Moderate to severe acne as well as eczema are what I lived with for twenty long years. Only having been to the dermatologist a few times as an adolescent, and without anyone explaining to me that the acne products I had been purchasing from the shelves at eye-level at any store were much more detrimental than helpful, I honestly thought I was condemned to perpetual acne. And I’ve tried everything, from cheap to high end - most with the promise to clear up your skin or your money back. And then…
One day, at the age of 37, I was just fed up with my acne issue. I’ve spent twenty years making jokes about still going through puberty and I was done with it. I made a dermatologist appointment and once I visited with this lovely young doctor, probably a decade my junior, she explained to me that I have sensitive skin and what I’ve been doing is exacerbating my skin conditions with these harmful products. It was that moment that Jubilee Beauty was born because I went home with some samples of a few sensitive skin products, which I threw away because it had occurred to me when she informed me of the harm these products were doing to my skin, that I needed to do some research and take matters into my own hands.
Immediately, I began purchasing organic and natural ingredients that I read had special skin stabilizing and rejuvenating properties, such as Shea Butter, Aloe Vera, Jojoba, Vitamin E and Avocados. Well, the avocados had to come in the form of either oil or butter since five minutes after cutting into an avocado, it oxidizes so I just bought both oil and butter. I found a few other things as well and as I awaited the delivery of my ingredients, I formulated a series of nutrient-balanced concoctions as my test subjects so I would be ready to start cooking the day everything arrived.
And I did. I had my shipments tracked and knew the day it would all come. In fact, I’m such a skilled internet shopper that I am even apprised to the time frame of when each shipping company delivers to my neighborhood. So, with double-boilers waiting and warmed up, I heard the UPS truck in front of the house, the dogs began barking and I scurried outside to meet the delivery guy and eliminate any time wasted.
Since my inspiration was of course the acne, I tested that recipe first. Once I concluded I would be able to produce a facial cleanser, though it would be far too watery to bottle up traditionally, I had to get back online and locate some inexpensive foamer bottles. So that was put on hold, though I did saturate a cloth and wash my face with my original batch of facial cleanser daily nonetheless. Upon receipt of the foamer bottles, I pressed to improve on my original product by adding Shea Butter. Turns out, that was not my best work, so I returned to the original recipe and have faithfully used it since. It was nearly an immediate recovery from my full-face acne problem. Daily, I noted fewer and fewer blemishes and no new ones had appeared either. Until one day, I had none. NONE!
I did, however take note that my skin was a little bit on the dry side and flaky skin is little more appealing than blemished, red, bumpy skin. So I was onto my next project, which I had already mapped out the perfectly balanced formula which needed only be put into action, as well as I had ordered a food processor just for use of my skin care creations. I happened to had recently obtained that, so I got to work. I measured everything, I cooked and melted it all in the double-boiler, I stirred continuously to ensure proper blending and once it cooled, it was more the consistency of soap than face cream. Luckily, I had some distilled water and that new food processor! I scraped the mixture into the food processor, added water little by little and blended until it reached the slightly whipped texture I was looking for.
I then jarred up what I had, which turned out to be quite a lot. Fortunately, I had also thought to purchase some natural preservatives as well, which I included in my recipe because I was certain the shelf life without a preservative would not be lengthy. However, I still have several jars of that original batch and I still use every single day on my face and neck, and it has now been a year and it is still fresh.
Remarkably, it will officially be one year since I made those first batches of facial cleanser and face cream in a few short weeks, and for that year I have been acne-free! No more puberty for this 38 year old. I feel prettier than I have in twenty years.
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