Melaleuca Renew Intensive Skin Therapy

Hello everyone! I'm a terrible blogger, I'm so sorry. I got another writing job writing for The Odyssey so watch out for my shameless plugs, I haven't had an article published yet but tomorrow or Tuesday the first one should be up.

But like I said last week, I'm going to review a moisturizer/lotion if been infatuated with lately. I have very dry skin and lately it has been getting worse, and none of my usual moisturizers are cutting it. I've run out of options (literally, I ran out of everything), and I found the Melaleuca Renew Intensive Skin Therapy sitting on my bathroom shelf.

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I totally forgot about this! I bought it when I first got my tattoo and it did a wonderful job moisturizing and aiding the healing process. I planned on using this until I could get to the store and buy something new that would hopefully work. 

But I was pleasantly surprised. I applied it after I showered and washed my face, and I noticed my face was so smooth! All my rough and dry patches were almost gone. It has a faint scent which is a little annoying, but it's not too overpowering. 

I guess I never thought to use this because it's more of a body lotion than a face moisturizer; if you have acne prone or oily skin this may cause a breakout, but I haven't had one so far. 

I use it twice a day, once in the morning and once at night after I get out of the shower (or in the morning after I shower, whichever happens). 

So I do recommend buying a small bottle of this to try if you have super dry patches like I do. It's thick so I do worry about breakouts on other people but it just works so well for me! 

What is your favorite winter moisturizer? I'm of course always up for suggestions! 

My Winter Skincare Must Haves

My skin always gets a little drier in the winter months, but this year it just FREAKED out for some reason. I've never had such dry skin in my life (mainly on my face).

I had to change 2 main things in my makeup/skincare regimen: my cleanser and my foundation.

I was using the Cerave Hydrating Cleanser, which worked well for my skin in the summer (it get's dehydrated a lot), and MAC Pro Longwear foundation. My skin was starting to get very dry when it started getting cold, but once I switched from my Revlon Colorstay foundation to MAC Pro Longwear, my skin was very unhappy.

But on the bright side, I think I found the products that make my winter skin happy!

1. Mario Badescu Facial Spray- I've been using this since the summer, and it just works wonders. I only use night cream every other day, and in between days I just spray my face with this before I go to bed. I learned this trick on Youtube: If your skin gets little flakies on it throughout the day, take a makeup brush (stippling, powder, foundation, or whatever), spray a little makeup setting spray on it, and brush it over the flakey part. It won't get rid of the problem completely, but it will temporarily make the flakes less noticeable.

2. Body Moisturizer- The rest of my skin also gets pretty dry in the winter, so I make sure to moisturize after I get out of the shower because the hot water tends to dry out my skin more. My favorite is the Secret Wonderland scent from Bath and Body Works!

3. Mario Badescu Collagen Moisturizer- I got this as a sample when I filled out the skin care analysis questionairre on the Mario Badescu website, and I bought the full size of it when there was a Mario Badescu Hautelook sale. This is probably one of my favorite moisturizers because it doesn't make my skin too greasy, absorbs quickly, and has an spf of 15. It also works well for me in the summer and winter so I don't have to switch moisturizers (like I did for facial cleanser).

4. Yes to Carrots Nourishing Cleanser and Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser- I had used this before but I stopped using it during the summer because my skin didn't need the extra moisture like it does in the winter. This was the main thing that saved my skin, the only dry parts I have no are around my nose and above my eyebrows, as I do year round. I am in LOVE with this cleanser during the cold months. I also bought the exfoliating cleanser to use a few time a week just to get rid of any dead skin cells.

5. A good lip butter/balm- My lips need a little extra attention in the winter time. I always keep a chapstick, lip butter, lip balm, etc., with me when I'm out and apply it when they start to feel dry. I also apply before bed and when I wake up in the morning. I have so many different ones I use I can't even choose a favorite, haha :)

6. A lip scrub- This is especially important to get all of the dead skin off your lips. If you are applying lip balm to your lips but don't get rid of the dead skin cells, the lip balm won't do much. There are tons of DIY lip scrubs you could do, but I'm kind of lazy and I use Sara Happ's the Lip Scrub.

7. Revlon Colorstay Foundation- Since I couldn't afford to get the foundation I wanted (Vapour Organic Beauty foundation), I switched back to my Revlon Colorstay for normal/dry skin. It was a lot nicer to my skin than the MAC Pro Longwear was, I'll have to use that one in the summer instead.

Well that's all of my winter skincare items. Well not all of them but the most important ones :) Does your skin get dry in the winter? What helps you keep it hydrated and healthy?

Dry vs. Dehydrated Skin

Before I went to get my facial, I just thought I had combination skin, where I was dry in some areas and oily in others. Well I found out that my skin was actually dehydrated, and I also learned that dehydrated skin and dry skin are two different skin issues! I'm not a dermatologist or anything, so all of this information is the result of what I've gathered from my facialist, research, and person experience. Warning: post may be long.

That chart pretty much sums it up for you lazies, so that you don't have to read multiple paragraphs trying to figure out what I'm saying. Basically, any skin type can become dehydrated, including oily skin. It's caused by external factors, where dry skin IS your skin type, and that's just the way it is.

Before I got this facial, I noticed that my skin gets somewhat oily throughout the day, like normal, but random dry patches were showing up on my face. I would get dry around my nose, mouth, eyebrows, and hair line. I think the cause of my dehydration was the cleanser I was using (Yes to Cucumbers Calming Facial Cleansing Gel), because I switched over from the Yes to Carrots Daily Cream Facial Cleanser and did not have a problem with dryness at all.

Exfoliating is essential. You can moisturize all you want, but if you don't get rid of the dead skin cells, your moisturizing will only help the dryness on the surface.

If your skin gets dehydrated often, it might be good to invest in a good facial hydrator, which is something you either mix in or put on before your apply your moisturizer. The hydrator will help replenish nutrients in the skin and pull your moisturizer deeper into your skin so you get maximum moisture. The only one I've tried is the SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel, and it worked amazingly for me but I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives.

Drink a lot of water. Probably didn't need to be said.

Stop using any facial products that may be harsh on your skin. Look especially for products with hyaluronic acid in them, which will help the water bind with your skin. I started using CeraVe's Hydrating Cleanser with hyaluronic acid and it's definitely helped to keep my skin hydrated throughout the day. Look for other products such a moisturizers or skin boosters that contain hyaluronic acid.

I hope this helped clear up some confusion! Has your skin ever been dehydrated? What products do you use to keep you flake-free?