What am I preparing for? The 12 Step Korean Skin Care Routine.
The ever so famous skin care routine of Korea’s beautiful glass skin! Most women go as low as three steps, and others, as high as twenty! I am definitely reaching into the higher end of the spectrum.
After many years of taking an interest to Korean skin care, I decided to give it a go, now that I have more funds. I have only purchased some products and will be introducing them one at a time, in order to test for skin allergy reaction. I will also be posting progress pictures and reviews of such said products in the future.
Ethnicity: Filipino-American-Chinese.
The skin break down; Dry, sensitive, rosacea, hyper-pigmentation, acne scarring, mature (the beginning of wrinkles, crows feet), dark eye circles, acne (minor, such as occasional white and black heads), large pores.
As a child, I suffered from severe oily skin, severe acne, from cystic, to white heads, black heads, and large pores.I was bullied severely for this, among other things. I went to dozens of dermatologists in different countries - military family so lots of moving - and most were quite worthless. I mean, seriously, one guy just went into his cabinet and pulled out a couple alcohol swabs, told me to use it for a couple weeks and come back. Every time I came back to people like this, they would repeat the process, which made me realize they just wanted money for the office visits and didn’t care at all about my needs.
Fast forward to a young adult, I tried many forms of birth control, and nothing worked. To my fellow women - NEVER do Depo-Provera shot. I have never been so messed up by a medication then I have on this.
I realized on my own that I had a milk allergy and by removing this from my diet, some of my acne subsided, but I still had major issues. Other things also improved like my flatulence (lol) and horrible stomach pains. This led into me realizing I had Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and I had to make a lot of diet changes. It is amazing how allergies and diet can have affect on the skin, as well as drinking a lot of water to help flush out the system!
Fast forward a bit, I went to some Dermatologists from free clinics, who were interns, later the same type on Medicaid - and lemme tell you - horrible mistake. Free VS Medicaid VS good insurance, lets you know who has the power over your well being. I was pretty much a test dummy, and they honestly did not care for my input nor what was best for me. I was placed on different type of creams like Retin-A... btw.... they never told me to wear sunscreen! Even after six months of my cystic acne basically becoming 10000x worse, they said it was just a phase and would go away in a few more years. I mean... years? After six more months, I was a mountain of rock tomatoes. After discontinuing all the various products they had me switching all over the place to over the years, I cleared back to my basic acne. I was left with horrible scarring and pits all over my face. Thanks health system!
Fast forward to 2018. I finally met a decent Dermatologist who placed me on Spironolactone and she couldn’t believe what I had been through - she said most of my issue was just hormonal and I was creating too much testosterone in my system. Six months later all my cystic acne had vanished! A year later, I was cystic acne free. Most of my break outs had also diminished and I was just left with the occasional minor break outs of white and black heads - but no more cystic! And that to me, was the most important part. As cystic acne was always so painful, left bad scarring/pigmentation, and lasted for months, before it went away. But the dreadful being of its present was forever etched into my skin.
2019. I have been at my new job long enough to be placed on their health benefits - Aetna. All my previous jobs were horrid and also did not offer and kind of benefits. This would be the first time I ever had real insurance in my adult life. Kinda sad, considering my age. The US is just not friendly in regards for health towards their citizens. Though pricey, I was finally getting decent care. I transferred all my medical to a good hospital with a new Dermatologist. They prescribed me azelaic acid, called Finacea. They stated I had rosacea.. I always had a feeling I did, but no one ever mentioned this till now.
I am now on the road, to hopefully, clearing out any remaining stubborn acne, repairing damage, and overall improving my skin. Though it seems right now I am going through a purging stage around my nose and chin, my major problem areas, so I hope that means it is just a purge and not a break out. I am sure with any new product I introduce, that has ingredients with a high cell turn over rate, will occur. In due time, I will have a set routine, and should have no more purges.
Implementing the Korean Skin Care routine, I hope to achieve the glass skin that everyone raves about. I know most of it is due to Asian genes - my great Grandfather was Chinese - though probably not enough to be blessed, but I hope I can come close to it. In my youth, I did have oily skin, that contributed to my youthful complexion, but I have switched to dry. Makes me quite sad, as I rather trade these dry flakes sloughing off my skin, for oils that were easier to manage. I also have hyper-pigmentation and pits from old cystic acne, mostly from not wearing sunscreen and negative treatments from past Dermatologists. I am now implementing sunscreen, I guess better late then never. I don’t have horrible acne as I use too, but I do have some black heads, occasional white heads and large pores.
I do know that most of my skin can be corrected surgically, and not all the creams in the world can correct the deep rooted issues. But who has the money for that? Derma-needling and laser treatments I have researched and taken an interest too. Maybe some day, when I win the lottery. One can dream.
I also suffer from “jowls.” Sagging of the cheeks. This causes me to have an older, sad, and puffy face. I assume from continually pulling my face down due to western forms of rubbing the skin for products, stress and jaw issues. The main reason I got health insurance is because I need a major surgery called, “Total temporomandibular joint (TMJ) replacement.” I am hoping after this surgery, that I can see a plastic surgeon to correct my jowls, and have it approved by my insurance, due to the TMJ surgery. My insurance has certain regulations and I may skate by if my surgeon words it correctly. Again, one can dream!
