Simplistic Skin Care

For about as long as I can remember, my skin has been more or less a mess. I should correct myself, the skin on my face has been a wreck; my body skin has been fantastic - staying moisturized, holding a great tan and sheen, I could continue but in efforts not to seem overly-pompous, I'll stop there - but my face? Small breakouts all over my forehead, large and inconsistent blemishes on my cheeks, large pores on my nose, and then extremely dry (think globs of skin flaking off!) along my jaw bone.

When I was 25 years old, my sister moved back to Minneapolis (our hometown) from the east coast and we rented a condo together. Now, she was one of those "all organic" types. I'm talking Toms toothpaste, Moroccan oil hair products long before they became trendy, you get the picture. I turned my nose up at all the stuff she used (after mistakenly grabbing said toothpaste early one morning... Wow that stuff has a different taste than neon-dyed and sugar-filled Crest!) and rudely asked her, "Does that stuff even work, you hippie?!" 

Fast forward four years. She's back on the east coast, I'm down in Dallas, and wouldn't you know, I'm pregnant. I had been using an aggressive skin care regimen from a department store, high end brand catering to women with sensitive skin. It was absolutely FULL of chemicals I couldn't pronounce. My skin was acting crazier than ever. I had just finished reading an article on the potential hazards of acne treatments while pregnant.

So what do I do? I gchat my sis' for all natural answers! "Uh, hey! So, what do you use on your breakouts? I mean, wait - do you even get breakouts? Like, ever? Your skin is always flawless..."

"I do!" she replied. First, after all the crap I gave her during the two years we lived together about being a "natural hippy" I'm shocked she even wanted to engage in this conversation, but thankfully she did, and I'm SO THANKFUL that she recommended Burt's Bees Acne Spot Treatment.

This stuff is simply ahh-maze-zing! It took me a few more weeks of pregnancy breakout hell before I gave in and purchased it (you can find it everywhere, from Target to CVS to Whole Foods). Overnight, and I mean overnight y'all, my poor hormonal skin saw significant redness reduction and the breakouts that were there started to dry up. But not like they did when I used "that other brand" of product. No, rather like this product was enabling my skin to repair itself!

If you're pregnant, struggling with problematic skin, have occasional breakouts or just want something on hand for an emergency situation, I could not recommend this more! There's no burning, no irritation, it uses all natural oils, and smells fantastic. Just roll it over your problem area - I do it in the morning after my shower and before bed.

As it would turn out, my "hippie sister" wasn't so cray cray. In fact, she was just years and years ahead of the crowd, paving the way for slow folks like me to finally realize how much better these products 1) are for you, your skin and, you know, the planet and 2) organic and natural products DO work!

*The opinions expressed in this article are fully my own, and I'm in no way being compensated by Burt's Bees either monetarily or via gifted product.