I have had acne since I was about 12 years old and I saw a dermatologist from ages 14 to 20. After doing some research recently I read that dairy might be the cause of my skin issues. I gave it a try and have given up dairy, with the exception of a few dinners at friend's houses, and date nights. ---I don't like to dictate what people are cooking, or ordering as appetizers based on a dietary restriction that isn't really going to harm me if I don't stick to it. So once in a while I cheat on the dairy-free alternatives.
After cheating on Daiya twice in one week I suffered from some pretty stubborn breakouts. My boyfriend suggested trying bar soap, since, after all his skin is perfect and that's all he uses. No toners, moisturizers, gel cleansers (which is my standard), or serums.... absolutely nothing else. My boyfriend is blessed with good genes and has clear and relatively normal skin. I on the other hand, as you know, suffer from acne, but also have combination skin.
I was curious about his theory though. When I first started seeing a dermatologist they suggested I use Dove's Beauty Bar (soap) when I cleansed my skin. I never really saw a difference based on that switch alone... but six years later? What the heck?! Let's try it again.
I am currently testing out Tom's Of Maine Daily Moisture Natural Beauty Bar, which is a cruelty-free alternative to the Dove one I tried long ago. The bar contains Olive Oil, which is something I usually stay away from with my skin type, as well as Vitamin E. I will come back to this post after a week to talk about the results.
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| My Tom's Beauty Bar |
I planned to continue using the same products I use in my normal routine throughout the week. I use Trader Joe's Antioxidant Facial Moisturizer, Trader Joe's Nourish Antioxidant Facial Serum (but I prefer Full of Grace), and Tea Tree Toner Water.
After my first use I saw a noticeable difference in my pores, my pores appeared smaller and any blackheads I had were diminished. I will credit this to the Olive Oil, I know a lot of people have recently jumped on the oil cleansing train and have seen amazing results.
After a few days I noticed that my skin seemed smoother and I was waking up with fewer breakouts each morning. At this point I stopped using my serum, and only applied moisturizer if I was wearing makeup that day. The soap seemed to leave enough moisture on my skin. I decided to continue using my toner however because I know how beneficial tea tree is in my routine.
I would highly recommend the Tom's of Maine Beauty Bar, after a week of cleansing I saw noticeable improvements in my skin. The only problem that lingers is my dark spots left over from these blemishes... which I will get to in a future post.
Maybe I shouldn't be so stubborn about my skincare knowledge, my boyfriend actually knows a thing or two! 😋 ❤️
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That's fantastic! I cut out dairy (unless I go for dinners out etc) about three years ago and my skin became 80% better after only a month. I'm prone to combo skin especially with the changeable weather in the UK over Spring and Summer. I run out of cleanser and toner so improvised with 1/3 olive oil to 2/3 water in a little bottle and shook it to mix before using some on a cotton pad and it worked brilliantly! Olive oil, who knew?!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment and for reading! When I studied in the UK for a few months I noticed the difference in water quality affected my skin as well as the change in weather, surprisingly I broke out less there though... a friend told me that the dairy products there don't have (as many or any?) artificial hormones in them.
DeleteOlive oil is amazing! I'm testing out another oil, which I should have a post on in a day or so. Coconut oil is also great for moisturizing as well as removing makeup. :)