Disclaimer: I was provided Rodan + Fields product for my review but wasn’t otherwise compensated. All thoughts, opinions, and unfortunate skin issues are entirely my own.
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I was feeling bold. And feeling inspired to shake up my skincare regimen, i.e. solve my teenaged-acne-meets-that-best-not-be-a-wrinkle skin. That’s a dangerous combination- one that, say, encourages crazy behavior. Like posting zero-makeup selfies on the internet.
I was recently approached by Rodan + Fields consultant and longtime Lollygag Blog-reader Joanne Pfeiffer (hi, Joanne!) to try out Rodan + Fields’ Unblemish skincare routine and report back on the details throughout a span of two months. And considering that the status of my skin is unstable at best, I figured I had very little to lose.
The Unblemish kit contains an acne treatment sulfur wash, a spot fading toner (or a clarifying toner for folks without acne scar pigmentation), the dual intensive acne treatment, and oil control lotion (with SPF 20). Here’s the very first day, sans makeup, sans pride.
Clearly, I am a model.
(It was around this time that I reallyreallyreally hoped the routine worked. Otherwise I’d just be putting my non-makeup’d head out there for all to see/mock.)
I’ve always had skin that likes to ricochet between hormonally unbalanced, dry and patchy, clear for maybe a day or two, and then straight back to hormonally breakout-tastic. This first series of pictures was taken just as my skin had started to settle back into non-breakout-upon-breakout normalcy…but right before the uneven skin and bumpiness started back up. But guess what? Seven days after starting the Unblemish series, this began to happen:
Meaning nothing. Nothing happened. Within seven days, my skin actually started to look clear. (And I was under no delusions that my acne had been zapped up, especially since new zits can take upwards of two weeks to surface. But still. No foundation by the beginning of Week 2? MAN, that’s awesome.) And since it’s recommended that the Unblemish routine start slooooowly- like, once every other day to start, working your way up to an every morning and nighttime ritual- I upped my Unblemish usage beginning with Week 3:
And my whole face feels pretty darned awesome, I really hafta say. This might be the least dramatic week, though, since it’s usually around this time that my skin starts to freak out. And it didn’t. However, I did notice that I have an abundance of acne scars around my mouth, my chin, and cheekbones. Why had I never noticed these before? Probably because the tiny zits never really cleared up for long enough to see that they were there. …Yay? Luckily I started to start sub in the spot-fading toner this week. I’ll be unstoppable.
Other things I’ve learned about myself: When I don’t smile, I look like a weirdo. And I should always- ALWAYS- keep the eyebrow situation under control.
I’m pretty much a convert at this point. I’ve worn concealer most every day since high school (and let’s be honest, the under-eye area isn’t doing so hot without it), but I can totally see a day coming where I won’t have to wear any makeup.
And not feel like a zombie, either. That part is kind of important to note.
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(Stay tuned for Month Two pictures and updates! And want to get in on this Clear Skin action yourself? Drop Joanne a line- she’s super nice. And non-judgy about rambly explanations of past skin care issues. Or so I’ve heard.)
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