30 Days Of No Skin Picking

Hey all! I did a post about how I quit biting my nails yesterday, and this time, I wanted to write about something that is SO IMPORTANT but something that I have had my ups and downs with:

My skin.

Competitive horseback riding wearing helmets, marathon running, and the general life of a college student are all factors that heavily contribute to my skin. Having anxiety also doesn't help. The worst thing about my anxiety is the fact that picking anything (nails, skin, etc) calms me the eff down. Frequent skin picking(pimples, nails, scalp, scabs) is also a sign of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well. We live a life where sometimes, some of the worst things for us make us feel the best. It is so not easy to break a habit, especially one that brings out comfort in bad situations. 

Back when I was job searching, I picked my skin all the time. It didn't help that I have a huge bathroom mirror at home (I always pick more when I visit home versus at school). All it literally took was one look in the mirror and I would zoom in on my skin, picking anything and everything. I would leave that mirror with red everywhere, and my face would look even worse than before! I would regret it instantly. You know how I mentioned in my nails post that I had a resolution to not pick or bite my nails in 2016? Well picking my skin/pimples was included, too. Sadly, I didn't make it that for on the skin picking resolution. I remember I had a HUGE zit on New Year's Day, like bad. I decided that I would pick my skin if it got bad, but I would use a tissue instead of just my fingers. I figured that it would be less extra oil going into my skin and therefore, it wouldn't be as bad. NOPE. Nope nope nope nope nope. Don't do it. Please don't. Picking at a pimple or zit in any way, shape, or form won't do anything good. Let's flash forward from January to April:

I'm sitting here in my tiny sorority house bedroom, staring at the new random pimple that just seemed to pop up on my chin. My chin is my worst area. Every other part of my skin is usually clear (except for the occasional pimple or two on my forehead) but there has always been something-whether a pimple or a scar-on my chin. I have been taking really good care of my skin lately, I haven't picked in a few weeks and I am trying to keep my momentum up. I haven't been touching my skin as much (touching your skin can spread more oils and bacteria). I have been using a minimal amount of products on my skin, only the ones below:

I have been starting to use Micellar Cleansing Water over traditional makeup wipes. This stuff is a lot gentler on skin, and gets makeup off, but sadly not as good as the wipes. I use wipes for my eyes only (I try to minimize rubbing) and use this for my skin!

I love this soap! It is Cuticura Medicated Antibacterial Soap for acne-prone skin. Want to know one of the most interesting things about this soap? One of my professors gave it to me. Yes, that is probably a first! This was back about a month ago where I had to miss class because I used too much Dermatologist prescribed Benzoyl Peroxide gel, and I looked like one of those goldfish with the big swelling eyes. She recommended this soap because she buys it in bulk and has always used it. One day in class, I show up and the soap was placed down right in front of me! BUT SERIOUSLY GUYS...I think this soap is the only stuff I will ever use now. I used to buy all of those scrubs and face washes at Walgreens and Target, but now I will only stick to this stuff. It has cleared up my skin so much! Shout out to you, Dr. J! 

I bought these pads because they were cheap, but they actually work really well and smell very good! I use them on my chest after a run, and a few nights a week I wash my face with the Cuticura soap and then use one of these after. My skin is so much clearer the next day!

Besides these products, I love Olay Complete Moisturizer with SPF 15, and MaskerAide face masks. They are a little on the expensive side- $7.00 per mask, but I love the cute packaging and how well they work! Check out the MaskerAide blog here at http://www.maskeraide.com/blog/. My favorite one is the All Nighter mask, it smells so minty fresh and is perfect after a long week of studying. 

However, despite using these wonderful products, my chin is STILL breaking out. Despite everything, even being on medicine for my skin, some things may just take a while to change. My skin has had its worse days, and it is currently the clearest it has ever been. So here is what I am going to do:

A 30 Days of NO PICKING Challenge!! Are you with me?!

For this challenge, I will resist all urge to touch and pick my face. 

I will

-Drink more water

-Follow my skin care routine with the products listed above

-AVOID TOUCHING SKIN AT ALL COSTS

-Use a face mask at least once every other week

-Drink a cup of tea every night

-Be in bed by 11:00 every night and asleep by 11:30

I know that all of these factors will help me get better skin. So are you in with me?! Let me know in the comments section below or on any of my social media platforms. Let's help each other out! Remember, slipping up every once in a while is OK. It happens, we are human, and like I said, sometimes these habits can take a long time to break. Just keep your chin up, and keep at your skin care. Remember that you could be doing everything right, but some factors (like stress and genetics) are still making those pesky pimples pop up. Just be patient!

Good luck and let's do this!!

Grace 

How I Quit Biting My Nails

Hellooooo lovelies! Once again, long time no talk. Seriously, I feel like every single intro to every single one of my posts is me apologizing for my lack of writing...ughh. And once again, my excuse is the same as always, with everything being so CRAZY I haven't had concrete time to sit down and create a post. Or, it could be that my brain won't slow down enough for me to stop and tell myself that I have time to write something. The thing with anxiety (or my anxiety at least), my mind always tricks myself into thinking I have to get EVERY. SINGLE. THING. done before I can finally relax. This is a pretty bad anxious habit that I am slowly working to break. Luckily for me, school is pretty much wrapped up, so now I don't have to worry about tackling a huge list before I can do something for myself.

Speaking of habits, I wanted to write about my nails, because I don't know about you, but the anxiety and stress used to cause me to pick! And pick...and pick. It was seriously not good. I would bite my nails like crazy and leave them raw and stubby. My hands are small AF to begin with, and you should seriously see my nails. Ask any one of my friends or come up and compare your hand to mine, my fingers and nails are so small! I have always loved long nails, but I hate the feeling of acrylics. The only time I ever got acrylics, Cruiser bit the acrylic (along with half of my nail) off by accident when I was feeding him an apple (sorry for the visual!). So, with all being said, my nails are already small to begin with, and the biting made them worse. It was something that calmed me down when I was stress and took away any tension I was feeling. But man, would it make my nails look worse!

I normally don't do New Year's Resolutions, but right before this past New Year's, I made a goal to quit biting my nails and picking my skin in 2016. And so far, through all of 2016, I haven't bitten my nails off or picked them like I used to! Yay! I have a lot of friends and classmates with this habit as well, so I wanted to make a little list of things that worked for me when it came to biting and picking my nails. But keep in mind before reading this that if the ends of my nails/a particular nail are hanging off, super loose, or cracked, I usually play around with it until it peels or falls off. This is the only thing I do, and usually only when I end up doing my nails myself. I don't bite, pick at hangnails (or create hangnails by picking). So, with this information in mind, here is my list:

1. At the beginning of your goal to stop biting and picking, start with a no-chip manicure, press on nails, or acrylics.
-I got a no-chip manicure a few days before New Year's, and from January-March, all I got were no-chips. My Valentine's Day no-chip manicure lasted for over three weeks and my nails grew to the longest they have ever been! It is nice to have something on your nails like a no-chip or acrylic, it really helps you avoid biting and picking! Press on nails aren't bad either, the photo below show press on nails that I used last week, I loved them but they were a little too long. Having something like press ons are good because they cover up your nails.

2. Then, take a break from the heavy manicures.
-I don't know about you, but going to get manicures all of the time can get expensive! It may work well for different people, depending how long it takes for their nails to grow. But acrylics and no chips can be hard on your nails! My nails were constantly flaky after my two month no-chip binge, so I decided to take a bit of a break and do my nails myself for a while.

3. Realize that when you do your nails yourself, they aren't going to be perfect!
-I for one, cannot do my nails well by myself. And this is not a put down, I promise, I truly just can't! Something always happens- they either smudge or chip the next day or something equally as frustrating. It is good to take a break from the heavy manicures, but seeing all of that chipped polish and exposed nail could make you want to pick. It is one thing if the end of the nail is coming off already and you peel it, and a whole other thing if you begin to bite again at the sight of an exposed nail. If your polish chips (which it will eventually, sad face), just paint over it with a new coat ASAP.

4. Or, go without polish.
-Going without polish can help your nails (both toes and fingers) heal and recover the right way. They usually say that it is best to take toenail polish off after a while (it usually stays on forever) because it is better for your nails. Same goes for finger nails, too! It is sometimes nice to give them a break. To resist the urge to pick or bite, use a clear coat, a few coats of nail repair, or some cuticle oil.

My Valentine's Nails got so long and lasted forever! 

Hopefully these tips all work well for you! And remember, there is no better time than now to make a new habit! If you just decided that you want to stop the picking and biting for good, welcome to the club! The journey won't be perfect but it will lead to healthier nails! Best of luck, and let me know if you plan on quitting biting and picking after reading this :)

Have a great day! <3

Grace