By Jascmeen Bush, Teen Vogue
Instant gratification is the enemy of skincare. Screenshot this nugget of wisdom — it only took me a lifetime to learn it.
Blame it on one too many nights of infomercials, but I’ve developed a penchant for instant results (and twisting, self-drying mops which are indeed just as incredible as they appear). Infomercial culture threw me right into the arms of skincare that promised but seldom delivered, fantastical results. If something tingled, cooled, or warmed on contact, I was sold. They say a sucker is born every minute and I take the title in stride. I’ve never met an “after” photo that didn’t hit me right in the feels and the wallet.
My days of late-night shopping may be over, but Instagram review videos are the newest archenemy to my bank account. I can’t say no to cleansing masks that show all the gore of pores and exfoliators that leave flakes of dead skin in their wake. Call me what you will but I’ve always leaned toward the aggressive when it comes to my problem skin. (Anyone who passes on the maximum strength version of anything is the sucker in my book.) I’ve bravely and rather ignorantly, laid my face in the face of danger for years, and have paid the price for my stronger is a better approach. I shudder to think of the treatments that left my poor skin red and irritated. I’d look in the mirror and say, “Yep, it’s working!” Red. It’s the color of skincare satisfaction.
Shouldn’t an evil blemish be met with equal force? Aren’t my ancient acne scars more than deserving of a burns-so-good topical? A recent cocktail of creams prescribed by my derm, a couple Insta-famous masks, and a few of my trusty dusty Maximum Strength BFFs left my face so red, so raw that I had to search for a gentler skincare regimen, at least until my skin chilled out a bit. The idea of gentle skincare was a difficult pill to swallow, but it served as a perfect opportunity to check out Cocokind, a brand my vegan-hiking-hippie friend was all about.
My new lineup couldn’t have been more chill. No salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, or retinoids. Just a good ol’ fashioned coconut-oil based cleanser, rose water toner, and another oil for hydration. No stinging, no burning, no redness, no Instagram worthy special effects whatsoever. Initially, I missed the redness from my acne meds. How would I know it was working if I couldn’t feel it? I even had to swap out my favorite charcoal sugar scrub forget this — an organic sea moss exfoliator. It comes in a powder form that you mix with a small amount of water to create a gel. You can scrub your heart away with this little baby and won’t feel anything. It’s just that gentle.
As the name suggests, the active ingredient in Cocokind’s sea moss exfoliator is organic Irish moss, also known as sea moss. This particular type of seaweed is rich in vitamins B and C, protein, calcium, magnesium, and beta-carotene. With acne scars being my greatest skincare concern, I take my exfoliating very seriously. Swapping my acidic face washes for a facial cleansing oil, fine. Using a chia facial oil over my favorite moisturizer (which also has a little tingle, btw) sure, I can get on board with that. But my exfoliator? This was pushing it.
Natural skincare is having a much-deserved moment in the limelight but here’s the part no one tells you: results take patience. There will be no redness to assure you that you’re burning your breakouts away and no irritation to leave you feeling scrubbed down and accomplished.
After the first use of Cocokind’s sea moss exfoliator, I saw a radiance my dry skin seldom has. “I can trade redness for radiance,” I thought. Cocokind recommends using its sea moss exfoliator between three to four times a week. I completely ignored this advice and worked it into my daily regimen, I had gotten a taste of radiance and had no plans on letting go. My overall complexion improved within days, but it took a jar’s worth to notice improvement on my acne scars. The slow but steady progress was addicting. Lesson learned —a little patience for radiance never hurt anybody.
Cut to the present day — I’ve officially left aggressive exfoliators in the past and continue to use sea moss regularly. That’s not the only part of my Cocokind regimen that’s still holding strong, I’ve yet to repurchase my previous acidic toner and opt for their rosewater spray instead. I didn’t reorder the oil cleanser, I missed the hyaluronic acid of my Cerave face wash too much. I still dabble in retinoids, but now prefer spot treatments to treat stubborn acne scars, leaving the rest of my face protected from anything too intense. Quick fix, Insta-famous skincare is a lot like my beloved infomercials; neither do a good enough job of highlighting the patience required between the “before” and “after”. Not every skincare fairytale can fit into a Snapchat story and not every product can perform quite as well as the self-drying mop. Patience is a virtue, and I’ve got the skin to prove it.
Blame it on one too many nights of infomercials, but I’ve developed a penchant for instant results (and twisting, self-drying mops which are indeed just as incredible as they appear). Infomercial culture threw me right into the arms of skincare that promised but seldom delivered, fantastical results. If something tingled, cooled, or warmed on contact, I was sold. They say a sucker is born every minute and I take the title in stride. I’ve never met an “after” photo that didn’t hit me right in the feels and the wallet.
My days of late-night shopping may be over, but Instagram review videos are the newest archenemy to my bank account. I can’t say no to cleansing masks that show all the gore of pores and exfoliators that leave flakes of dead skin in their wake. Call me what you will but I’ve always leaned toward the aggressive when it comes to my problem skin. (Anyone who passes on the maximum strength version of anything is the sucker in my book.) I’ve bravely and rather ignorantly, laid my face in the face of danger for years, and have paid the price for my stronger is a better approach. I shudder to think of the treatments that left my poor skin red and irritated. I’d look in the mirror and say, “Yep, it’s working!” Red. It’s the color of skincare satisfaction.
Shouldn’t an evil blemish be met with equal force? Aren’t my ancient acne scars more than deserving of a burns-so-good topical? A recent cocktail of creams prescribed by my derm, a couple Insta-famous masks, and a few of my trusty dusty Maximum Strength BFFs left my face so red, so raw that I had to search for a gentler skincare regimen, at least until my skin chilled out a bit. The idea of gentle skincare was a difficult pill to swallow, but it served as a perfect opportunity to check out Cocokind, a brand my vegan-hiking-hippie friend was all about.
My new lineup couldn’t have been more chill. No salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, or retinoids. Just a good ol’ fashioned coconut-oil based cleanser, rose water toner, and another oil for hydration. No stinging, no burning, no redness, no Instagram worthy special effects whatsoever. Initially, I missed the redness from my acne meds. How would I know it was working if I couldn’t feel it? I even had to swap out my favorite charcoal sugar scrub forget this — an organic sea moss exfoliator. It comes in a powder form that you mix with a small amount of water to create a gel. You can scrub your heart away with this little baby and won’t feel anything. It’s just that gentle.
As the name suggests, the active ingredient in Cocokind’s sea moss exfoliator is organic Irish moss, also known as sea moss. This particular type of seaweed is rich in vitamins B and C, protein, calcium, magnesium, and beta-carotene. With acne scars being my greatest skincare concern, I take my exfoliating very seriously. Swapping my acidic face washes for a facial cleansing oil, fine. Using a chia facial oil over my favorite moisturizer (which also has a little tingle, btw) sure, I can get on board with that. But my exfoliator? This was pushing it.
Natural skincare is having a much-deserved moment in the limelight but here’s the part no one tells you: results take patience. There will be no redness to assure you that you’re burning your breakouts away and no irritation to leave you feeling scrubbed down and accomplished.
After the first use of Cocokind’s sea moss exfoliator, I saw a radiance my dry skin seldom has. “I can trade redness for radiance,” I thought. Cocokind recommends using its sea moss exfoliator between three to four times a week. I completely ignored this advice and worked it into my daily regimen, I had gotten a taste of radiance and had no plans on letting go. My overall complexion improved within days, but it took a jar’s worth to notice improvement on my acne scars. The slow but steady progress was addicting. Lesson learned —a little patience for radiance never hurt anybody.
Cut to the present day — I’ve officially left aggressive exfoliators in the past and continue to use sea moss regularly. That’s not the only part of my Cocokind regimen that’s still holding strong, I’ve yet to repurchase my previous acidic toner and opt for their rosewater spray instead. I didn’t reorder the oil cleanser, I missed the hyaluronic acid of my Cerave face wash too much. I still dabble in retinoids, but now prefer spot treatments to treat stubborn acne scars, leaving the rest of my face protected from anything too intense. Quick fix, Insta-famous skincare is a lot like my beloved infomercials; neither do a good enough job of highlighting the patience required between the “before” and “after”. Not every skincare fairytale can fit into a Snapchat story and not every product can perform quite as well as the self-drying mop. Patience is a virtue, and I’ve got the skin to prove it.
Find out how organic sea moss pills can help & what a nutritionist says about SEA MOSS.
