Lianne’s COVID-19 experience and skincare essentials

Lianne, RN

Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. There’s a lot that I miss about our pre-Covid days, but I especially miss being at the clinic providing you all with your different services. It’s hard to believe that this pandemic is real — it’s overwhelming watching and reading all the news from around the world. Every way we turn it feels heartbreaking, frightening, stressful; it’s hard to see the light in it all.

So the question today is, how are you doing?

For me, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride since the decision came to close Derma Spa temporarily.  My son had just started spring break, so I thought, “Great! I can hang out with him!”  But as the Covid crisis evolved so rapidly, I became overwhelmed and needed to make some adjustments to keep myself on an even keel. Here are some things I did — and continue to do:

• I stopped keeping up with the news and looking at all the headlines on the internet (beyond the directives provided by relevant government agencies). This was bringing me down and creating fear and anxiety that I didn’t want to pass on to my son. I wanted to provide him with the facts, but even looking at all the recommendations was overwhelming so limiting my time online was important for me.
• Exercising! I certainly can’t use the excuse of not having enough time, so I started doing the Kenzen Karate workouts on YouTube, which I wrap up with a half hour of yoga. My puppy needs daily exercise, too, so he is a good motivator to get me out into the fresh air. To keep things exciting, I’ve done a Jazzercise routine, jumped on the trampoline, played badminton with my son, chased after my puppy trying to get his stick and I’m sure many more opportunities will present themselves.
• The power of positive thinking. Turn that frown upside down. Count your blessings. Keeping these adages front of mind has been huge. Turning fear and anxiety into thankfulness, happiness and joy helps me choose to be happy rather than stressed out and fearful. My choice is to focus on the good and the positive, and as a result I can provide support to my family, friends and random citizens (from six feet away!).
• Staying connected. What a gift of time I have to spend with my family. My husband is still working so it’s me and my 13, soon to be, 14 year-old son. We have fun bantering back and forth — and he has fun pointing out all the things I do. Yes, everything. He can usually find something to tease me about but it’s all in good fun. We also play games as a family and watch whatever movie series piques our interest. I also make sure I call family and text friends to keep those connections going. Every time a coworker has a birthday, the well wishes go around and we are briefly connected — and that means we are banking cakes for when business goes back to usual. Derma Spa gives each employee a cake on their birthdays so thus far we have four cakes to come and counting!
• Keeping busy and creating a routine. I’ve started trying out new recipes for our dinners and baking more, though I have had to limit the baking. It’s not because we don’t have any flour — my husband thought since he couldn’t find flour anywhere, that he would buy the big 50 pound bag at Costco so I have plenty but I just don’t want to go back to work 20 pounds heavier. I’ve also started doing some online training to help keep my brain going, as well as working on digital scrapbooking and have even picked up my latch rug that I started about seven years ago!

All in all, I’m trying to stay positive and active. (I have purposely left out the housecleaning. That doesn’t seem to be a ‘lack of time’ thing, though I did manage to clean out the office so we now have an area to exercise). Stay healthy, do your best and be happy!

IS Clinical is one of my favorite skin care lines that we sell at Derma Spa.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like our other medical grade lines but iS Clinical is usually the one I reach for first.  It is made with only the highest pharmaceutical grade botanical ingredients sourced from around the world.  The products are backed by independent third-party clinical studies so I know that the products work!

A few of my favorite products are Youth Complex, Active Serum and the Eclipse Sunblock.  Since I’m nearing my 50’s (I postponed my birthday due to Corona Virus so I’m still 49😊), my main focus for my skin is anti-aging.  I’m starting to see those subtle changes happening, actually more like dramatic changes as I didn’t notice the daily changes of laxity!  More like, “OMG, what the heck happened!  I have 2 chins!”  So it’s a good thing we purchased some new lasers to help with that as well as some other services that I may have to explore a little more closely (Belkyra, Injectables).

Youth Complex is a ‘go to’ product for antiaging.  It’s a 5 in 1 power cream that plumps, hydrates, gently exfoliates, builds collagen and protects with its strong antioxidants.  It will continue to build collagen for 3 days so if you forget to apply it for a day or two, you’ll know that the product is still working for you!  I apply a small pea size amount during the day under my sunblock.

Eclipse SPF 50+ is another favorite!  I love the ultra-sheer feel on my skin and it protects extremely well.  It provides an all physical broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection and it’s water resistant for up to 40 minutes.  It’s a nice size too!  With the combination of these 2 products, you’ll be providing your skin with the best protection as well as continuing to improve the overall health and function. You’ll see a difference!

The other product I like to use in the evening is Active Serum.  It is magic in a bottle!  With its gentle exfoliating botanical ingredients, it helps reduce acne and acne scarring, decreases hyperpigmentation and with all the other great ‘Actives”, it stimulates the collagen to improve fine lines and wrinkles.  It ‘stingles’ when you apply it, like a ‘party on your face!”  The next morning my skin feels nice and smooth.  I love using my Retinol as well for its antiaging benefits so because Active Serum is a highly effective exfoliator, I use my Retinol and any other exfoliants on opposite days. Currently, I’m just using my Active Serum at night but if I want to switch it around, I’ll alternate Active Serum and Rejudicare SRX retinol.

If you want to add a cleanser to this amazing regime, the Cleansing Complex is stellar!  Not just any kind of cleanser, this cleanser doesn’t strip the skin, it tones and effectively removes makeup.  Or, if you are feeling lazy about washing your face at the sink, you could use Cream Cleanser.  This product was designed for a woman who was being deployed to Afghanistan who wanted a cleanser where water wasn’t required.  Massage it in and towel it off!  Easy peasy!  I use a wet cosmetic pad to remove the cleanser.  Nice and refreshing and works well.

So there you have it, only a few of my favorites.  I could keep going as there are so many amazing products with iS Clinical.  Wait until you hear about Extremozymes!!