Skincare PATIENCE!

Dear readers,
Hopefully it's been ingrained in your heads how important it is to take care of your skin, no matter how old you are or what your skin type is.  If your skin acts like your enemy, as mine does to me, I know how it feels to pick up a product that's supposed to promise the moon and the stars, and does nothing of the sort.  This begins my story with retinol.

What's retinol? It's form of Vitamin A, which increases cell turnover.  It's often used in anti-aging products, and all the horrible (awesome) beauty mags I read are always saying "USE RETINOL WHEN YOU'RE IN YOUR 20s SO YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A WRINKLED SACK OF DOODY LATER IN LIFE!!!"  I first started using it because it came in this acne kit.  It helped my acne heal and my scars fade, but I eventually got lazy and stopped using it.  When I switched to a different products, the terrible acne cycle began.  A few months ago, I was getting a little desperate and looked into laser treatment for scar removal for my face-- the quote I got was $1600.  Per treatment. According to the dermatologist I saw, she said I'd need three.

After the meeting, I dug out another OTC retinol product I had and started using it religiously every night (retinol breaks down in sunlight, so if you want it to work, you have to use it at night).  It's been about two months, and I definitely see a difference, not only in how my scars have faded, but also how much the texture of my skin has improved.

You may recognize from my Urban Defense review, taken a few months ago.

Right side- sad panda:(

This was taken this morning:

Right and left sides

Obviously my face didn't magically get perfect over night, but the difference is noticeable. So I guess this post is to encourage you to not give up! If you're like me, and using something to fix a problem, don't expect it to work overnight! Have patience! If your your routine is just to delay the inevitable, then congratulations to your future of being a hot senior citizen- keep up the good work!