reduce the ...

  HAPPY NEW YEAR MY BEAUTIES!!!  So on the 4th December 2020 I started to notice that my skin barrier was damaged and that it was very likely that over-exfoliating was the cause. Prior to this I'd been using the Corx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser and alternating it with The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% for about 6 weeks. After a month I realised that the cleanser was stripping my skin so I started using in once a week instead. However, by then the damage had already been done so my only choice was to cut it out of my routine completely :( The reason I think I was over-exfoliating is because Lactic Acid is an AHA and the cleanser contained Betaine Salicylate which is a derative of BHA. These are both exfoliating acids which speed up cell turnover by getting rid of dead skin cells. However, the general rule if you have sensitive skin is that you shouldn't exfoliate more than 3-4 times a week as this can potentially irritate your skin, leading to a compromised skin barrier. Unfortu...