Clear skin at last

I was very disappointed to find out that clear skin is not every mother's gift. Instead, if you were likely to break out during regular cycles you will continue to do so throughout pregnancy. So basically over the past 21 weeks I have had to battle blemishes. Most of them are probably due to the massive amounts of ice cream and chocolate I've been ingesting but even accounting for that I've had far too many. I am also lacking the luxurious hair that so many other pregnant women get, but that's another story. Thank goodness the pre-natal vitamins have given me really healthy nails!

Over the past two weeks I have experimented with a new skin care regime that has been paying off dividends. I have been blemish free for those two weeks and hope it will continue. What is different? Moisturizing in the evenings.

My morning routine hasn't varied: gel daily facial cleanser and daily SPF moisturizer. I switched to a RoC moisturizer about 6 months ago. Specifically RoC Age Diminishing Daily Moisturizer SPF 15. It retails for about $15 for a 3 oz bottle. When I turned 30 I decided that the increasing laugh lines requires "Age Diminishing." I'll probably dump the gel cleanser once it runs out because really, who needs two cleansers?

The big change has been adding an evening routine. Even if I don't wear make-up (never do on weekends and the number of days during the week is creeping up) I still wash with a cream cleanser. I picked up L'Oreal RevitaLift Radiant Smoothing Cream Cleanser, a steal at $7 for 5 oz. The cream based cleanser works just as well as the gel one but feels a lot gentler on my skin. I then use Neutrogena's Visibly Firm Night Cream product at a pricier $17 a jar.

The extra cleansing and moisturizer application has resulted in the clearest skin I've had in years. I'll let you know if the routine stops working but I'm very hopeful it will last at least through the winter. Anyone else have tricks or tips for great looking skin?