Five on Friday: Skincare

 It's that time again y'all! A little five on Friday action. It's turned into one of my favorite days to blog.

I unfortunately missed out on the adorable Jordon's linkup about all things glam the past two weeks. Major boooo!
So she inspired today's post where I am sharing all things about my skincare routine.

With that being said, I must say I have very, and i mean very, problematic skin. Not so much with breakouts, but with blackheads, combo of oil and dry skin and sunspots from years of bad decisions regarding the sun/tanning beds in my teens and early twenties. Ladies - wear sunscreen!!! It's pricey to erase the damages done by not wearing some SPF. Trust me, I know.  And i am a picker...it's nasty, but at least I own it. If it pops up on my face, I will pick at it.  And for all you people blessed by the skin gods - well i wanna say a few bad words to you right now under my breath.

Before the wedding, I started putting a little extra cash flow into more expensive skin care routine. I started seeing an aesthetician for microdermabrasion and light chemical peels and my skin never looked better. Since the wedding is over, and high maintenance trips to my Lexington aesthetician are hard to fit into my schedule, I keep up with a fairly high end routine at home. I still try to see her every 8-10 weeks if I can for a peel or microdermabrasion, depending on what I need.

Now don't get me wrong, there are drug store items I do use....coconut oil has became my new best friend this winter, but these are the items that work for me outside of the drug store realm.

skincare by whitney-banks featuring SkinMedica

1. Lytera - made by skin medica. This stuff is magic in a bottle. It has helped my melasma/dark/sun spots the most and has improved the evenness of my skin tone. Lytera really helps to reduce the appearance of skin discolorations. It’s a  non-hydroquinone formula and gentle on the skin. It does have a wee bit of retinol in it as well. I try to use this stuff twice a day - once in the morning before moisturizing and the same at night. 

2. My Clarisonic. By now you have heard of this little gem, and it truly is. Keeps my blackheads at bay. I notice a huge difference when I slack off. 

3. Skin Medica APA/BHA Cleanser - just switched to this stuff and I love it. I use just a pea size amount to wash my whole face with my clarisonic. It has a mild exfoliate in it, which has been great with this dead skin in the winter crap. I love the smell of it too. 

4. Skinceuticals retinol complex 0.5 - girls start using a retinoid now. you can even find them at local Wal-marts/Target/Walgreens. It helps so much with the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Retinol essentially helps to stimulate cell regeneration and build collagen to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. I literally use a pea size amount around 3 times a week (once daily) in the winter, and try to do it every other day in the summer. You have to be careful because it can make you very flakey if you use to much. 

5. Skin Medica Ceramide Treatment Cream - this is essentially my moisturizer in the winter. It's very thick for my dry skin. This is not something for those of you that are prone to more oily skin. I use it after cleansing, toning and applying my retinol/lytera. 

You will also find in my skin care regimen - sunscreen, coconut oil, and witch hazel (for toning).

So there you have it folks. Feel free to ask me any questions, I am by no means an expert, but I love learned a lot about skincare in the past year or two. 

Happy Friday!!!