Sherri Blossoms

I’m giving up on the list of possible blog topics I posted a couple of weeks ago. Making that list showed me once again how momentary the need to post is, how futile it is for me to try to actually craft a post. While it may not showcase my talents to their fullest extent, everything on here is pure brain spew. Very little research, minimal editing, much regret. I always think, If only I’d waited a day to post I’d have seen that error, so I try to be more conscientious for a while and I lose interest and the blog suffers. Well, either that or the novel suffers. Novel wins. There will be no shower podcasts in the near future. Sorry.

Speaking of the shower, I bought this new facial scrub. It’s anti-aging/anti-blemish, I hate to admit. I don’t get a lot of blemishes, just enough to keep me always hiding one. Stupid. So I thought this stuff might help. I bought Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish scrub. On the front it says:

Gentle microbeads exfoliate and hydrate to smooth fine lines

Salicylic Acid treats and helps prevent blemishes

I have only one requirement for my anti-aging product (of which this is the first in many years) and that one requirement is this: It may not contain alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). I used this when it first came out, and it almost burned my face off. Not only did it burn my face, but it created the most massive cyst-like blemishes I’ve ever seen. But it happened gradually, so I used it for two weeks, wondering why my skin just kept getting worse and worse. It was a nightmare. Somehow I finally put two and two together (equaling horror!), stopped using the AHA, and voila! after a month of no-makeup healing I had my less-than-ideal-yet-better-than-having-boils skin back. And I didn’t touch another anti-aging product. Until now.

Looking at the front of Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish scrub, there is no indication of any anti-aging chemical in this product. It appears that the anti-wrinkle part comes from the exfoliation and hydration, which is a common claim. I turn it over to check the Drug Facts panel, and the only active ingredient is Salicylic Acid. I think I’m doing all right, then. The rest of the print is tiny, and I’ve seen all I need to see, because AHA would most certainly be listed if it were present. After all, it’s an acid, too, so it should be right up there. Right?

Wrong. This product has AHA in it. And I’ve been putting it on my face.

The only place it mentions AHA is in the tiny blurb print on the back, toward the end. It’s like, “Oh yeah, we forgot to mention there’s AHA in here, and you could get a worse sunburn if you go out in the sun.” And looking at the website, it also says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about AHA being in this product. I’m a tad furious.

Luckily I used the product for less than a week before noticing that my face was becoming uncharacteristically riddled with blemishes. When the lightbulb went on in my head, I grabbed the tube, squinted at the entire label and literally screamed in the shower, “Noooooo!” Now, three days later my face is finally healing up. The Neutrogena people are gonna get a nasty note from me, I believe. I wish I’d taken pictures.

One good product I found for my shower is Caress Exotic Oil Infusions, Moroccan. (In the link, it’s the purple tear-drop shaped bottle.) I was hoping there would be a way on the site to get a free sample, but I don’t see one. This stuff smells totally awesome. And now I must go use it.