Twenty Swans

…and I haven’t been using acids! WHAT.

My skin was in a state of dryness just after Christmas where just about my whole family looked at me and went, ‘why are your cheeks so red???’ Making me panic and check the mirror and yes, my inner cheeks were unusually red. Now, I am prone to a state of ‘Asian flush’ when I drink (we were all reminded of that during the Christmas lunch…) and my family compared it to that too, but I hadn’t been drinking!

It’s true that acids aren’t the only cause of damage to the moisture barrier (I’ve been browsing horror skincare tales on Reddit too much, really) and in my case, it was most likely the winter cold or something else. Either way, not pleasant.

The signs I noticed were:

• unusually smooth skin that didn’t match the rest of my face in texture. It was even like dry lips, but not flaking! It didn’t feel overly tight, though.
• The unusual flushing.
• Itchiness! I felt the strong need to scratch my inner cheeks sometimes!
• At its worst, my usual go-to products stung my cheeks on application.
• Some people have mentioned over-oily forehead before as a sign but my forehead is always, always oily. It has, however, felt textured quickly after cleansing which I can’t be 100% sure is unusual.

I’m already writing up plans for the annual skincare routine post but for now, it’s been stripped back a few layers. There’s not much in my routine at the moment to help with fixing a damaged moisture barrier but this is what my next payday earnings will go towards 😉

Until next time,

X