You’ve probably noticed the 2 and a bit week gap between the last [skincare 101] post and this one…oooops sorry! Sometimes I get so excited about another post that I just push other things back because I just can’t wait. Anyway, we are back on track and are tackling masks and serums today. I’m also going to give you an update on how my skin is looking and feeling since I had my Lamelle Beta chemical peel a while ago. Let’s dive right in!

Although I’m really lazy, I really love this part of a facial regime because to me, this is the most powerful bit and where your skin will receive the most benefits. But only if you exfoliate so make sure you read about that over here first! Applying a mask before exfoliating your skin is pretty useless as there will be a layer of dead skin cells that the product won’t be able to penetrate past which means active ingredients won’t be able to sink into the deeper layers of the skin to help whatever your concern may be.

Right, so why should you consider adding a serum and mask to your skincare routine? Well, we all have a concern about our skin, whether it’s small or large, it’s there. Me, for example, my major concern is dehydration, followed by occasional congestion and then of course premature ageing. Serums and masks have very specific active ingrediants that will target your concerns. They are super charged, super concentrated products designed to kickstart your skin into being its best. Now you tell me, who doesn’t want a bit of that?!

Although their focus is very similar, you use them quite differently. A serum is more of an every day product. I like to apply mine at night (when your skin regenerates the most) but if my skin is feeling particularly parched, I apply in the morning and at night. Usually I apply about 6-8 drops of serum directly onto my skin with pressing movements but if I’m feeling a bit lazy, I add the serum to my moisturiser in my hand and apply it all at once. Probably better to apply them separately though. At the moment I am hooked on the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster. I find that it really helps my skin to not flake and feel tight. It had holy grail status during the first week post chemical peel.

Masks are a bi-weekly product. Ideally you should be exfoliating twice a week, and then masking straight after that. Masks differ quite a bit depending on what they are meant to assist with. For example, hydrating masks are often in a gel form, while deep cleansing masks are usually clay based. I really love the Freeman masks, they are affordable and I feel like that they do a pretty good job. I also really love the LUSH Mask of Magnaminty when I feel like my skin needs a bit of a deep cleanse and a wake up call. If I have a cluster of blemishes, I like to pop some clay based mask on that area and sleep with it on, I find that it really helps to minimise the mountain and often if lessens the time that it sticks around.

I said it earlier and I’ll say it again: I’m very lazy. Really, I would rather watch another episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (guilty pleasure, judge away) than spend that time applying a face mask and patting in a serum. BUT, when I do, I see the positive results and so I force myself to do those extra steps, especially if I’m struggling with something specific at the time (usually congestion or dehydration).

Next week is the last [skincare 101] post and will be about moisturisers and SPF. Now that we are nearing the end, is there anything that you want to know more about or that you think I should do a post on? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me!

I thought that this would be a good time to give you an update on my skin since I had my chemical peel (if you didn’t see that post, read it here). It’s been two weeks and so I think I can give a pretty accurate review on how my skin has reacted as well as any improvements I have noticed.

For the rest of the day after I had my peel, my skin was pretty red, it wasn’t sore or itchy though. My skin is very reactive and so I really didn’t expect it to not be red. My skin was extremely soft and smooth though which I was super happy about. The next few days I definitely noticed more congestion coming up, which I also expected. It wasn’t anything that couldn’t be hidden with a bit of concealer, but there was slightly more than usual. At about day 10 though that had all disappeared. My skin didn’t actually flake which surprised me but I think that it was a result of using a hydrating mask every night for the first week which Sarah from Renew advised me to do. I am going for a session of Microdermabrasion (expect a post on that soon!) tomorrow and will get another Visia analysis – I’m pretty excited to see the difference! I would absolutely go for another Lamelle Beta peel at Renew, my skin is less congested, feels smoother and the texture is much better. A total win in my books!

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