A brave leap into the unknown.

Despite a niggling jab of guilt, you just blew your entire shoe budget for the month in a single purchase. Finally, a decision is made. You took the leap of faith. Now you wait, and you wait and, you, wait.

This is more than you’ve ever spent on your skin. But just this once you nervously decided to trust; hoping your faith doesn’t slowly and painfully turn to regret. You wait.

Three weeks in and your skin is slightly better. Is it the healthy glowing skin you’d hope for? Well, for the price of a small island, okay perhaps it was a tiny island, the results are not as amazing as you thought they’d be.

How can this be? How can they charge such a price for those serums and creams when the results are less than impressive? “Someone should do something about this” you cry, as you ponder the true cost of being a woman with a skin that’s lost its glow.

Your thoughts lead to indignation.

You decide, despite how perfectly helpful the skincare professional was, this situation just will-not-do, you’ll ask for a full refund. Sure it’s a hassle, but if the products don’t work, it’s your right to ask for your money back.

Of course, it is. Success!! Money refunded. No questions asked. You can now move on to some other product that might actually deliver on its promise.

Dizzy at the thought of starting over, something is nagging at you.

The skin care professionals voice ringing in your ears. A piece of advice that seemed insignificant; it was practically a whisper. “You’ll need to pay special attention to how you cleanse your skin if you want your products to work at their optimal level…

What seemed like a small detail at the time, is actually one of the most important steps to achieving healthy skin and getting your glow back. But it’s not just the omission of a good cleanser that left this recent experience in tatters; it’s every single day for the last (insert your age here) years. Yep, ever since the tender age of, let’s say 15 you’ve probably been skimping on your cleansing routine or just doing it all wrong.

Let’s go back a few years.

To solve your current skincare woes we need to go back a bit to when you were 15 or so, the first signs of oil and blemishes led you to drastic measures. If it feels oily and if the skin looks clogged with blackheads, then cleaning your skin within an inch of its life is standard procedure. We all did it. You kept this up for a while, even though it never really helped with the oil slick across your face.

Eventually, oiliness makes way for an ever-present redness across your cheeks with a slight hint of dryness. Nothing too concerning, most of the time, your skin feels fine, and anything is better than those years of feeling like a perpetual oil slick. You alter your cleansing slightly, no need for the astringent toner any more, but you’re so used to the squeaky clean feeling you get after cleansing, you stick with the skincare routine of your youth. It becomes your new normal.

Many years pass and your skin is dull, dehydrated and irritated.

As the years go by, this new normal is replaced by something a little more unacceptable. The pinkish hue across your cheeks has turned to a definite shade of red, your skin always feels dry, and when the weather takes a turn, the dryness, itchiness and irritation are unbearable. Your skin looks and feels bad.

What glow? There is no glow.

You could be forgiven for thinking the healthy glowing skin you once had is just part of getting older. After all, it’s perfectly understandable that the skin is going to change with time. It’s unsettling, but acceptance of your ageing skin is the best approach. Right? Well actually, no.

If your skin has lost its glow, it probably lacks the lipids that bind and protect your skin, and it’s now struggling and in damage control. It took years to get to this point but remarkably with some committed care, your skin can bounce back. You can get your glow back.

Pushed to the back of the bathroom cabinet.

Consider this before you give up on those serums and creams or start on a whole new skincare routine. Ask yourself. Did you cleanse properly? I know, I get it. You’ve spent so much already, and you can’t justify the price of the cleanser. I understand, but the truth is, if you really want those expensive serums and creams to have any chance of working, then you’d better make sure you’re cleansing correctly.

Nothing good can ever be achieved if your skin is working double-time to correct the legacy of the past, not to mention the current environmental onslaught it’s faced with every single day due to a poor cleansing routine.

For healthy glowing skin, do this one thing.

If it were you and me sitting down to chat about your skin and how to achieve healthy glowing skin, you’d either buy the best cleanser for your skin or we’d part ways. I wouldn’t take your money unless I knew the fundamentals of your skincare routine were right, and that means a perfectly balanced cleansing routine.

Not every skincare professional will be so insistent, perhaps they just felt too timid to offer you the best advice (yep, it’s true), many in the skincare industry don’t want to be seen as pushy in fear you’ll be unsatisfied and bring it all back. Of course, no one likes a pushy salesperson, but it’ll do you no good to dabble in your skincare routine.

If it’s good advice (and it is), then you should listen up. It will be worth it.

See you soon,