So remember how I was going to give myself one day to wallow and eat comfort foods after Isaac leaves?
He’s been gone for over 24 hours now and I still haven’t gotten around to the comfort food. Or much food at all.
I just feel like throwing up.
And no, I am not pregnant. It’s just that there’s this part of me that wants to sit down and cry for the next six months, and restraining it is making me sick.
So to distract myself I thought I’d update you on the state of my pores.
Because quite honestly? I could probably spend the next six months in fascinated examination of them.
I’ve continued to use the same blend of oil to cleanse my face. I think I skipped one or two days when I was just too lazy to wash my face at all before bed.
But my cheeks look great anyway. At first I noticed that all the pimples there had shrunk some. Then I noticed that the general redness that affected my lower cheeks was gone, just leaving a few isolated and quickly healing pimples. I haven’t gotten any new pimples, except for a couple very small whiteheads, which upon (careful, repeated) examination seem to be pores that were clogged and are cleaning themselves out.
The pores around my nose are all smaller and cleaner. Immediately after cleansing my face, I look like I have practically no pores at all, but that effect does fade.
Honestly, if my face continues to improve the same way it has this last week, in another week or so the only blemishes left on my face will be the one cystic one that is healing, but slower.
I will probably adjust my oil ratio to see if I can cut out using moisturizer completely. I’ll update you more soon. And if anyone else tries this, let me know how it works!
Also, here’s a picture of Isaac and I the morning he left. Ignore my hair, as my stylist cut it a couple inches shorter than I wanted and I still haven’t figured out how to style it without it looking like a helmet.
*I apologize to anyone who clicked here thinking they were about to read a deeply insightful political post about military deployments and the cost of oil. I am way too interested in the state of my pores to spend much time blogging about the state of the union.
Many many months ago I read about the oil cleansing method for faces. I think Megan posted about it.
The idea appealed to the crunchy side of me, and I decided to try it.
And then the side of me that believes that the more expensive a product is, the better it will work interfered.
*Christy waves hi to her shallow side*
See, I’ve been using Proactiv with great results since shortly after Chloe was born and I decided not to go back on the pill.
Ever again.
My skin suffered for lack of the pill and Proactiv was a miracle salve.
Until I moved to Mississippi. I don’t know if it’s the humidity here, or if it’s just that I turned 30 and my hormones are going wonky, but suddenly my pores were the size of craters, I had blackheads, and my lower cheeks and jawline had constant acne. It was the worst breakout I’d had since I was about 20, and it wasn’t going away.
I started trying more and more expensive products with little success. The best I found was using a combination of Proactiv and Philosophy products, but the cost in dollars was high. Not to mention the possible health costs, as all of those products are filled with either harsh chemicals, parabens, or both.
So finally I tried the oil cleansing method starting yesterday. I started with a simple (cheap!) mix of one tablespoon castor oil mixed with three tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a ratio that seemed recommended for my oily skin.
Day 1- I poured just a little out and massaged it into my face. I actually massaged my face, paying particular attention to spots with blackheads and breakouts, and to my temples and jaw, which were pretty tense. It was very relaxing.
Until I realized there was a little hard thing I was rubbing around. I fished it off my skin and upon examination, a pesky blackhead near my nose had come out whole and hard.
It was morbidly fascinating.
I rinsed the oil off in the shower and wondered if I’d end up with an extra oily face, but by the time I had dried off and put my make up on, my skin was actually a little dry and itchy, so I’ll have to figure out the best way to moisturize.
I also realized I had too much make-up on. It was the same amount I’ve worn everyday lately, but my skin was so amazingly smooth that I just didn’t need as much makeup. The acne on my cheeks, both the surface stuff and the one cystic one on my cheek, had all shrunk some. It was really amazing. My complexion glowed.
Day 2- I’m only going to try the OCM at night, so I used a gentle cleanser in the morning (Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple. I love it, but I need to find something with no parabens when this bottle is gone.). My complexion wasn’t quite as glowy and smooth in the morning, but the acne still seems to be healing quickly, and my pores are less crater-like.
A few minutes ago I again massaged a small amount of oil into my face. Again, I had one pore that released a hard clog. Ick. I used a warm washcloth and water to rinse the oil off, and the glow is back! And on my nose I have about a third the amount of pores as I used to, and only a few blackheads. I did need to use moisturizer afterwards, so I need to do a little research to figure out if I need to adjust my oil ratio or if that’s normal.
I’ll be back in a few days to update ya’ll. I’m sure you’ll be on the edge of your seats, wondering about the state of my pores!
What’s your beauty routine?
Ok, so I’m going to allow myself one day, ONE, to stay in my pajamas, eat comfort food, and accomplish absolutely nothing.
Because you’d probably be surprised if I admitted just how many days like that I had the last time my husband deployed.
But last time I also battled some depression, and I’m trying to be more proactive this time in stopping it before it starts.
So. One day to indulge the sadness.
What’s your choice of comfort food? A pint of Ben and Jerry’s and a spoon? Raw cookie dough? Chicken Pot Pie made from scratch?
I need some ideas and recipes!
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike were tragic for so many people, but we thankfully ended up losing only one tree.
Well, it’s not actually lost yet. I know exactly where it is. Half-way uprooted in the backyard.
I’m hoping it will just somehow completely uproot itself.
Without the help of another hurricane.
So we didn’t actually lose anything, but we did gain.
We’re down to the last days before Isaac heads to Iraq. He’s only had 10 months between getting back from his last deployment and leaving for this one, and he’s been working crazy hours the whole time he’s been back. In fact one repeating thought I’ve had these past months is that if Isaac dies in Iraq, I’m going to be really mad at the last year together that God provided for us.
And so it was such a blessing that we had three full days off to evacuate for Gustav. We got a leisurely road trip and a day playing in an awesome hotel pool in the unlikely city of Waxahachie. Then Isaac had three days of class- from 9am to 2:30pm, giving us a ton of time to spend together as a family, with absolutely no responsibilities or house cleaning.
Oh, and did I mention that it was almost completely paid for?
Then this last week, the strong winds from Ike knocked out our internet and took out the power in some parts of the city- including the base. Isaac was able to go in late and come home early for several days, allowing us more family time, and him the opportunity to see one of Chloe’s cheerleading practices. He missed the entire season when he was deployed last year, and will miss all but this first week this year, and the power outage got him out of work in time to see it.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him… -Romans 8:28
Have you seen on tv that next week is “National Stay at Home Week”?
Someone needs to inform the Navy.
Isaac isn’t allowed to deploy during such an important holiday.
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