My skincare journey: From spots to smooth in a year

‘Invest in your skin. It is going to represent you for a very long time!’ – Linden Tyler.

How my skincare journey started

In a departure to the normal topics I write about on How The Mind Wanders…, today I want to share my skincare journey. Let’s be honest, 2020 was a shit/weird/strange/fucked up/insert word here year. We didn’t get the opportunities to travel (or do anything much) like we normally would. And so, during a flying visit from my friend J in August, I decided that, with little else to focus on, the time had come to start improving my skincare regimen.

It started with a book…

August bank holiday 2020. I sat with J on the sofa in my flat and found my gaze drawn repeatedly to her glowing, healthy looking skin. She looked like she’d just been on an extended overseas holiday, not stuck in lockdown for months! Finally, I couldn’t keep it in any longer.

“Your skin looks amazing!” I exclaimed, during the next pause in conversation.

“Oh my God, thanks!” she exclaimed, touching her cheek, “I’ve got a regime now!”

I was intrigued. Thankfully for me, J was generous and proceeded to share the secrets of her new skincare routine with me in great detail. The biggest secret? Caroline Hirons. More specifically, Caroline Hirons’ wonderful book – ‘Skincare’. Before the day was out, I’d ordered my own copy. As I settled into bed that evening, having followed J’s extensive 7-step evening skincare routine, I decided that if nothing else, it was nice to have a soothing routine before going to sleep.

Little did I know then, but improving my skincare would become a bit of an obsession for the next six months. And then, finally, I would find my magic combo and settle into a regimen that felt, and still feels, perfect for my skin. But first, let’s skip back to before, so you can get an idea of where I was starting from.

My skincare routine before

I admit, I was skeptical when J first mentioned Caroline. I’ve always avoided what I perceived to be people after a quick buck, and I was hesitant about purchasing Caroline’s book to begin my skincare journey. However, as I parted with £10, I also felt a strange thrill of excitement. Could I finally be on my way towards ending the spotty nightmare my skin had become?

Since I moved to London in 2016, my skin had deteriorated. I was afflicted with large clusters of red, angry spots on my neck for years. They itched and were incredibly sore. I’d become self-conscious about them, and wore a lot of makeup on my neck and face to try and hide the spots that never went away. My skin was also looking increasingly dull and pale. Rarely, if ever, did it feel soft and supple. How I imagined skin should feel. So, while I was skeptical about starting a proper skincare routine, I also knew that something had to change. I wasn’t happy with my skin. Perhaps Caroline could help!

Before my fateful conversation with J and the subsequent purchase of Caroline’s book, my skincare routine was minimal, to say the least! In the mornings, I splashed my face in the hot shower to wake myself up. Then, I spent half an hour applying blemish stick, concealer, foundation, eyebrow pencil, mascara and a touch of highlighter. Come evening, I simply removed my makeup with Garnier micellar water and popped a layer of Simple rich moisturisor on. Occasionally, I did a face mask. Looking back, I’m shocked at how I used to treat my skin. It’s little wonder it was so dull and tired-looking all the time!

Enter Caroline Hirons: Skincare Queen!

When Caroline’s book arrived, I made a cup of tea and settled down to flick through it. Within minutes, I was hooked.

Caroline follows a simple formula, but one I appreciate: Tell. It. Like. It. Is. No bullshit. She outlines why correct skincare is so important using science and never tries to foist one specific product onto her readers. Her regimes are for all budgets, all ages, all skin tones and types. In short, she is indiscriminate, knowledgeable and her tips are easy-to-follow and implement.

After reading her book, I determined that my skin was dehydrated, that I wasn’t cleansing properly, that my skin was dull because I never exfoliated and I needed to start wearing SPF urgently. Now that I’d identified the problems with my skin, it was time to start some trial and error and find both skincare products and a routine that would help.

The skincare routine Caroline recommends

If you want to start your own skincare journey, my first tip would be this: Buy. Her. Book. All the products I tried and the regimen I settled on are based on the knowledge that I gleaned from her book. She explains what everything is, what it does, how it helps, why we should or should not use it. So your starting point, just as mine was, would be to invest in her book and do some research.

Caroline sets out a fairly straightforward skincare routine in her book. In the morning, she recommends you do the following:

1. Cleanse
2. Exfoliate
3. Hydrate
4. (Optional) Apply eye product
5. (Optional) Apply serums/oils
6. Moisturise
7. Apply SPF (at least Factor 30) as a separate product after moisturising
8. Go on with your usual makeup routine

Then in the evening, she recommends you do the following:

1. First cleanse
2. Second cleanse (if you’ve worn makeup, SPF or both)
3. (Optional) Apply retinol / vitamin A
4. (Optional) Apply eye product
5. Apply treatment products e.g. serums or facial oils
6. Moisturise

The routines seemed extensive, but it felt good to wake myself up with nice products, or soothe myself before bed with a wind-down and a good regimen. In those early days, my evening routine started at around 6pm and lasted until I finally switched the light off at around 11.30pm! I revelled in it, and I bought and tried so many new products along the way, testing, discarding, narrowing it down.

While my routine now is slightly less extensive, I’m grateful I spent that time in the first six months doing the routines and getting to try different products. Yes, I drove my family and friends mad with my incessant talk of skincare, but it felt like a project and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

Some of the products I tried…

Let me caveat this section by saying: YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO WHAT I DID AND SPEND A TONNE OF MONEY ON PRODUCTS. I went all in. I’m in a privileged position and could afford to treat myself as I embarked on my skincare journey. You definitely don’t need to do this if you don’t want to or can’t. However, I think it is helpful for me to share what did and didn’t work for me as I tested things out. So here goes.

Some of the skincare products I tried that didn’t work for me, including:

• Beauty Pie Super Retinol. Retinol is anti-aging and tackles fine lines and wrinkles. I bought this because J used it and found it worked for her. This is a low-strength retinol and I applied it 2-3 times a week while I was trialing it. Personally, I never really felt that it made a difference to my skin and ultimately, the skin around my temples broke out in spots. When I stopped using this product, the spots disappeared, and I’ve never used it since.
• Beauty Pie Vitamin C & E capsules. Caroline extols the virtues of Vitamin C as a skin brightener, but I never felt like these capsules did much for my skin. Yes, they felt nice to dispense and my skin would feel smoother immediately afterwards, but I never noticed a lasting difference or long-term brighter skin.
• Beauty Pie Salicylic Acid Micro-peeling Super Drops. For a while, I really liked this product. However, as winter kicked in and the cold air / heating dried my skin out, I found these exacerbated the issue as it’s a bit drying. I continued using it until I finished the bottle, but have not re-bought this product.
• Beauty Pie SPF Factor 25. For a while, I used normal SPF that I’d apply anywhere on my body. I found it made my skin greasy and I tend to dislike the smell of SPF, so I bought this to try it out. However, it wasn’t the one. I still felt greasy while wearing it, and the smell wasn’t pleasant. After I finished the bottle, I didn’t re-buy the product. I now use a Factor 50 SPF that my Mum gets given to her by her doctor, replenishing my stocks whenever I see her!
• Pixi Hydrating Milk Mist. I wanted something to hydrate my skin that I could just spritz on, so bought this to give it a go. Pixi generally gets rave reviews and Caroline herself is a big fan. However, I came to the conclusion that I simply don’t like spray hydrators. I also disliked the smell of this product. Ultimately, I gave the remainder of the bottle to my sister when I stopped using it.

Skincare products that do work for me, including:

• Beauty Pie Overnight Miracle Face Oil. I love this product if I really want to treat my skin and give it some deep hydration. During the summer months, I haven’t used it as my skin is hydrated enough, but over winter it becomes an invaluable tool and I apply it 3-4 times a week during my evening routine.
• Superdrug Glycolic Acid Toner 5%. I bought this toner because J used it, and I’ve not yet found one I like more. I even tried a sample of Pixi’s iconic Glow Tonic (essentially the same kind of acid toner) and I didn’t like it half as much! The Superdrug product smells great, and my skin has never looked brighter! I’ve used this toner every morning without fail for a year now.

• Garnier Micellar Water (for Delicate Skin). I have continued using Garnier’s micellar water for my morning and first evening cleanse. It has always worked for me, so I didn’t see any need to change a product that I already knew I liked. However, for my second cleanse, I have added:
• Body Shop’s Chamomile Cleansing Butter. This is a lovely treat of a second cleanser. You apply the butter to your face using your fingers and it gently cleans away all traces of makeup, SPF and other dirt. Then you simply wash off with warm water and a flannel. I use it only when a second cleanse is required, and it leaves my skin feeling soft and calm.

• Boots Hyaluronic Acid Serum. I use this twice daily, morning and evening, and I LOVE it. My skin has never felt so soft. During the summer, this serum becomes my stand-alone moisturising product. During winter, I use it along with a creamier moisturisor and my face oil for full hydration. It’s also super cheap! I tried Boots’ entire collection of hyaluronic acid products, but this was the one that came out on top.
• The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. I apply this topically where I have blemishes, spots or pigmentation and it works wonders. This is the product I credit for my skin finally reaching a point where it’s largely spot free, and I am rarely, if ever, prone to large breakouts anymore. I adore this product, and its price tag!!
• Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturisor. An old favourite, used in winter alongside my other hydration products to keep my skin from drying out!

I had fun with my skincare regime

During the past year, I’ve had so much fun testing and trialing what does and doesn’t work for me, both in terms of products but also my overall routine. Over time, I’ve honed and improved the regimen so I now have it down. The products I currently use are:

Morning

• Garnier Micellar Water
• Superdrug Glycolic Acid Toner
• Boots Hyaluronic Serum
• Mum’s magic SPF + optional makeup

Evening

• Garnier Micellar Water
• (Optional if I’ve worn SPF or makeup during the day) The Body Shop Cleansing Butter
• The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
• Boots Hyaluronic Serum

During the winter months, I add my face oil and additional moisturisor to the collection and I’ve found that this combination of products works best for my skin.

Have I achieved my skincare goals?

You’ll remember that when I finished reading Caroline’s book, I had determined the following:

• My skin was dehydrated and needed moisture
• I wasn’t cleansing properly at all!
• Exfoliation should be incorporated into my routine to brighten my skin
• I needed to start wearing SPF ASAP

I’m pleased to say that I’ve finally reached a place where I think I’ve achieved all of the above. Thanks to regular application of hyaluronic acid and other moisturisors when required, my skin always feels hydrated and plump now. I now cleanse thoroughly, rarely using water, which dries my skin, and I double cleanse when I’ve worn makeup or SPF. This means that the other products I use can effectively work on my skin. Using glycolic acid has brightened and smoothed my skin, and I now wear SPF pretty much anytime I go outside.

Best of all, this magical combination of products and the new regime means that the spots on my neck have all but gone. They’re basically now a thing of the past. Yes, I occasionally break out due to hormones, but my niacinamide works wonders every time and the spots are no longer a tiresome burden, knocking my confidence every day. In fact, I’m so much more confident about my skin these days that I wear makeup far less than I used to, which is surely only a good thing?!

What next?

I will continue on my skincare journey. While I have a host of products working their magic on me currently, I’ve no doubt that in future I’ll need/want to try new things again or change my regime.

Most of all, I’m now a lifelong advocate of Caroline Hirons, her teachings and everything she stands for. I will continue to follow her religiously, and recommend her to any of my friends or family seeking information about skincare in the future.

She really has made a hell of a difference in my life.

Finally: If you enjoyed reading about something other than travel, you can read more personal posts (those that stray away from travel) in my Personal archives.