A Brand New Me

Throughout my adulthood, self-care has taken on new meanings, depending on my phase of life. In college I spent a lot of time in the gym, but it wasn’t for my mental health, it was mostly geared toward my physique and physical well being. It was a time to be social as much as it was time for me personally. I set fitness goals and a number on the scale that I decided was the ultimate target. As good as it was for my body to be psychically active, it was a toxic state of mind that eventually deteriorated me psychologically. Parenthood changed a lot about my motivations in terms of caring for myself, and I’ve learned with each year of motherhood a bit more about how to make sure I’m getting what I need while giving everything I am to my family, too.

When Jack was born, I sacrificed everything about my personal care to make sure he got what he needed. As a first time parent, I was certain that was my job. I ended up totally depleted in nearly every way, which contributed to my experience with postpartum depression. Recovering from that meant taking care of myself and realizing that in order to be a good parent, I needed to make sure I was healthy, too. As my life has changed since then, with the addition of three more babies and a career to manage, I decided earlier this year to make drastic changes to my personal routines in order to find the most success; I stopped eating animal products and began to work out regularly for the first time since college.

My favorite type of exercise is swimming. I love everything about it, but being that I have already very dry skin, the chlorinated water wasn’t doing my skin any favors. It became a huge deterrent to getting in the water so often, because while I noticed the effects it had on my body and mind, I also noticed that my skin was becoming dry, cracked, and leathery.

Traditional moisturizers didn’t seem to be helping at all, and the lotions I was using post-swim & shower were not helping to rehydrate my skin, instead making it greasy. While everything else felt amazing, from my mental state and my energy levels, to my body and muscles, I was becoming self-conscious about the look and feel of my skin. I was determined to find a way to remedy that before allowing that deterrent to keep me from my dedication to exercise, which is when I found Curél Hydra Therapy, a wet skin moisturizer.

This product is different from typical lotions as it’s applied when the skin is still wet and begins to hydrate and protect the skin before ever being depleted of moisture in the first place. Being that I was in the pool for an hour each day and then showing directly afterwards, I had plenty of opportunity to use this product correctly, and I noticed a change in my skin immediately-this lotion absorbs right away and is not greasy or slimy like most others I’ve tried. Huge bonus.

With my fifth child on the way, making sure that I’m maintaining my own health routine is critical. I’m so happy that I found a way to care for myself that benefits me in countless ways, starting with the dedication of time and energy. I was starting to get really annoyed with my dry skin and lack of options for treating it, and truly feared that it would prevent me from getting back in the pool every day, something that I know is absolutely necessary.

As vain as it might seem, I was also worried about the deterioration of my skin accelerating the aging process, but with the addition of Curél Hydra Therapy, I feel like my skin is moisturized and healthy, and protected from the daily chlorine dehydration. I feel more confident than ever, and that helps just about every facet of my life.

I have partnered with Curél to share how I break the rules of dry skin. Please click here to learn more about Curél Hydra Therapy and how you can end dry skin for good.