One of the topics that I’ve really enjoyed writing about on this blog is skin care and sharing my experiences with you. As women, I think that we all struggle at some point (some of us more than others) with determining what exactly our needs are and how to stay on top of them as they change (and if you’re like me they change faster than you can keep up with them!). As most of you know, I celebrated my 30th birthday last June and with that came a new focus on really taking care of myself as I enter a whole new decade of my life. I’ve talked a lot this last year about aging gracefully and healthfully. It’s been quite a change in mindset for me to transition into to that realm of thinking but I think that preventative care and being active about it early is a great way to approach it.
It felt like a huge belated birthday gift when I received an email in my inbox on January 13, almost six months after my 30th birthday, with an offer from Dr. Kulbersh at Carolina Facial Plastics for a year of complimentary treatments and skin care. I met Dr. Kulbersh last year when he invited me to come to his office for an enzyme peel and a skin care analysis. You can read my full experience with that but in a nutshell it was amazing and my skin was glowing, clear and so smooth after the peel. Over the last year I have been faithfully using the Image skin care line that they sent me home with and I have had great results with it. You can read all about what I’ve been doing for my skin care in this post.
Although I am happy with where I’m at with my skin care right now I have two primary goals.
- As much preventative care as possible to help with the aging process. Over the last couple of years I have definitely started to notice my skin changing in texture, tone, volume, fine lines, etc. I want to have glowing, radiant, youthful skin for as long as possible and I know there are so many things I can do to help with that.
- The ability to manage my hormonal acne without the use of birth control. More on that in a future post.
I have met with Dr. Kulbersh and his Director of Skin Care, Dede, several times over the last few weeks to discuss what this year will look like, what my goals are, our goals for the project/experiment, how to best share it with my readers and document my experiences, etc. Our vision for this is that it will be first-hand storytelling and I will talk you through my experiences with everything and document photo progress along the way. Dr. Kulbersh would like to make this an ongoing program featuring a different Charlotte community leader each year. I am absolutely blown away that he invited me to be the first one and the timing couldn’t be more perfect with my focus of making this new decade of my life as amazing as possible.
While I am excited, I am also a little nervous. I feel like aging, skin care and appearance can be deeply personal stuff and it’s a little scary to open up about taking it to the next level and publicly writing about it and having not only my readers but everyone in Charlotte know the ins and outs of my skin care. My hope is that it’s educational and helpful for you guys for me to share my first-hand experiences and that you feel empowered to take whatever steps that work for YOU in order to feel good about your skin and aging. I will be 100% honest with you about this whole process. And let me just quell any concerns before they start…there will be absolutely no surgical procedures going on here. All skin care and non-surgical procedures! The primary focus of the year will be regular peels and a new skin care routine and showing you the effects of that. There may also be stuff like Latisse, professional teeth whitening, a hair and makeup lesson, injectables, dermaplaning, etc. Nothing too intense or that would significantly change anything about my appearance. We ALL agreed that isn’t necessary!
This will be a 12-month series in which I will write a monthly post about different topics related to everything I discussed above. Expect lots of photos, general education and diary-style writing from me. Please let me know if you have any specific questions or topics you would like for me to address as a part of this series. Dr. Kulbersh and Dede are so extremely knowledgable and I would love to focus on providing as much education as possible with this series.
What a great opportunity! You skin always look flawless 🙂
A graceful and healthy aging plan that includes injectables…interesting.
I agree.
totally get it ladies and have similar thoughts/feelings myself. it’s a lot to consider and not to take lightly…notice the “may include” in the verbiage of the post!
This was my gut reaction too. Injecting chemicals into your face just doesn’t seem like a natural part of aging, even if it’s marketed that way. That said, I’m open to hearing about the process and maybe it’ll shift my perspective.
I do wonder – are you receiving any sort of compensation or discount as part of this partnership? If so, that’s fine, but I would really appreciate a disclaimer at the beginning of these posts as a part of being honest/open.
hey amanda – i disclosed in the second paragraph of the post that the treatments are complimentary.
Yes Jen you did but I agree with Amanda that a disclaimer at the beginning would be appreciated.
I have to jump in and disagree — as long as Jen has a disclaimer somewhere that she is receiving them for free why does it need to be at the beginning? You should just read the post more thoroughly! My $0.02.
stacey and amanda – thanks for the feedback. i treated this post no differently than ever other post where i talk about something i received free for review. i am always sure to disclose somewhere in the post that it was free…you can look back to my yogi clothing and brady bands posts most recently…in the past that has always seemed to work for everyone.
on a related note, i am always sure to note clearly when it’s a sponsored post.
the exact way to disclose is one of those blogging gray areas but i’m always transparent about it and happy to answer questions.
I always appreciate the transparency – in this case, I didn’t notice the disclaimer about it being “complimentary” though I read the post over 2-3 times to make sure I hadn’t missed it before commenting.
Putting acknowledgements of free/reduced cost products and services at the beginning/end of a post in a separate disclaimer seems to be common practice on most of the other blogs I read, and I happen to really appreciate that practice because it makes everything really open and honest – which is why I prefer blogs over magazines. Putting it in the middle of a paragraph makes it look like you’re burying the disclaimer in the text, which makes me feel like I’m being advertised at unknowingly.
i’m sorry you didn’t notice it. it was the first sentence in the second paragraph, early in the post. i appreciate the feedback and will reconsider the way that i disclose in the future…this has just never been an issue prior to this post so i was surprised.
Wow how awesome is that. Looking forward to reading about your experiences.
I am so interested to read about all of the preventative measures you will be taking! So interesting 🙂 Thank you for being so open and honest!
People go to great lengths to take care of their other muscles such as seeing the chiropractor, massage therapy, stretching, muscle relaxers, and tons of other stuff. The muscles on the face need care too. Injectables (when used in moderation like anything else), relax your facial muscles for months at a time and, gasp, make you feel better because you look better. The younger you start to get them, the less wrinkled you will be when you are older. Relax a brow furrow, heavy lines on your forehead, or soften crows feet…sound good to me:) If you don’t like it, it will wear off and you don’t have to get it again!
I love this blog and I am so excited to hear about your experiences, Jen!
hey liz – thanks so much for your viewpoint. everyone has such a different perspective on it. there’s definitely a lot to consider and it is nice that it’s not permanent. i really like that. each person is just so different in what they think is the right thing for them!
This exactly. Not sure what the big deal is. Granted, I’m married to a dermatologist, but I have yet to get any injectables or peels myself. I liken it to the temporary fix you get when dying your hair (which I also don’t do – ha). If it makes you feel better, go for it! A good injectable job, whether Botox or fillers, is where you can tell a person looks better but can’t quite put your finger on why. The best way to prevent signs of aging is sun protection, so I hope they’re making sure you protect your skin!
Love this! I’ve been toying with the idea about seeing someone about my face. I’m 27 and getting lines/wrinkles plus hormonal acne. Great combination. Look forward to following along with your journey.
awesome! I can’t wait to hear about your journey. i’m especially interested to hear how you can manage your hormonal acne – I have the worst around my jawline and chin. I don’t want to take any oral medicines, but would love to hear what I can do to help it!
I’m really excited to hear more about #2! Hormonal acne = bane of my existence.
I second that! It’s the worst and the pill is just awful.
i know, y’all. it’s been so hard for me. i still have scars from the last time i tried to go off it. my skin had never been so bad in my life.
You may already be doing this, but taking zinc was HUGE for me when I went off the pill. I was breaking out in massive cysts for months, but as soon as I started zinc (I personally took 50mg a day), the worst of it stopped. I am prone to bad skin so my skin wasn’t flawless after that, but the huge cysts stopped. Taking magnesium and b-vitamins after stopping the pill were also important to my “BC pill recovery” as I call it. 🙂
this is SO helpful. thank you!
I also took zinc (acne on my chin), but be sure to do it the right way. Zinc is not like vitamin C, the excess doesn’t come out in your urine… It can be toxic if you have too much in your system (diarrhea, dizziness); in fact we need 8mg a day, I took 40/day during 2 months, never had problem (a 95% vegetarian and we often lack zinc) but now I take 20mg, 2-3x /week. And, it can affects your iron too. But, very good for the acne, inflammation and healing.
This sounds awesome!! I’ve been wanting a professional’s opinion on my face for a while. I’m looking forward to reading about your journey an what you learn!
I’m interested to find out about controlling hormonal acne without birth control. I suffer from that and recently had to stop taking the pill and am so worried I will start breaking out again.
What an amazing opportunity for you! I have seen the amazing results of Latisse. If you are able to try it complimentary I would highly recommend it.
yes, i’ve had several friends who have used it with amazing results.
Love these posts, I’m 29 and going through some rough stuff with my skin right now. I’ve started developing reactions to almost everything under the sun, so I’m in the process of switching over to single source oils as cleanser and moisturizer.
shaya – i’m so sorry to hear that. i’ve had tons of issues with the skin around my eyes the last few months. they’ve been itchy and flaking because of a cosmetic allergy. it’s so frustrating. i feel for you!
Super excited about this series! I’m really looking forward to the preventative suggestions and if you are able to find anything to reverse – like tightening type stuff.
thanks liz! i’ll be sure to share everything with y’all!
I’m totally jealous! And to tell you the truth…I love my forehead with a little “B” in it ….I would agree it’s preventive for me. I was on the swim and water polo team from 6th grade through college and living by the beach …I have had my time in the sun. Has your doctor every talked about sleeping on silk pillow? My esthetician was talking about it the other day…just wanted to see if you have heard about it too.
Wow, that’s an incredible opportunity! I can’t wait to live vicariously through your experience and I hope that you can share some (budget-friendly!) tips!
Love your blog! As an Aesthetician, I am excited to follow your progress as well. I also use Image products and they are wonderful, can really help improve the quality of the skin. I have fought my own acne battle for awhile, especially after having my IUD removed, so I can def relate to you. Enjoy your journey!
Thanks for sharing! I think as people that love to work out, having to deal with sweat and all the other gym-type stuff makes it a little harder to manage skincare issues. I started using Retinol (Peter Thomas Roth!), when I got my wedding pictures back 2 years ago and noticed fine lines & early crows feet!!! (eek!!) After consistent Retinol use (every night for 6 months), I’m now 30 and don’t t have any more fine lines, and no crows feet. Only use it at night, UV rays in the daytime deactivate the stuff. I SWEAR by it. (btw, I am a doctor, but NOT a derm, and I’m NOT sponsored by Peter Thomas Roth!) Ha. 🙂