Replacing Insecurity with Confidence!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Reawakening Beauty blog.

My name is Shawna Patruno and I have a passion for helping people feel confident in their skin. The reason why I’m so passionate about this topic is because, I didn’t always feel confident in my skin and this is a journey I’m still on, I’m not going say I’m 100% but I’m working on it daily. My background is in beauty and also I have a history of modeling. Some of the brands that I modeled for were Kim Crawford, Cineplex, Kevin Murphy and I’ve also been in a movie, so that’s kind of cool. It was just a very small part, I actually got smacked, which sounds really funny, but it happened. Over the years I have been through a lot and have gained a lot of experience relating to confidence, going after your goals, what that looks like and what that can mean to you.

I remember getting into modeling, and having a friend say to me, “I didn’t know just anyone can model.” This really hurt me and I was like, Ouch! Reflecting back now I don’t think she really meant it the way it came out, like she’s honestly one of my favorite people and I love this girl. But at the time we were both just like starting to get into our confidence, so this comment really hurt. I debated things like, is she right or “Should I not be modeling?”. But as I thought more about it I was like, you know what, I’ve always wanted to do this, so I’m going do this and I’m not going to care what she thinks. Two years later, she messaged me and mentioned how proud of me she was and became so supportive, all because I stuck with it. People sometimes don’t support you in the beginning, but when they see you stick with something, they sometimes rise to the occasion, and can become proud and supportive of you. Talking with her afterwards she said, “You know, I always wanted to model but never started” and then she proceeded to ask for me to help her get into modeling and of course I was like, yeah, let’s totally do this. I realized that her earlier comments were coming from a place of insecurity, and I’ve noticed that a lot with people. I personally have a lot compassion and excitement for people. I’ve always been the type of person who is really excited, like genuinely excited for people to win in life. Insecurity for me is feeling like people sometimes don’t like me, that’s my insecurity. But it’s never been, “Oh my God, I don’t want you to shine brighter than me”. It’s been the complete opposite, it’s been like, “Oh my god, you’re so beautiful”. For example, I’m the type of person that goes up to the girl in the bathroom and says things like “You have such pretty eyes.” She’s probably thinking I’m hitting on her but in reality I just think she has pretty eyes or her winged eyeliner is really cute. These are the kind of things that I’m always doing so I never understood why others would tear another human being down. I just never understood that, and I still don’t understand it to this day. But I think when you become confident in yourself, you start to learn to just embrace yourself. It’s literally learning to love all the aspects of you including; the good, the bad, and the ugly, it’s not just bits and pieces, it’s everything! Sometimes shining your light so bright and going after your dreams is also showing others that they too can go after their dreams. Years later I realized my friend just wanted to model, but she felt she couldn’t she do this because she didn’t think she was pretty enough. So her words were just a projection of her pain and she was projecting on me what she felt she couldn’t do. The funny part is I was modelling, because I thought she was beautiful and so I was thinking why the hell are you not modeling! I was hoping that we would be able to model together, I thought that would be so much fun. But it was her insecurity and her thought about herself that stopped her.

I want everyone to know that you can do it, you can go after your dreams. 100% you can! You can do anything you put your mind to and focus on. I feel inspired to share what I believe would be helpful to somebody else who may be at the starting point where I started many years ago. So, I hope this was helpful, and whether you get the outcome you’re wanting or whether people support you or not, just surround yourself with positivity. Whether you have to watch YouTube videos or listen to podcasts or like me listen to audiobooks, just do whatever you need to do to keep going after your goal. My mom used to say to me, “Don’t let the naysayers got you.” Which is so cute because it’s true! People are going to try and drag you down, but that’s because they feel insecure by you shining bright. My goal is that everybody would shine bright together, as cheesy as that sounds. So yeah, that’s my story on my confidence, and understanding why people say mean things and how that could impact you.

All right, I’m sending you so much love and I wish you all the best wherever you are in the world!

Shawna Patruno

Make Your Own Powerhouse Protein Smoothie!

Hi there everyone! I wanted to write a quick blog on how to create your very own personalized powerhouse smoothie. Smoothies are a great way to start your day, especially if you are busy and on the go. They can also be a great way to increase your vitamin intake and get in a good amount of your fruits and vegetables.

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Here are some helpful tips if you want to create your own powerhouse smoothie:

  1. Start with a base, use either water or an unsweetened plant based milk (start small and add more if needed to make the smoothie less dense) – 1 cup
  2. Add a keto Vegan protein powder – 2 scoops for about 20 grams
  3. Add veggies like spinach, kale etc 1 cup or a greens powder 1tbs
  4. Add fat – 1 or 2 tbs of hemp seeds, almond butter or MCT oil
  5. Add a superfood for added benefits like maca, rose powder or cacao – 1 tsp
  6. Optional: Thicken with frozen cauliflower rice – 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
  7. Add Ice to thicken as desired
  8. Optional: Add fruit – 1/4 cup

DIY Moisturizer Face Mask

This quick and easy tip is great for the wintertime and also helpful if you want to learn how to help your dry skin and save some money! I’m going to teach you how to make a mask at home using your moisturizer which may be coming up to its due date! So I have a ton of moisturizers at home, actually I kind of feel funny about how many moisturizers I have, it’s a lot, like I have an abundance of stuff and sometimes you find certain moisturizers are not your favourite. I would recommend that these moisturizers would be a perfect candidate to use in the creation of your at home mask.

I would also recommend not using any moisturizer that has like a glycolic, lactic acid or anything with vitamin C, this is because it would be too potent on the skin. You will want to make your mask using strictly a hydrating moisturizer which is filled with either ceramides, hyaluronic acid or anything else like that aloe.

So what you’re going to do to make the mask is:

  1. Add about 2 tbs of moisturizer onto your hand
  2. Apply to your face leaving a thicker layer (be sure not to rub it in)
  3. Leave it on for 20 minutes
  4. Rinse off with warm water and pat your face with a towel to dry

This simple mask will help to boost your hydration as well as use up your excess products before they expire. This is perfect to use in the winter as our skin can become very dehydrated and dry (which means lack of oil) during the colder months.

Beauty Blog: Serums 101

Today we’re going to be talking a little bit about serums! This blog is for anyone who is concerned with their skin, wants to understand how to better take care of their skin, and learn more about what different products are available. I like talking about everything related to mind, body, skin and soul and I’m writing this blog because I think so many people are not educated enough on their products and exactly how they work. A lot of people just end up buying things off the shelf without understanding what it is they are buying, and this can end up significantly hurting their skin. I’m telling you this because I’ve personally done that in the past when I was first starting out and so I’m going to be the person who will walk alongside you so that you can avoid the same problems I experienced.

A serum is essentially a highly packed power punch to your routine. There are so many different serums on the market for all different skin types. There are ones which have vitamin C, these help with brightening, tightening and lightening the skin. There are hydration serums and there are serums that can help with acne. You have to be very careful which picking which serum is right for you because we all have different skin types. You might think, “oh she knows my skin or he has nice skin”, I’ll just use whatever they are using, but it’s important for you to know that it does not mean that product is suited for you. It’s always best to do a consultation and discover what skin type you have before you go buying stuff off the internet. I’ve seen a lot of people make certain mistakes, such as not knowing how certain products can counter indicate each other, and what happens is they end up hurting their own skin in the long term.

There are different types of serums, I personally like a hydration serum as it’s basically just a water texture. Serums penetrate a little bit deeper down into the skin. There are basically three different layers to our skin, we have the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis. Typically commercial skincare is just going work on the top layer but because the molecule structure of a serum is a little bit finer, it actually penetrates deeper within the skin. So, if people are concerned with having an active breakout and they’re using a moisturizer, it’s not really helping to moisturize, that’s because it’s designed to protect the skin barrier from the elements whereas a serum is more corrective. A serum is actually going to give you more of that corrective factor. I always tell people, you’re going to need a basic regime such as a cleanser, and I really do believe in a double cleanse and a serum which is basically the power punch to your routine. So just depending on what you’re trying to target, your skin is going to be different. For myself going into the winter months, I like to use a hydrating serum as this is going to add more water content into the skin because where I live it’s cold and we are constantly going back and forth from the heated indoors and into the frigid weather. This back and forth takes a hit on the skin and basically how your cells are reacting, and if your skin is not properly hydrated, a lot of people don’t know this, but you can’t really do anti-aging. Say you’re going to the gym and you’re doing a workout but you didn’t drink enough water, you’re not really going to do a great workout, your skin cells are kind of the same. Essentially make sure that you’re constantly hydrating your skin. I would recommend looking for products which have hyaluronic acid in them. The one I am using has aloe, hyaluronic acid, a few other ingredients in it.

When you’re applying your serum, what you want to do is press into the skin because the molecule structure is a little finer. I like to actually rub it between my hands and press into my skin. I’m constantly pushing in because I want the molecule structure to go into the deeper layers. I’ll do that my forehead, my face, all over my neck and decolletage. Decolletage is the lower neckline area, and you want to do this because these are all areas that you can see signs of aging, dehydration, acne and so on. You are going to want to use your cleanser and your toner first, then apply your serum and finally your moisturizer. The amount of serum that you’re going to be applying will depend on your face and how far down the neckline you’re going, but I would say about a pump and a half is a good amount. You’re going to rub it between your hands, and then you’re going to start gently pressing it into your skin. Typically, you will apply this on damp skin, especially if you have a hyaluronic acid serum, because the hydronic acid will pull all the moisture from your skin. Afterwards you are going to partner that with a moisturizer. There are different types of serums for acne prone skin but I really wanted to focus this blog on hydration, and if you ask me what is most important thing for your skin, I would say internal hydration and external hydration. So, if you’re going to start off with a serum, just to play it safe and start with hydration. A lot of the times people have dehydration lines and they think it’s aging but it’s actually not, it just means you’re just dehydrated. I would recommend to start drinking eight glasses of water or as much water as you can throughout the day. I believe there is a calculator online based on your weight and your height which will tell you how much water you should be having.

I went out a little bit of a tangent here, but I hope that was helpful. I love sharing all the things related to mind, body, skin and soul and you can find more content on all my platforms. Alright, talk to you later. Bye!

Reawakening Beauty: My Top Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipes!

Hi! My name is Shawna Patruno and I am the founder of Reawakening Beauty. I have been a vegan for the past 3 years and love making healthy, simple vegan recipes. This blog contains a collection of my favourite 5 Valentine’s Day recipes. All my recipes are Vegan, Gluten Free and are low in Sugar. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!


Reawakening Beauty: Valentine’s Days Recipe #1

Reawakening Beauty: Rose Hot Chocolate for a Healthy Glow

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Rose Hot Chocolate for a Healthy Glow

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbs Cacao Powder
  • 1/2 tbs Beet Root Powder
  • 1 /2 tsp Rose Powder
  • 2 drops Stevia
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1/4 cup Unsweetened Almond or Cashew Milk

Toppings

  • Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream
  • Editable Rose Pedals (optional)

Instructions

Add 1 cup of water into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to low heat and add all ingredients. Whisk occasionally. Remove from stove and pour into a mug. Top with vegan coconut whipped cream and editable rose petals or additional cacao powder and cinnamon.

Benefits:

Cacao powder has been said to aid in healthy skin. Studies have shown that longer term use of cacao powder can contribute to sun protection and improve the surface and texture of your skin. Rose has also been said to have a calming effect.

Follow Reawakening Beauty and Reawakening Beauty Podcast for more skin tips, self care tips and recipes.

**Feel free to message me if you would like to learn more healthy skin tips.


Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipe #2

Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Rose Glow Elixir Latte for Gorgeous Skin

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Vegan Rose Glow Elixir Latte

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
  • 1/4 cup Filtered Water
  • 1 tsp Organic Rose Powder
  • 3 tsp Organic Red Beet Crystals
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 drops Stevia
  • Garnish with Edible Rose Petals for Presentation

Instructions

Add 3/4 cup of Almond Milk to a pot and simmer to just before boiling then reduce heat to lowest temperature. Add into the pot the room temperature filtered water and remaining ingredients. Whisk until blended and remove from the stove. Add to a cup. Optional for presentation lightly sprinkle a pinch of Rose Powder and Red Beet Crystals on top and enjoy!

Benefits: Rose powder is said to be anti aging and calming for the nervous system and is loaded with polyphenols & antioxidants, which is great for good health and gorgeous skin.

Follow Reawakening Beauty and Reawakening Beauty Podcast for more skin tips, self care tips and recipes.

**Feel free to message me if you would like to learn more healthy skin tips.


Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipe #3

Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Keto Glowing Skin Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Vegan Keto Glowing Skin Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients:

Chocolate Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tbs Coconut Oil
  • 1 tbs Cacao Powder
  • 1/4 cup Keto Vegan Chocolate Chips

Dipping Ingredients

  • 1 pint Fresh Organic Strawberries or Raspberries

Toppings

  • Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 320°F. Wash strawberries thoroughly. Mix chocolate ingredients together in an oven safe dish and place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes stirring at the halfway point. Line a baking sheet or pan with parchment paper. Dip each strawberry or raspberry in the chocolate mix to lightly coat and place on the parchment paper. Put in the fridge to chill for about 60-90 minutes before consuming. Store in fridge for only 3 days.

Benefits: Cacao is known as a “superfood” because of its antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. It also has been said to bring down inflammation and boost collagen formation.

Follow Reawakening Beauty and Reawakening Beauty Podcast for more skin tips, self care tips and recipes.

**Feel free to message me if you would like to learn more healthy skin tips.


Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipe #4

Reawakening Beauty: Healthy Glow Vegan Chocolate Fondue for Valentine’s Day

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Healthy Glow Vegan Chocolate Fondue for Valentine’s Day

Chocolate Fondue Ingredients

  • 3-4 tbs Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
  • 1 1/2 tbs Cacao Powder
  • 1/4 cup Keto Vegan Chocolate Chips

Optional Dipping Ingredients

  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Pineapple
  • Vegan Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 320°F. Mix chocolate fondue ingredients together in an oven safe dish and place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes stirring at the halfway point.

Remove from the oven and dip your favourite fruit into the chocolate fondue and enjoy!

I personally also enjoy dipping my Keto Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies into the fondue as an extra treat!

Benefits:

Cacao is known as a “superfood” because of its antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. It also has been said to bring down inflammation and boost collagen formation.

Follow Reawakening Beauty and Reawakening Beauty Podcast for more skin tips, self care tips and recipes.

**Feel free to message me if you would like to learn more healthy skin tips.


Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipe #5

Reawakening Beauty: Vegan Keto Chocolate Glowing Skin Hearts

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Vegan Keto Chocolate Glowing Skin Hearts

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
  • 2 tbs Cacao Powder
  • 1/4 cup Organic Fatso Almond Butter (or Fatso Peanut Butter but only if you aren’t actively breaking out)
  • 1/8 cup Keto Vegan Chocolate Chips (*sweetened with Stevia)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 320°F. Mix ingredients together in an oven safe bowl. Place the bowl in the oven for 10 to 15 mins stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and pour into desired BPA-free food grade chocolate mold, I used hearts for Valentine’s Day! Place in the fridge for 2 hours. Remove from fridge and carefully pop each one out of the holder. Store in the freezer to avoid melting.

Benefits: Cacao powder has been said to aid in healthy skin. Studies have shown that longer term use of cacao powder can contribute to sun protection and improve the surface and texture of your skin & coconut oil is antibacterial and anti microbial.

Follow Reawakening Beauty and Reawakening Beauty Podcast for more skin tips, self care tips and recipes.

**Feel free to message me if you would like to learn more healthy skin tips.

Dry Brushing 101

Dry brushing is something that I’ve personally done for about two years now and in this blog, I will be explaining about what dry brushing is, how to properly use it and what are the benefits of dry brushing.

What is Dry Brushing?

Dry brushing is a method of gently brushing your skin using a specialized body brush with bristles made from natural material which range from soft to hard.

How to properly use a Dry Brush?

So, now I’m going to explain exactly how to use my dry brush. This is something you are going to want to do before you shower. Before starting you will want that remove any jewelry or crystals, as I always have crystals on me. Start by brushing towards the heart. The reason why is because you want a blood flow which moves towards your heart. You are also going to want to start with the smallest limb, so typically I like to start with my hands, and brush in short strokes towards the heart. I continue brushing towards my heart and begin to move slowly up my arm. It is also safe to brush on your armpit if you would like too as well. Once I have completed one arm I move to the other and do the same motion there. Once both arms are finished, I like to gently dry brush my neck area, but be sure to brush in a very gentle motion as the skin is more sensitive here. Finally, I move onto my legs. Again, I start with the smallest limb, so my feet, and I brush gently in short even motions towards the heart. Continue brushing up towards the groin area as this is said to help with detoxification by supporting getting your blood flowing. Once one leg is done move onto the other.

What are the benefits of Dry Brushing?

Dry brushing helps with a lot of different benefits including helping to wake up your circulatory system, helping to detoxify the skin, decreasing cellulite, and helping to make your skin more radiant and glowing. It’s also really good for people who have sensitive skin, especially if you have reactions to different products, this is a very natural way to exfoliate the body. Dry brushing also helps with inflammation because you are getting rid of the toxins in your body. Since doing dry brush I have noticed that my skin looks more youthful. Before dry brushing, I used to notice that my elbows were looking a little bit aged as I was getting older, and dry brushing really helped to improve that. But my favorite benefit about dry brushing would be that it helps with waking you up. I love doing this in the wintertime as people tend to be a little bit more tired during winter and this will help to wake you up make you feel great.

What to look for when buying a Dry Brush?

The type of bristle that you have on your actual brush will make a huge difference. There are some in the market which are low quality and can actually scrape your skin, so be sure not to push hard because you can actually injure yourself. You want to go with a softer bristle which is not too hard. There was a store in Burlington that I got my original one from but unfortunately, they closed so I’m currently on the lookout for a new one to recommend (sorry there).

If you guys have any other questions on dry brushing or on other things that I do for myself during the wintertime please reach out to me.

Check out my other platforms for additional information related to all things mind, body, skin and soul.

If you liked this blog, check out my recipes page which contains different recipes to improve your skin.

https://www.reawakeningbeauty.com/vegan-recipes/

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor; these are just my opinions and knowledge that I have gained over years of experience in the beauty industry

Beauty Expert Tips: Things to Avoid when you have Sensitive Skin

If you have sensitive skin, these are some things you’re going to definitely want to avoid.

Number 1: Avoid anything that has added fragrance. You’re definitely going to want to shelf these while your skin is rebounding to allow for good healing.

Number 2: Avoid anything that’s super stimulating for your skin. You might want to avoid retinol, AHA’s, and Vitamin C, essentially anything that’s going to overly stimulate the skin. Look for products that have calming and soothing ingredients such as green tea, tiger grass, aloe or probiotics.

Number 3: Avoid extreme hot or cold temperatures when washing your face, just use lukewarm temperatures.

Number 4: Avoid dirty brushes, that’s kind of like a given for all skin types, but make sure you’re washing your makeup brushes regularly.

Number 5: Use singular ingredients or products with a very limited amount of ingredients. When you’re looking on your packaging, ensure it has a small number of ingredients that way you are less likely to react. Also, look into getting allergy tested as often your skin is a reflection of your gut.

So if you have sensitive skin keep in mind that you should avoid these five things to ensure you maintain beautiful, healthy and glowing skin.

Self Care Saturday: The Mind Gut Skin Stress Connection!

In the latest episode of the Reawakening Beauty podcast, Meg and I sat down to talk about the foods we eat and how they could be impacting our stress levels. Below is a brief little clip from that episode.

3 Important Beauty Tips from a Beauty Expert to keep your Skin Healthy and Glowing

We are going to be talking about some really easy tips that you can do to find good skincare, protect your skin in every season and kind of some basic tips that you might be overlooking. So we’re going to start off with something that is highly important when you’re buying your products. Do not store them in a warm place that gets too hot. This is something that a lot of people do, they often want to keep their products in the bathroom where the temperature is changing from hot to cold, but because of the shower humidity it tends to get hot. It actually sometimes can oxidize certain products, especially if you’re opening up the jars and stuff like that. So I personally don’t like to leave my skincare in the bathroom, which is funny that a lot of people actually do. Tip number two, which is often kind of overlooked and something that I would highly recommend, is the expiration dates on your product. So every product will have an expiration date on it. So you want to look, it’s sometimes on the bottom, and it could also be on the top of your products. You want to make sure that you’re looking at the expiration dates and not using your products past the expirations dates. So there’s a few natural skincare products, and it’s great if you’re using natural products, but if these products have natural acids in them, what happens is if the acids expire, I’ve actually heard of it burning people’s skin. So you want to be really careful when you’re using certain products that it won’t do that. It’s not the brand that I work with, but it’s another brand so be mindful of the expiration dates. There’s a reason why there is an expiration and DIN number on each product, and that’s to just keep your skin is happy and healthy. Tip number three to avoid acne, and it’s so basic. And by this way, this is from cupping. Don’t touch your skin. I had a really bad habit and I still do sometimes, you’ll see in my videos that I’m actually just touching my face. So you don’t want to be touching your skin. Especially right now in the times that we’re living in with COVID and all of that, you’re touching things that have bacteria and dirt and oil and then you’re putting it on your skin. It’s not beneficial. It can cause acne, it can cause other irritations. You don’t want to be transmitting bacteria and that kind of thing towards the skin.

Reawakening Beauty Podcast

Listen below to hear the entire Reawakening Beauty episode.

Retinol 101: Do’s & Don’ts

Model: Shawna Patruno
Photographer: Margaritaua Photography
Agency: Orange Models
All Rights Reserved

Retinol, also known as Retina A, is such a hot topic for its anti aging properties, keeping pores at bay and helping you keep a clear, blemish free glowing complexion.

Dermatologists talk about it being the gold standard of anti aging ingredients. Retinol helps boost your cell turnover. It helps produce collagen, it’s important as we age to keep our collagen in tact so we can look youthful longer. Collagen depreciates for everybody at about the age of 25. In order to trick the hands of time we can add retinol into our skin care routine and encourage rapid cell turnover so your skin acts younger.

If you are using retinol you’ll need to be using a minimum SPF 30 (the higher the better up to SPF 60) be sure to apply every 3 to 4 hours to protect your new cells and prevent photo-aging (a.k.a dark spots).

Do not apply a retinol in the day time. In all my research and trainings I was told that is a big “no no”. Instead apply at night and allow it work while you sleep. Trust me you will thank me for this tip alone.

Another major tip is to start slow. Start once a week to avoid massive peeling and thinning of the skin. Less is more until you build up.

The seasons and the weather also need to be considered with retinol use. Do not start the use of retinol in the summer months to avoid unneeded sun exposure. Trust me I learned this the hard way. This simple mistake will cost you hundreds of dollars in corrective measures.

Make sure you are using the right moisturizer, you may need to switch for the duration of your retinol routine. Also you’ll need to use a great exfoliator in tandem.

Keep the basics such as a cleanser, toner, moisturizer with SPF 30 to 60 and exfoliator. It’s important to note that retinol is an added tool, not a replacement.

Be careful when applying it and avoid the eye area. The skin around your eye is way too thin and sensitive for this concentration of retinol.

Check with your doctor if you are on any medication that could make your skin thin or sensitive to burning and tell your skin advisor if you have any illness that impacts your skin.

Lastly, create a plan with a professional, don’t go in blind! Most likely you will get pink and when you increase your usage you will peel, this is completely normal.