Deadlier than committing one of the seven deadly sins is a skin sin so terrible, it’s hard to comprehend.

Hold your breaths, ladies and gents; this is a doozy.

Skin sins. (Did I just hear your teeth chatter?) Dante’s Inferno vaguely comes to mind. But before you worry yourself into oblivion, know this: repentance is possible. You ask how I know this to be true. Maybe you didn’t. Regardless, let me tell you my story…

Four scores and twenty years ago (I kid, I’m only 20), I used to wash my face with water. Just water, or not at all. The first of skin sins committed, unbeknownst to my naïve, teenage self.

(It’s hardly as bad as cleansing with a bar of soap or neglecting to exfoliate, I’ll have you know.)

But I digress. In all my combo-oily, slightly acne-prone disposition, I committed one of the worst of sins anyone could ever commit (and one that’s common to oily skin types).

I never used moisturizer. 

Ever.

Body? No. No matter how delicious the lotion or lush the body butter, I simply couldn’t be bothered.

My face? Ha. I hardly knew the difference between body lotion and moisturizer, let alone why I needed it.

Part of it can be attributed to sheer laziness. All else stemmed from the theory that because I was oily, I didn’t need any more moisture. Shine was synonymous to hydration in my 14/15-year-old brain.

They say ignorance is bliss, yet I protest a loud au contraire to the cliché: I broke out more, my skin becoming patchy. Ah, adolescence. Carefree youth. I miss those days, but the skin woes? I’m glad they’re over.

It wasn’t until I started at MB that I was told I’d been committing a deadly sin for nearly two decades. Two decades!

“Oh that’s bad, honey. Baaad.”

She was nice about it. In all my naïveté I hadn’t realized that by not moisturizing, I was depriving my skin of the moisture it needed. Hydration is key to the complexion – it’s the secret to a dewy, radiant glow and a necessity for healthy skin. I left my skin to fend for itself – thank goodness it can’t sue for abandonment or negligence – and so to make up for my wrongdoing, oil glands were kicked into high gear to overcompensate. It was a vicious cycle – more oil, more congestion, and a pimple would rear its ugly head.

I started moisturizing that night after my first day of training at the salon. The skin gods must have forgiven me for my skin sins, because I haven’t looked back since. I can’t go without moisturizer no matter what. Makeup is optional – but when I do choose to wear it, it goes on exponentially smoother. Even better, I never forget to use a moisturizer with sun protection during the day (another terrible skin transgression).

And you know what? My skin’s never been better.

Moisturizer makes that much of a difference.

.   .   .

Now that I’ve confessed, it’s your turn: what’s your worst skin sin?

(image via)

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