Disclosure: This post is sponsored by RoC Skincare. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Before we get into skincare, let’s talk a little about food. I promise you there’s a connection.
I started cooking regularly like five minutes ago and now I think I’m B. Smith…lol. No but seriously, back in 2014 when I started a new healthier lifestyle, I knew I’d have to commit to cooking regularly to ensure I knew (mostly) what was going into my body. I also knew I wouldn’t be able to keep the lights on AND eat out at healthy restaurants regularly, so I had to make it work in the kitchen. Thing is, while my meals have been amazingly delicious, my presentation game isn’t up the par so my food isn’t really IG or Pinterest worthy. It’s all good though—with practice I’ll get there. I did learn a thing or two recently at a cooking class I took at Sur La Table thanks to RoC Skincare.
When you try to get a nice table pic but can't get a clear shot but don't care because you're dying to dig in ???? #IngredientsThatRoC pic.twitter.com/BOgXGjv7hm
— Danielle Gray (@StyleNBeautyDoc) May 18, 2017
The cooking class centered around a French menu to reflect RoC’s French history. Our instructor, Chef Melissa Smith, stressed how important it is to use the right type of ingredients to really make your meals come alive. Ok, yes, this sounds like common sense, but I would practically ignore recipes that called for freshly ground black pepper and just grab the bottle of seasoning in the back of my cupboard and use that…lol. It’s also the difference between using say a European butter vs a margarine spread. And here’s where food and skincare tie-in: quality ingredients make a difference.
Let’s take a step back and talk about retinol and retinoids. The two do somewhat the same things: fight the signs of aging including reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, help to combat dull skin, help to even skin texture, and more. But the difference is in how long each one takes to do so. You’ll see results faster with prescription-based retinoids than you would with over the counter retinols, but there is a case for either one depending on your skin and current skincare needs. If you’ve ever been on a prescription-based retinoid, you know that you can experience some very noticeable side effects: dry, peeling skin; photosensitivity, etc–not to mention you’ll have to seriously consider your current hair removal methods. For some skincare issues and needs, this might be just a mild setback on the journey to better skin, plus your skin can get used to the treatment with concurrent use. But for more sensitive skins or if you’re new to retinol, you’ll likely appreciate over the counter retinols—they’ll take longer to get the job done, but they’re milder so you’ll experience less side effects in general. You’ll ease your way into the retinol treatment which is a good option if you can’t hide out in bed for days if you have any adverse skin reactions.
I’ve personally tried both prescription-based retinoid and over the counter retinols at various points in my life. When I was in college I had this weird bout with acne that left me with SO MANY DARK SPOTS. I went to the dermatologist who prescribed a retinoid product (I can’t remember which one because this was over a decade ago) and within a short time frame the acne and the dark spots cleared up. I did experience skin sensitivity (it’s already important to wear SPF during the day regardless of what you’re doing but EXTREMELY important when you’re using retinoid) but as my skin got used to it, the side effects subsided. I haven’t had any acne or dark spot issues as severe as back then, so I likely wouldn’t look to a prescription-based retinoid at this very moment. Even though I had some pretty annoying recurrent hyperpigmentation recently (read about how I got rid of it here), it still wasn’t at the stage where I needed a prescription retinoid.
Now where I use retinol in my current and most recent skincare regimen has been through RoC Skincare products—in particular eye cream and moisturizer. I’m nearly 36 (August 26th is my birthday—heyyyyyy, Virgos!) and while I don’t look much different than I did a decade ago, I do like to be proactive with my skin. As I’ve always said about eye creams, you have to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. Think of them more as prevention as opposed to the cure. Your eye area is quite delicate and unlike the rest of your skin, doesn’t have pores so things can get dryyyy underneath there. And dryness can lead to even more lines and wrinkles so you need to moisturize, folks. RoC has a few options for eye cream two of which contain retinol (RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream and RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Eye Cream) that I love. But remember with eye creams you need to be consistent with usage both day and night and any results will show over time. Be patient!
If you’re looking for drastic results, see your dermatologist.
Eye Cream Quick Demo
(there’s no sound on this one)
RoC Eye Cream Demo from Danielle Gray on Vimeo.
I love the RoC Daily Resurfacing Disks. I’ve written about them a bunch of times, but basically they’re facial cleansing disks where one side gently exfoliates and the other is smooth for gentle cleansing. If you’re not properly cleansing your skin, the subsequent products in your routine will not work effectively.
RoC Daily Resurfacing Disks Demo
(there’s no sound on this one)
RoC Daily Resurfacing Disks Demo from Danielle Gray on Vimeo.
I also like the RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30–it’s for all skin types, but I like to use this in the winter (I have oily skin). There’s also a night cream version of this as well. It’s super important to use an SPF for your daytime moisturizer for your skincare type and current needs—the sun is one of the biggest culprits in breaking down collagen (it’s what keeps the skin looking taut and snatched) and is a huge player hater in any dark spot fading routine. You also want to use a night cream that’s specific to your skincare type and current needs. At night the skin goes through a self-renewal process and looks to the skin’s surface for nutrients to pull in so you want that to come from your night cream—not day-old foundation.
One thing to remember when it comes to moisturizer both day and night is to (like the Wu-Tang Clan proclaims) protect your neck. Your neck and chest are two areas that begin to show the signs of aging first. So make sure you apply your moisturizer down to your neck and chest as well. And make sure you’re protecting your hands as well.
You can check out more products from the RoC Retinol Correxion line here.
So that’s our little refresher on retinol! Wanna read up on more skincare? Click here.
Do you currently use retinol in your routine? What do you use? Tell me in the comments!
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