My Skin's Journey

When I was young - in my teens and early twenties - I had pretty big acne flareups every month. Not so much that it left scarring on my face, but enough that I spent years chasing down the perfect concealer and foundation that both covered and controlled the excess oil production. I also spent years dowsing my skin in strong "breezy" alcohol astringents, having no clue I was actually making matters worse. 

In my teens and twenties I also, much like everyone else, dowsed my body in suntan lotion and let the sun bake my skin. I loved that dark sun-kissed look then and had no idea the amount of hyperpigmentation that it would create. In my late twenties I developed radom patchy hyperpigmentation spots on my forehead and lower jaw line and cheeks. My skintone became very uneven and I now found myself wearing concealer not just for pimples, but also to even out everything a bit. 

I finally outgrew some of that hormonal acne in my thirties and only dealt with it once a month for a week or two during my cycle. I contribute some of that to multiple pregnancies and switching back to full fat dairy, but that is a blog post for another day. 

Regardless of my skin improving somewhat from awkward teens to adult woman, my skin also matured enough that the texture changed. No matter how much I chased exfolitation, it remained dull rough plus both oil and dry simmultaneously. Any products I had been using didn't work any more. 

Not only that, but I was lazy with my selfcare routines. Sure, I would wash makeup off my face - mostly - at the end of the night if I wore some. Sure, I would wash my face in the shower or bath. But most days I just bought a bottle of witch hazel and swiped my face calling it good. I didn't have the time to do a whole "routine" on my face. It all felt like a big waste of time and money, especially since I really hadn't found anything that worked well aside from the witch hazel. 

Fast forward to my forties and my skin changed again. The acne that had cleared up started coming back more often, especially on my chin area along with those pesky new chin hairs that were the new bane of my existence. My skin became oddly more dry and flakey, but also more oily and unmanageble. And, worst of all, I started noticing wrinkles and a slightly sagging jowl line. 

Once again, I went researching and hunting for the new perfect skincare regimine, determined to start taking better care of my skin and not be so lazy. I didn't want a lot of chemicals and I knew I'd need to add some retinol to fix some damage. And, while I did find a lovely facewash and moisturizer that met my new facial needs, it wasn't enough. Something was missing and neither of those addressed the peri/menopausal acne. 

I kept researching and trying product after product. I loved some of the ingredients I found, but they were always paired with other ingredients - even if natural - that tended to clog up my pores and make breakouts worse. 

Simultaneously during this period of time, my oldest son relapsed in cancer. I quit my job to be a full time caretaker to him and we started fundraising. As I planned a gofundme plus different types of fundraisers, an idea started niggling in the back of my brain. And that idea wouldn't shake. 

Suddenly all those dreams of mine as a little girl of foraging my herbs and weeds and making and creating and one day owning a little witchy shop attached to a Bed & Breakfast kept circling around and around in my head. Those dreams started merging with new ideas for fundraising. And as I started to run out of a product here and there, I started experimenting, formulating, and testing using my own skin as the guinea pig. 

And as my little face potions started accumulating, the idea for The Rainbow Alchemist was born. Except what if instead of a fundraiser, I turned it into a legitimate business? And here you are reading this! A dream turned reality!

But the best news has been how happy my skin is. Never before have I looked more forward to washing my face everynight and every morning. Never has a toner felt so refreshing without stripping excess oil and left my face with that glass skin look. Never before has my skin been as soft, as supple, and as nourished as after using my day and night facial oils and letting them just sit and soak in. Never before has my skin tone been more even, less blotchy, less hyperpigmented, and free of blemishes. 

And the best part? The smell is divine! A soft hint of citrus and vanilla during the day and floral jasmine at night leaves everyone around me asking what I'm wearing. It's like wrapping my face in the softest selfcare hug. My jowls are less jowly and my eyes are more lifted. My skin literally glows and now the only bit of makeup I wear, if any at all, is a touch of mascara and some lipgloss. 

Here is the difference almost 30 days with this new skincare routine has made!