Week 1: Skin Care in your (upper) 30's

Getting older sucks sometimes- no doubt about it. It gets harder to lose weight, parts start hurting that didn't hurt before, and if you're like me, you're also getting wrinkles. At age 36, I am entirely too old for my skin to look as bad as it does. I've noticed it recently, but just haven't done anything about it. I've never been one to be all that much into make-up, and honestly all the choices for skin care are a little overwhelming to me. So it's easier to just buy a bottle of face soap and some moisturizer, and call it a day.

Thankfully, my hair stylist not only does amazing color, but she also gives unsolicited, honest advice. When I went to visit her on Saturday, she asked me point blank what I do to take care of my skin. I asked her why, and she said "because it looks terrible". Thankyouverymuch Nancy B. But she was right, and I knew it. And unfortunately, my answer was "not much". I spend a lot of time out in the sun when I'm training (though I am really good about wearing sunscreen every day), but my skin is also really dry, and the fine lines seem to have tripled recently. The very first thing Nancy said I needed to change was how I'm moisturizing. She also said (much to my relief) that it's really not necessary to drop some serious cash on the fancy skin care lines, either. Her recommendation? The Oil of Olay Regenerist line.

Since I'm trying to save money for my trip to Hawaii (in just 12 short days), I was not ready to go all out and buy every product on the shelf. So I started small and picked up the Regenerating Cream Cleanser (that also does a light exfoliation) and the Regenerating Serum that she said was an absolute must. Currently, this is my small arsenal of skin care products:

And this is my skin care routine:

Morning: Wash with water only (too much soap adds to my dryness problem) and scrub with a washcloth. Apply a dab of Regenerating Serum, and then finish with Neutrogena Healthy Skin Moisturizer SPF 15 (not pictured).

Evening: Wash with Regenerating Cream Cleanser, apply a dab of Regenerating Serum, apply a generous amount of L'Oreal Revitalift Night Cream (soon to be replaced by an Oil of Olay product) and then finish off with Clinique Repairware Intensive Eye Cream (another product that will be replaced after my trip.)

Twice a week: Scrub face with The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion Cream for some serious exfoliation.   

If money were no object, I would also try to fit in monthly facials. But that's just not going to happen right now, so I'm going to keep trying to find affordable ways to make my skin look better. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate seems to be the key. Exfoliating and getting rid of those pesky top layers of skin seem to be the other trick. Along with the microdermabrasion cream, I might also try a Thermal Mini-Peel that Oil of Olay has in their line. All I know is that my skin can't look much worse than this:

Before

I like to think all those lines are a result of a lot of smiling, but can't I say I would be all that sad to see them go. So....I'm going to try my hardest to stick to a solid routine for the next month, and come back with an "After" picture to see if there is any noticeable difference (fingers crossed). Any tips that you swear by are more than welcome!