Allergies, Beauty Products, and Why It is OK to Take Beauty Product Breaks

It is a new month and I had many plans for posts. The mostly dealt with testing products I own or recently purchased and writing review posts about them. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Three days into the month, I decided to try a new-to-me beauty product. Years ago, I was warned to stay away from it due to other health issues. Now that those health issues are no longer a problem, I decided to try it. On the first night I used it, I knew I didn’t like it. It didn’t work well and I hated other things about it, such as the product’s smell. Yet, I still wanted to use up the product until it is done. Later that night, I had a major allergic reaction on my left forearm, the skin I used it on. It was really bad, with hives and swelling in the area. After that, I knew the product was pretty much worthless to me… and I would possibly need to go to a hospital if I didn’t get my allergic reaction under control.

Fortunately, I did get it under control. It wasn’t easy and I had to stay up really late to make sure if something did happen to me, I would be awake instead of asleep, but I did it. It’s been three-ish weeks since this happened and I still am healing after the reaction. It also doesn’t help that I am still suffering from hives from the allergies I suffer from on a daily basis. Since I was struggling with my allergies, I had to go back to my old favorite beauty products. I do not suffer from any allergic reactions from them. Actually, some of them are meant for people with allergies!

After spending so many weeks letting my body heal (And heal again from my normal allergies), I began to wonder what I will talk about this month. Since I can’t use new beauty products, I couldn’t write the posts I planned on writing. Instead, I had to think outside my post idea box to create new post ideas.

This is why I decided to write this post. On the one hand, I wanted to explain why there probably won’t be a lot of beauty product review posts. On the other hand, I wanted to mention that it’s ok to take breaks from trying new beauty products.

Finding a core group of beauty products you know will work for you is difficult. Especially if a beauty product is actually a limited edition (Meaning it isn’t produced in the same quantity as a normal run of beauty products), the product’s ingredient list changes, and/or the product is retired. It is also very expensive and can be wasteful. And I didn’t even mention how frustrating it is! Yet, during times when you need something reliable to use, it is well worth it.

Taking a break from searching through the never-ending new beauty product releases is not only important to your wallet, but also in resetting your mindset when you search for new products. It is important to value what you have… as well as why they are so important to you! If a product is your favorite cleanser, then why? Is it because it smells nice and makes your skin softer than other products you tried, or is it because of something else? If you don’t want to stray away from it, then why look for a new product when you already found a great product that works well for you?

This is why I wanted to write this post. The beauty product review posts can wait until after I finish healing. If you are like me, then you know how hard it is to find new products you won’t have an allergic reaction to. This is why I reconsidered my review posts and began to wonder if I really do want to purchase the products in the first place. All the products I talked about until this point (And planed on writing review posts about) on this blog are purchased by me with the intention of use. I just talk about them online as well. Yet, after my allergic reaction, it made me wonder if there are more things I can talk about that won’t cause me an allergic reaction in the future.

I still enjoy looking and buying beauty products. Sometimes they are more expensive than others due to the ingredients. Yet, not suffering an allergic reaction is worth the money spent on the product. This is why, if you are not in the same situation as I am with serious allergies, don’t feel guilty about not pursuing all the newest beauty releases. It is also ok to take a break from beauty products. It’s hard, especially if you enjoy them a lot and anything beauty related is your favorite hobby, but sometimes you need to do it. It gives your body a break, it gives your wallet a break, and it gives you time to appreciate what you already own instead of wanting the next best thing. Sometimes, the next best thing is great. Sometimes, it’s not.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!