In December of 2019, I looked in the mirror and was really upset with what I was seeing. Not to ‘acne shame’ myself, but I could clearly see that my inner state was showing on the outward. I had a bad falling out with some family that lead to me relapsing with my mental health. I stopped taking care of myself. I chopped off my hair shorter and shorter, trying to be almost unrecognizable. And, not a cute chop. I mean a, “I’m hurting, so let me take it out on my hair” chop. I also grabbed the darkest black box dye and poured it over my head. My skin hurt. I had no idea that skin could be a reflection of how you felt inside. I decided to work on this. Finally.
After about three months, I had completely transformed my hair and skin. My skin was no clear and healing and my hair was growing and healthy again. How did I do this? Here is everything I did and learned.
Number one: my stress levels. I had heard that stress could affect your acne, but didn’t really believe it. BELIEVE IT. After speaking with a dermatologist, I was told that the majority of my acne was stress induced. I worked on my stress levels by going back to therapy. (I use online therapy here). I also started taking ashwagandha, meditating, journaling and more. The more I healed on the inside, the clearer my skin got.
I also stopped changing up my skincare routine. As a youtuber, I am sent a plethora of products and I found it fun to switch things up. Apparently, the constant switch was irritating my skin leading to my enlarged pores and red face. I now use a consistent few products that work well for my specific skin type. Through the dermatologist, I was also able to learn about my partifcular skin type. This left me flabbergasted. I always thought I had DRY SKIN. I had flaky skin and it appeared dry, so I was constantly moisturizing and didn’t own any exfoliants. Turns out, I had EXTREMELY OILY skin.. It was just so oily and so built up that what I was seeing was YEARS of layers of DEAD skin stuck to my oily pores. After a few weeks of exfoliating all of that off, I was able to clear the rest of my skin up completely. Truly let that be a reminder to get your specific skin information from a professional.
If you notice in my ‘before’ photo… I also had quite aging skin. It was dull, puffy and aging. I was recommended to start using a Gua Sha. I now use it every morning and my skin looks younger, lifted and more vibrant! The best part is it only costs about $10!! If you buy one, I suggest watching a YouTube tutorial (mine is at the bottom of this post) on how to properly use it.
Looking for extreme anti aging, beyond products? I would recommend Nu Face. I personally, love my gua sha, but in a few years I will probably invest in a Nu Face! My dermatologist used it on me during a facial, I swear my skin looked more lifted and youthful that ever before!
For my hair, the first thing I did was get all of the color completely stripped out. It was rough, because I had previous long red hair and then had died it over black. So, it was a little damaging, but good for the long term. Luckily, since I hadn’t ever bleached my current hair, the remover got all of my color out and back to my natural color. I have made a vow to stop coloring my hair. Fun fact, this is the first time I’ve had all natural hair since middle school. Yep, hair dye is addicting. I plan to keep it this way, with maybe the exception of some balayage in the future.
I started taking collagen and it has changed my life. My hair grows insanely fast, my nails are strong and healthy and my skin looks YOUNGER than before. I keep getting asked if I had botox. I have not! Just the collagen (for now, lol). If you only took one thing away from this, collagen is my top product. You need it! I add a scoop into my hot coffee and you can’t even taste it! I also love drinking their collagen hot chocolate for a mid day treat or blueberry night time latte before bed (and it knocks you OUT).
Healthy, clear skin is possible and beautiful, growing hair is also possible. For so long, I thought I just wasn’t lucky enough to have it. Turns out, it was just a few tweaks!
Interested in more of the products I use? Listed below.
Want to see my skin care routine in action? Watch below.