SkinCare Generation (The Darker and Lighter Shade Of Me)

May 19, 2021

After reading madam @tired_momma article about her favorite skincare products, I was inspired to share mine too.

Filipinos are naturally born with "morena/moreno" or brunette color and sometimes we felt insecure and ashamed when comparing our skin to fair-skinned people. Although not all Filipinos are tan or brown-skinned, thanks to their fair-skinned ancestors who inherited their skin colors to them.

I was born having a natural Filipino skin color which I got from my father. My mother has a fair and smooth skin, especially when she was younger, and I was unfortunate not to get a big portion of her DNA. She even represented Ms. USA in their school back when she was in elementary. But my father's DNA is just so powerful that I have almost inherited all his traits.

I didn't bother about that though when I was young as I even want toasting my skin under the sun when playing. I have uneven skin tone back then, the covered part of my body and my legs have fair complexion, but my arms, face, and neck were dark. As if I was a child of a farmer who always accompanied his daughter to harvest his plants at his farm, or a fisherman who always sails on the sea with his daughter.

But as I grow up, I felt insecure, embarrassed, and my skin color gave me low self-esteem. When I was in secondary, I felt intimidated sitting next to my fair-skinned classmates and I was wishing to have fair skin too. But I didn't care about it when I joined CAT. For two years of having field formation every afternoon, my skin became darker, but at least I wasn't alone, as my co-CAT officers have darker skin tones as well due to daily field formation.

When I stepped into college, I started to be curious about my appearance and started to take care of myself more. But I was only a student, so I can't afford to buy beauty products for myself. But I was eager to change myself physically, so I always set aside some amount from my weekly allowance to buy affordable beauty products for myself.

COLLEGE Skincare Products:

• Ponds Skincare products

• Block&White lotion

• Papaya soap

The very first facial care products I have used was Ponds Skin Care products, as it was always popping out on TV advertisements during my college time and mostly recommended for teens. My face was clear though, with no pimples at all, but because I want to lighten my color, I have tried Ponds whitening facial products and papaya soap. My classmates in college have pretty and fair skins as well, and I wanted to be more confident when facing them.

Being in my adolescent stage also helped me glow a bit, and studying in a private school with air-conditioned rooms turned my skin lighter. During my first year, I've seen slight changes in my color but when I got into second year college, I've tried the egg white facial mask, unfortunately, it didn't work, and just caused pimple breakout on my face. That was an epic fail and the start of having more pimples.

My pimples were not really that many and big like others, but having pimples on my face was uncomfortable and giving me lower self-esteem. They were ON&OFF actually, sometimes my pimples were present, sometimes not. It was so uncomfortable especially when I was with my ex. He even has a smoother face than me 🤣. But even if I wasn't "hiyang" (suitable) to ponds facial cream, I still continued using it because it was affordable until I graduated from college.

During my first job Skincare products:

• Eskinol with Dalacin-C

• Ponds facial cream

• Vaseline lotion

• Papaya or Dove soap

But when I started to work, I have changed my facial cleanser to Eskinol. That helped me a bit to get rid of my pimples. Some people also advised diluting Dalacin-C tablet on Eskinol cleanser and as they've said, it was more effective in treating pimples. It worked on my face during the first months of using the products, but as I used it longer, the effect gradually fades.

Just tried this St. Dalfour cream once.

Then my ex was influenced by his sister to use St. Dalfour cream and it was really effective. Since my colleague was selling that cream, I have tried it too and it turned my face lighter. But I did not continue using it after consuming one small bottle since it was quite expensive and it costs Php 1,000+ per small bottle. Later I found out as well that it contains a chemical that is not good for the health.

I'm not really using beauty products religiously and sometimes I'm lazy to apply them, so the effect doesn't last long. My skin color still turning back to its original brown color 😅. I continued using Eskinol every time I have pimple breakout, even when I worked in Cebu.

Cebu days Skincare products:

• Eskinol with Myra-E

• Myra-E facial cream

• Kojic or Dove soap

• Dove or Myra-E lotion

• Myra-E as my supplement

My workmate was using Eskinol as well but instead of putting Dalacin-C, she was diluting the Myra-E capsule. I was a copy-cat so I have tried it as well. I also changed my facial cream to Myra-E moisturizer, and I used dove soap and dove lotion. I became a dove lady since then and taking Myra-E vitamins every day.

I was assigned to work in an air-conditioned branch for a few months so my skin tone became lighter. But what I hate about my skin is it easily turns dark when exposed to the sun for too long, and it takes months to recover the skin color.

One time we had island hopping on Virgin Island Cebu. We stayed on the island for the whole day and my skin turned darker and sunburns appeared on the next day.

I was assigned back to the non-airconditioned branch so it took me months to recover my skin color and a few weeks to heal the sunburn. When I went back to Samar, I continued using Eskinol but I stopped taking Myra-E.

Caregiving school days Skincare products:

• Eskinol Calamansi (plain)

• Myra-E facial cream

• Kojic or Dove soap

• Dove, Vaseline, or Myra-E lotion (it depends which one is available)

And when I studied Caregiving, I was still using Eskinol and Myra-E facial cream but not taking any supplements anymore. I don't actually care about my skin that much during those days.

Caregiving working days Skincare products:

• Dr. Alvin Rejuvenating set (includes facial cream and cleanser, sunscreen, kojic soap)

• Vaseline, Dove, or Myra-E lotion

When I started working as a Caregiver, my former Caregiving classmate told me about Dr. Alvin's rejuvenating set. It has an affordable price so I tried it as well. The peeling process took for a few weeks and I really had a lighter complexion after using the reju set for a few months. My skin liked the kojic soap as well, and it treated my pimple problem.

I'm still using the kojic soap and cream on my face and my body even until now, and the reju cleanser only if I have pimples on my face. And before going out, I make sure that I put on sunscreen protection on my face. Since then I'm not having extreme pimple breakout anymore, only a few when I am having a monthly period.

My skin becomes lighter especially during the cold seasons, but easily turn darker during Summer as it is too hot here in Hong Kong. The Summer here is too different from the Summer in the Philippines because HK has fewer trees, and establishments and residential buildings are air-conditioned which gives out hotter temperatures.

My current Skincare products

I'm using this set if I want to detoxify my skin. Bentonite clay is also effective in removing pimples and blackheads on my face with a mixture of coconut oil and tea tree oil. My nose is also prone to blackheads so I'm using this Biorè pore pack when I felt like I need it. And every time I want to pamper my body, I'm using this A Bonne Milk Salt body scrub. This makes my skin softer and smoother after bathing.

For my daily skin regimen, I'm using Dr. Alvin soap, cream, and suncreen every morning, Jeju Aloe Ice at night. I also make sure to put vaseline lip bam every after brushing my teeth to moisturize my lips. For my body, I'm using this Dove body cream and Dove body soap, it is really pampering and smells so good.

I want to stick to these products as they are not that expensive and suitable for skin type and I'm already tired of switching to different products.

And for now, I don't want to mind about my skin color anymore, as I easily get tanned under the sun. For as long as I don't have pimples on my face, then it's fine. I even like seeing natural Filipina colors like @tired_momma's. And sometimes, to be truly beautiful we just need to appreciate our natural beauty.

We all have different skin types and the products vary from person to person. Being a female is sometimes stressful as we always need skincare products and they are quite costly to maintain. And in this generation, we don't want to be far into the lifecycle of trend and we always need to stay presentable in front of other people to prevent being criticized by them.

But do you know how to become truly beautiful?

"Acceptance of who we are is what will make us beautiful."

Don't hesitate to share your own story below 😊