Simplicity With My Skin

Growing up as a lady, I have never been lucky enough to choose a perfect cream or soap for myself. I was brought up with using Vaseline to apply on my body, and for soaps, I change them as someone changes clothes because my skin doesn't select and doesn't have reactions.

My younger sister is always proud of my skin and wishes she was someone without pimples like her sister. I have been proud that I never had pimples but I would always look for trouble trying different skincare products to keep my skin fresh and face glowing when I already had what I wanted.

I stuck with using Vaseline during my teenage years when I realized that I should be more mindful and grateful for the type of skin I have and not end up bleaching it as I have seen most of my mates with different colours on their skin looking like mixed coke and fanta making them look rough.

Some would even go ahead having different cream products for each part of the body, there is one they use on their faces in the morning and another at night before going to bed. I did this during my first year in the university where I applied a particular skincare before going to bed. I tried different face cleanser moisturisers at night, though none of them had an effect on me and when it was time, I stopped as I couldn't continue with them.

---

I have always been afraid of getting a cream product myself as I am not good at that. I don't want to end up picking fake ones that would not work or cause me to bleach, making me waste money. Also, I don't want to go into getting expensive products all because I want to maintain my skin and make it glow.

Along the line, some of my friends noticed me using Vaseline on my skin and suggested I get a better cream instead of the cheap one which is meant for children as they assumed. They successfully talked me through getting a kind of lotion cream called Nivea after much assurance that it was a good product. They told me how effective it was to maintain one's skin, clear away dark spots and wouldn't cause any rashes, acne and other skin problems.

For months, I was using a Nivea cream product; one with a blue colour on the container and everything was going fine until when another friend suggested I should not use it alone but to get a particular cream to mix it with. Since she knew about cream products, I succumbed to her idea and decided to try the cream which was said to keep one's skin glowing.

I used the cream for a week and didn't notice something had changed until a close friend called my attention to my face. I was having eczema which I didn't take notice of. I became scared when I saw it was the new cream I bought that caused it and decided to stop using it. I got a cure for my face and after it was gone, I stopped using the cream and opted to only continue with the Nivea.

But one thing I don't like about these lotion creams is that no matter how much you apply on your body, when you step outside, you become all white as if you didn't rub a cream on your body.

---

At one point, I got tired of the cream and resumed back to using Vaseline, most times shea butter and my usual bathing soap to save myself from unnecessary stress. Earlier this year, my sister recommended a natural and pure cream with bathing soap which she has been using for years, but both were expensive.

The cream is called 'Pure Almond Oil' which is made with Californian almonds mixed with cocoa and it is very expensive. She got the cream in Lagos for six thousand naira but the exciting part is that it can last a year according to her.

I got this cream in March this year and I still have up to this quantity which I am sure would last me till the new year before getting another one. There is a small plastic container where I put some quantity just to be using it bit by bit and also to last me till that period. Just a little applied on my body and feet is enough for the day.

Then for the bathing soap, it is called "Dove". It costs one thousand, five hundred naira per one and can last for a month and a few days before it finishes and I love how it has helped to moisturize and maintain my skin.

I do not combine different creams for my skincare as I believe in going for one that is good and can perform the same function as those being combined. I don't enjoy wasting money on lots of products which might cause problems for me at the end of the day, most especially causing bleaches on my skin.

Every time, I get good compliments about how my skin glows and my face shines smoothly and that is all thanks to my sister for coming to my rescue as I have decided to keep using them, maybe forever? Let's see how it goes because I don't intend to change them for any products as I am okay and satisfied with what I have.

---

^{All images belong to me}