I was a little bit hesitant about putting up this post as the pictures I have below make me so self-conscious but then again I prefer to tell the truth and not pretend my life is prefect. Also if this helps others too then that is an extra bonus. So I know this blog is about my Canadian experience and I know its not a beauty blog etc but I said I would share with you how my skin has changed since arriving to Toronto and what I have done to get it back to the way it use to be.
So everyone wants beautiful skin, I find these days with Instagram and all its filters we are led to believe that so many people have amazing flawless skin but often that is not the case. I myself have used filters to change the colour of my skin or even to mask the fact that I had spots on my chin. We are all guilty of this. I think that its important however to be real and honest. I have always had pretty good skin, the odd spot now and then. I was very lucky during my teens that I didn't get massive break outs. So as you can imagine at 25 years of age (nearly 26 on Friday cough cough) I was shocked when my skin suddenly changed when I arrived here. I was getting pretty bad breakouts on my chin, that were really red and sore and the moment one spot started to go another would appear. It was mainly concentrated around my chin and month with some on my forehead.
Some days my skin was so sore I could barely open my mouth to eat. My face was sore and even putting make up on didn't hide them, they felt humongous. I got really upset and down over it and It made me really self conscious. I tried to figure out what was causing it, was it dairy? was I lacking in something? I couldn't quite figure it out. I have cut down on dairy as much as a chocolate lover can, I have soya milk instead and I am trying to watch my diet by drinking more water etc.
However, just before Christmas after trying lots of spot creams etc I came across Proactiv in a shopping mall. I had heard about it before but didn't know much or need to know much about it but I had a chat with the woman working there. I ended up buying a 3 step cleanse, tone and moisturizer as a starter guide to get me on the right path. I used the products that night and then again when I woke up. My chin felt very hot and irritated and I noticed it was red and spreading down to my neck. I stopped using the products and brought them back. After speaking with the woman working there again she informed me that the products I used had a high concentration of benzoyl peroxide in it which many people can be sensitive too. She gave me 3 different products that had salicylic acid in it instead of benzoyl peroxide along with a spot treatment cream and I am not joking it has changed my life haha.
So everyone wants beautiful skin, I find these days with Instagram and all its filters we are led to believe that so many people have amazing flawless skin but often that is not the case. I myself have used filters to change the colour of my skin or even to mask the fact that I had spots on my chin. We are all guilty of this. I think that its important however to be real and honest. I have always had pretty good skin, the odd spot now and then. I was very lucky during my teens that I didn't get massive break outs. So as you can imagine at 25 years of age (nearly 26 on Friday cough cough) I was shocked when my skin suddenly changed when I arrived here. I was getting pretty bad breakouts on my chin, that were really red and sore and the moment one spot started to go another would appear. It was mainly concentrated around my chin and month with some on my forehead.
Some days my skin was so sore I could barely open my mouth to eat. My face was sore and even putting make up on didn't hide them, they felt humongous. I got really upset and down over it and It made me really self conscious. I tried to figure out what was causing it, was it dairy? was I lacking in something? I couldn't quite figure it out. I have cut down on dairy as much as a chocolate lover can, I have soya milk instead and I am trying to watch my diet by drinking more water etc.
However, just before Christmas after trying lots of spot creams etc I came across Proactiv in a shopping mall. I had heard about it before but didn't know much or need to know much about it but I had a chat with the woman working there. I ended up buying a 3 step cleanse, tone and moisturizer as a starter guide to get me on the right path. I used the products that night and then again when I woke up. My chin felt very hot and irritated and I noticed it was red and spreading down to my neck. I stopped using the products and brought them back. After speaking with the woman working there again she informed me that the products I used had a high concentration of benzoyl peroxide in it which many people can be sensitive too. She gave me 3 different products that had salicylic acid in it instead of benzoyl peroxide along with a spot treatment cream and I am not joking it has changed my life haha.
Within about 2 weeks I noticed a difference and now I am feeling much more confident about my skin. Unfortunately my skin has been left with some scarring but hopefully that will go with time and maybe some bio oil will help it along. I know people have much worse problems and even much worse skin but I said I would share my story and it might help people with similar problems. The products I use to take off my make up are Nip and Fab and the moisturizer I use is Kiehls. I am slightly obsessed with Kiehls products, they are amazing.
Taking care of my skin is very important to me and hopefully now it will stay clear. Below is a before and after picture of what it was like before I used proactiv and whats its like now. If you do decide to use this product sometime just be careful that you don't react to it, do a test first maybe. Like I said I was hesitant putting this up but I want to show the difference it has made. After all, that's life...we get spots! We aren't all prefect but thank god for make up haha.
So happy with the progress so far, long may it last. Now I can take selfies with less filters applied, what more could a girl want. Haha.
Talk soon xx
Zita J
p.s excuse the slightly green tint at the end of my hair, I'll explain that disaster another day:-/
