Why I splurged on... $30 facial soap

In some ways, I understand the general reticence of some of the more frugal people in this world in having to spend any amount of money on things that are essentially meant to be thrown away or sloughed down a drain. And I can see why they may rather opt to limit the money spent on such purchases. Hey, sometimes I feel the same way.

So for them, me spending $30 dollars on just facial soap would be a huge sin, especially given that I already owned facial washes I haven't yet finished with when I bought it. Which I also understand, sentiment-wise.

But they don't live in my skin. I do.

And let me tell you, my skin in any weather but especially in winter without the right care is a downright nightmare to live with.

I'm allergic to everything. Well no, I'm not actually allergic to everything, but with allergies to dust, trees, ragweed and grasses, we may as well say I'm just about allergic to everything. (I'm not allergic to mold however, which is about the only widely available spore I am not reactive to) Most of the time, it just sneezing and a stuffy nose, something easily managed with but for the last two years, it's culminated into something far less manageable in the winter.

I've been dealing with hives. And not just a little rash either. It's all up and down both my arms and legs, spreads like nobody's business and haunts me for weeks on end. And it is really very expensive to get this problem under control given the prescriptions, the over-the-counter allergy medicine and other products I need to deal with it.

It sucks, and it affects everything in my life when I have it.

So what does this have to do with expensive facial soap? Well... everything. 

Have you ever used a face wash or soap that dries out your skin? I have and it wasn't caused by cheap products either. I've used face washes from Sheishido and Simple and even Clinique and they all caused some level of dryness on my face. And the discomfort it was causing was coming to a head over the summer. 

So in June, after looking over a few suggestions online of different kinds of products, I bought a sample bottle of purity by philosophy for around $13, wondering if it would solve my face wash worries. And it was amazing. Not only was it amazingly gentle on my skin, my face come out soft and smooth and it didn't feel dry or cracked at any point, even after my sometimes inhumanly warm showers.

But as with all good things went, it came to an end some time in late September and I ran out of the product. But instead of running out and buying a new one, I made the decision to try and go back to my other cleansers, at least until they run out. And once they do, I can justify buying and sticking with my one true product afterward.

I survived oh... about two months. That is to say, I survived only so long for the temperature to drop dramatically and the cold air making my skin begin to dry. And as it went, at some point a week ago, I began to break out. And my resolve vanished.

Because zits are not fun, and dry skin leads to hives.

I look at it as a means to help me maintain the health of my skin, and by extension my overall health. And given that we're expected to have an especially cold winter again this year, I need every weapon I can get to combat dry skin in order to stop hives before they start.

As for the other cleansers I own? I will try and mix them in here and there when I can on certain days as a means to try and work through the leftover product I have. Because I hate wasting money and usable items like that... though in the same breath, am none to keen in letting it pile up either. So hopefully they'll get used up over time. If maybe far longer than I originally intended it to last.