Real Talk & Wrinkles

If you had told me I would love being in my 30s back when I was still in my 20s I wouldn’t have believed you. For some reason turning 30 seemed ancient and I dreaded passing that big 3-0 mark. But, now that I’m here (33 to be exact), there are a whole lot of things that I love about it. I have finally figured out who I am and who and what I don’t have time for. I’ve realized that life is way too short to be hung up on self-loathing and investing time in people who aren’t investing in you. I’ve learned that you can’t please everyone and to let things go a bit more. I’ve made peace with a body that has birthed three babies and is much more squishy around the edges these days and I’ve come to grips with the changed texture of my hair.

One thing that has been a bit difficult for me though? The signs of aging on my face. I know that this is where people will chime in and remind me that lines and wrinkles are memories left behind on our faces and that they tell a story of a life well-lived. And yes, I agree with this in theory, but honestly it is the strangest thing to be confronted with aging on your own face. Years of poor habits (skipping sunscreen and not washing my makeup off at night) had started to catch up with me in the form of dull skin and settling lines and I was really hoping for a solution.

About a year ago, I decided to start taking care of my skin and initially I wanted to go the more “natural” route. I put on my big girl pants and committed to being a grownup and removing my makeup daily and to wearing SPF. I spent the year trying out various natural creams, face washes and serums and honestly never really noticed much difference. I decided it was time to pull out the stops and try something a bit more intense, but knew I didn’t want to do anything invasive (read: Botox and the like). That’s when I started considering Rodan & Fields.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably already heard of Rodan & Fields and you likely already have a friend who sells it BUT, for those of you who don’t know, it is an anti-aging skincare line (started by the doctors who started the Proactiv acne line) that people absolutely rave about. I was a pretty big skeptic though for a few reasons: 1) The before and after photos I’d seen on splashed all over my Facebook seemed too good to be true, 2) It’s a network marketing business model which isn’t my favorite, because I kind of hate being “sold to” and I already have SOOOO many random people trying to sell me things these days, and 3) The price. Anti-aging ain’t cheap y’all.

When I was first interested in the product I didn’t have any close friends selling it. I wanted to learn more about it, but I also didn’t really want to sit down with a random acquaintance and feel pressured about it. I also wanted to hear about it from someone whose opinion I truly valued and trusted, so it worked out when my friend Rachel became an R&F consultant. I went to a party she invited me to and while the product definitely appealed to me, at the time the cost was prohibitive (the summer is always seems to be “famine” time for me as a freelancer) aside from which I felt like I should finish up the expensive creams and serums I was currently using first before buying something new.

About a month later she followed up with me about the idea of having me try out a regimen to review on my blog. I told her I was in, and now here I am to share the experience with you. Before you read the rest of this post, I would like to preface it by saying that I am not selling the products I will be sharing with you and do not have any plans to do so. I am not receiving any type of commission and my opinion is 100% my own.

Now that that part is out of the way, here are my thoughts. I will be going into detail here, but long story short if you’d like to cut to the chase and don’t want all the details: I really do like the product. Now on with those details…

I have been using the Rodan & Fields Redefine regimen since the very end of September (so about 2.5 months). There are a few different regimen options depending on your skin type and individual needs (sensitive skin, blemishes, etc.), but Redefine line is sort of the go-to for those who have fairly “normal” skin and whose main objective is to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. As we already discussed, this is me. I considered using the Reverse line (which I may try in the future), but this was a good place to start.

With any of the R&F regimens you have a day time and a night time routine to complete. This was intimidating to me at first, because it seemed SO time consuming! Before I started using it, I had a brief nightly routine (cleanse, tone, face oil, done.) and no morning routine really at all so I couldn’t imagine how I was going to make it happen every day. After the first week though, it started to feel like part of my routine and really didn’t take as long as I had expected (probably about 3 minutes). At night I would use the Daily Cleansing Mask, followed by the Toner and then the Overnight Restorative Cream. In the morning I would do the same cleansing/toning and replace the night cream with the Triple Defense Treatment SPF 30. I also used the Amp It Up micro exfoliating roller + night serum 1-2 times a week (I have the older style one – they came out with a new one since I started). About a month into my routine I noticed that while the rest of my skin was changing, my eyes weren’t keeping up (the rest of the products aren’t meant to be used on the eye area). I was really pleased with the rest of the product, so I went back and bought the eye cream from Rachel to add into the mix. Phew! I know it sounds like a lot, but it isn’t that big of a deal…even for a self-proclaimed lazy girl like me.

So, I’ll admit that every part of the regimen wasn’t my absolute favorite (I’m looking at you daily cleansing mask), but because the products are designed to work best together (and the prices are way better when you buy in a bundle), I stuck with using them together. The Daily Cleansing mask was a little bit harsh for my skin when I was using it twice a day, but once I figured out what my skin liked and didn’t I could adjust accordingly. After the first month I stopped using the cleansing mask in the morning and opted for micellar water, followed with the rest of the regimen which worked really well for me. I also used a random oil cleanser to take off my makeup before my nightly regimen. R&F does have makeup cleansing cloths, but I just used a makeup removing oil I already had.

My favorite parts of my regimen were: the toner (SO good), the roller/night serum (the morning after using it is always crazy smooth skin) and the eye cream.

Here are my before and after photos. I’ll admit it isn’t the most dramatic change when compared to the before and afters I’ve seen many Rodan & Fields consultants post, but I can definitely see some changes and more than that my skin feels different. I used the same terrible, windowless bathroom lighting for both photos to give me consistency in the photos so while it looks like my after photo has better lighting that’s actually just my skin being more “glowy” and reflecting the light more. My skin in the before photos was so dull and dry and that was taken BEFORE the cold weather even set in back in September! My skin now is so much more smooth and while I used to have chronically dry skin (especially on my cheeks and forehead), it is so much more smooth. I can tell especially when I apply my makeup. It goes on SO much better now. I’ve also noticed that the smaller fine lines on my forehead have become more minimal. The deeper wrinkles haven’t magically disappeared or anything, but I mean it took 33 years of poor habits and sun damage to earn them, so I can’t exactly expect them to disappear quite so suddenly.

The only downside to using Rodan & Fields has been that when I skip a night or when I use a different product (which I did for a couple of nights when the weather first turned cold and my skin got irritated/dry in a failed attempt to “fix” it) I can totally tell the difference. My skin feels so much more dull…that’s the only way I can really describe it.

So, there you go. If you have been on the fence about trying Rodan & Fields and weren’t so sure about all those dramatic before and after photos, here’s a real review from someone who has tried it and really liked it.

And, if you’re interested in learning more about Rodan & Fields (finding out your skin type and such) or purchasing any products (it would be a great Christmas gift), my friend Rachel has generously offered to throw in an eye cream (a $55 value) with the purchase of any regimen and TBH the eye cream is kind of my favorite. Go check out her page here and you can shoot her an e-mail or reach out to her on Facebook or Instagram. Her e-mail is: r.francetich(at)gmail(dot)com. Tell her I sent you! I don’t get a kick back from any of this, but I am happy to encourage a friend in her business endeavors :).

Also, head over to my Instagram to ENTER THE GIVEAWAY we are hosting to win a free R&F regimen of your choice!

xo

Lauren

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