How Retinoids Changed my Skin Routine

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Retinoids Changed my Skin Routine

I shared that I stopped using OTC retinol products after learning how they lose potency fast. I switched to a prescription retinoid, Tretinoin, which has extensive research and time in the market behind it. It works, and it remains stable over its shelf life – which is more than can be said by cosmetic OTC retinols.

I expected to see improved results over, say, Paula’s Choice, Inkey List, or InnBeauty. But retinoids changed my skin routine in ways I didn’t expect, too.

Retinoids Changed my Skin Routine – Fewer Steps, Fewer Products

When you’re incorporating a serious retinoid into your routine, best practice is to discontinue all other treatments to give your skin time to adjust. I pared back to the basics: cleanse, moisturize, retinoid, sunscreen. No acids, no toners, no treatments or whatsoever else. I did reincorporate Vitamin C in the morning, which I previously used, once I had adjusted.

A typical skincare day looks like this:

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Cutover Complete

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We’re on our new host now with pretty minimal downtime as the site’s address resolved to its new location. Yay!

Not too much to say on that; I ended up having to go with a different hosting provider than I was working on originally when I made the previous announcement, but it worked out well.

Upcoming Changes / Future of the Blog

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July was a strange month with personal developments that required my focus. This bled into August. I reached a decision, but only now have capacity to communicate it and start executing.

Future of Beauty Skeptic

I reached a decision about what to do with the blog.

I am working on relocating where it is hosted – but the process to do so is going to mean there will be down-time associated with it. Between now and Labor Day, BeautySkeptic.com may be periodically unavailable as I migrate hosts.

Why is This Time Different?

Last time I did this, the provider I moved to offered fully automated, turnkey service, I need to do a great deal of this manually – and some of it is learn-as-I go, because while I do work in tech, I am not a Systems Administrator.

What Does This Mean?

All said and done, it means that after the migration is done, you will still be able to access the site and contents a you did before.

For me, it means I have significantly less financial overhead to keep this site live. It isn’t that I want to wash my hands of the project, but the combination of where it was as a priority + how much it was costing just to keep it online + the administration of keeping it online + content creation combined made me consider shuttering it.

Since I’m defraying cost, I think the other elements will be much easier to digest. :)

Brief: Lume Deodorant Minis

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Lume Deodorant Minis

Today, we’re revisiting a recent topic: Lume Deodorant. I’ve tried, and like, the unscented cream version. Target sells Lume Deodorant Minis, though, and I figured that would be a halfway decent way to try one of the other options.

I picked up one of the Lume Deodorant Minis in Clean Tangerine. This time, I got the mini stick which comes in a small, slender tube not unlike the Native minis’ older packaging. Certainly very travel or purse friendly. I really dislike having fragrance on my hands, so the squeeze tube was not an option.

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I Quit OTC Retinol, and So Should You

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I quit OTC retinol and so should you

Last year, I shared that I incorporated retinol into my skincare routine. If you’re a beauty enthusiast, chances are you’ve heard about the benefits of retinoids for your skin. Retinoids are a type of vitamin A derivative that can help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots, and improve skin texture. However, not all retinoid products are created equal.

I have since quit OTC retinol products that you might buy from Sephora or the drugstore (…or, anywhere, really). If you use over-the-counter retinol products, you should quit them too – and I’ll dig into why below.

First, I covered it a bit in this post, but let’s revisit difference between retinol and retinoids:

The Difference Between Retinol and Retinoids

Retinol is a type of retinoid that is available OTC in skincare products. Retinoids, on the other hand, are available in both OTC and prescription-strength products. Prescription-strength retinoids, such as tretinoin and adapalene (which is available OTC now but was previously Rx-only), are more potent and effective than OTC retinol.

The Problem with OTC Retinol Products

One of the biggest problems with OTC retinol products is that they may not maintain their potency over their shelf life.

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Four Years After Invisalign

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Four years after Invisalign, and six years after I started Invisalign, I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve discussed my experience with. A recent rehash prompted me to think that I should revisit the topic here, too, since I wrote extensively about it (indeed, there’s a whole section of the site as noted by the above link) dedicated to it.

How My Smile is Doing

Four years after Invisalign, my teeth are in good shape! I haven’t had any post-treatment problems. Even though it has been four years after Invisalign, I’m still happy with now much easier it is to just, you know, bite into food. It’s easier to care for my teeth than my pre-treatment teeth were (e.g., flossing is easier). It’s easier to do other cosmetic things like use Whitestrips (which, if you must use them, are most cost-effectively purchased at Costco).

And I’m still very happy with my smile!

Four years out, I stand by my earlier assessment of it being worth the money.

Retainers

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