Progress Photos & Expired Products
The Year of Consistency Q1 Report
Hello!
Hope you all had a nice weekend. In today’s letter, we’re having our quarterly check-in with Caely and Maggie to see how their Year of Consistency is going! I think many of you will identify with one or both of their skin types and skin goals—you’ll learn a lot in this newsletter. Also you might learn something about hypochlorous acid (which is everywhere right now) that will shock you.
I developed the Year of Consistency to peel back the curtain on working with a skin professional by selecting 2 subscribers to work with me virtually throughout 2025 and document the process. Using these real-life, real-time examples, the goal is for everyone to learn more about how to build a routine, address concerns, identify roadblocks and, most importantly, reinforce the power of consistency as the key to seeing results.
In this post, you can find an introduction to both participants and their goals, as well as well as routine building guidelines and tips to do your own product inventory.
Below you can find their Q1 summaries and our plans for Q2, as well as info about “fungal acne” and tips to take your own progress photos, which is crucial. You’ll see why.
CAELY, 34, San Francisco
Where we started: My relationship with my skin has been a bit of a journey—it has its good days and bad. Some mornings I wake up and it’s glowy and its texture is less apparent; other days I feel like I aged 3 years overnight. Recently I’ve been feeling like my skin is starting to age a bit more–I have wrinkles in my forehead and am noticing some sagging at the corners of my mouth. My nasolabial folds are continuing to deepen. I had acne when I was a teenager and still get a few pimples here and there. I feel like there’s a lot of congestion on my nose and chin that I’ve never been successful at getting rid of.
Q1 Focus & Summary:
One big initial change was switching from her prescription Retin-A back to Dr. Sam’s Nightly Serum. In addition to 2% Granactive Retinoid, it also has added niacinamide and azelaic acid to help with congestion, pores and brightness.
We also made some adjustments to her routine, like adding a juicy mist to combat dehydration and refresh throughout the day, a gel cleanser for a more thorough cleanse that’s better at keeping pores clear, and ways to incorporate her CurrentBody LED Mask more consistently.
April Progress Report:
I was amazed by the progress I saw in her photos. She also wore the same exact shirt which made it even more accurate to compare. The biggest changes: her overall glowiness, congestion and nasolabial folds. Given this, I was surprised to read in her pre-call questionnaire that she felt more or less the same as when we started. She also mentioned she was having trouble sticking to her morning routine and LED use.
However, the very first thing she said when she came on the call was that in the past week and a half since she filled out the questionnaire, she had started up again with the LED and been doing a modified morning routine that was making her feel so much better. She even got 2 compliments on her skin that week!
Then, I pulled up the January and April comparison photos and her reaction was similar to mine: OMG. Seeing them side by side instantly made her feel more encouraged by progress and it was really exciting to witness that change in real time.
Q2 Focus:
For Q2, we kept her streamlined morning routine, moving her BHA toner (Decalt) to nighttime and working up to a rotation of Decalt (2 nights), Dr. Sam’s (3 nights) and 2 nights of rest. We also added a new goal about improving texture/enlarged pores in the cheek and forehead area. For that, we’ll see how the LED and Dr. Sam’s continues to help with elasticity and making pores less noticeable, as well as monitoring improvement from using Decalt at night. Otherwise, we’re swapping the sunscreen stick and keeping everything else as we’re seeing good progress on literally all her other goals from reducing nasolabial folds/general sagginess of the lower face, to improving overall glowiness.
Main Takeaways:
For Caely, doing a morning routine is crucial for her to feel better about her appearance, but also just about taking care of herself overall, so it’s important to have a streamlined morning routine that enables her consistency.
If she’s ever feeling discouraged, pull up the before photos! It is hard to gauge progress when looking at your face everyday.
Her skin feels best the day after using LED & Dr. Sam’s.
She LOVES the Jordan Samuel Hydrate the Mist. She rated it 1000000 on a scale from 1-5. She loves how fine the mister is and said it’s so refreshing and calming.
The Bubble SPF is her favorite of all time. “It makes my skin look better when I use it and has a smoothing effect even better than concealer. It also blends in super nicely, doesn’t feel greasy or noticeable on the skin.”
She hadn’t made any progress on her goal to “get better at reapplying sunscreen” because she found the Shiseido SPF Stick I recommended to be too greasy. I suggested she try the Australian Gold Sunscreen Stick instead. It’s under $10, so if she likes it, I said to buy a few to keep by bed, desk, front door, purse etc. Make it hard for yourself not to reapply!
A tip she wants everyone to know: Applying Super Saturated Serum on top of your retinoid really helps prevent it from pilling when you apply moisturizer!
MAGGIE, 31, Atlanta
Where we started: Skincare has been a mostly-fun hobby for me, but I've often found it overwhelming to figure out what the right routine for my skin is amid all of the beauty industry marketing and educational content. My skin is fairly dry, and also I struggle with hormonal acne and the sweat that comes with summer in the South - I've struggled to find a routine that works for all of the above. Dry, sweaty, with some acne. Generally I think my skin’s pretty normal, but on the drier / more sensitive side. I have some hormonal acne on my chin and have had some breakouts on my forehead + cheeks lately, along with fine lines around my forehead and eyes. Thanks to some medication side effects, I sweat a lot which I tell myself / hope is healthy even though it’s very annoying!
Q1 Focus & Summary:
Maggie had a ton of products to start, so we focused on ways to mitigate sweat-related issues and how to deal with having dry acne-prone skin.
Since she really likes researching products, but gets overwhelmed trying to figure out the different choices, I met her in the middle by giving her a few options for each product category and guidelines to think about when deciding. We also added a hypochlorous acid mist (to use pre/post workout and to refresh before reapplying SPF–letting it dry first of course), replaced her too-thick sunscreen, and kept in her existing oil cleanser and mandelic acid serum.
New cleanser that is more effective at dissolving sweat, oil, sunscreen, pollutants etc., but doesn’t feel stripping. Look for a silky/jelly gel or light cream and be mindful of gel cleansers that are meant for oily skin that may be too drying. (Maggie’s choice: Experiment Plasma Wash)
New lightweight hydrators and moisturizer that can be layered to customize the amount of hydration you need. Even with drier skin, lightweight layers will mitigate sweat and allow the skin to breathe. Instead of a dedicated antioxidant serum (no need for another layer!), look for hydrating products that also have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties to help protect your skin and quell redness. (Maggie’s choices: Eadem Mami Wata Mist, Sachi Skin Pro-Resilience Serum, which can also be used under her LED mask, and Prequel Skin Utility Gel)
Maggie’s Q1 was less linear than Caely’s, but we learned a lot in the process. Five days after finalizing the products to purchase, Maggie emailed me in a panic because she was having some really intense breakouts. It definitely looked like some sort of reaction—but to what?! After some back and forth, she mentioned that while waiting for the new products to arrive, she had started using “an Amazon hypochlorous acid spray I found in my vanity that I'd bought as a Tower28 dupe sometime last year.” I told her to check when she bought it and that it could be spoiled/expired, since hypochlorous acid can destabilize if it’s old or not kept in proper conditions. Turns out, she had purchased it in May 2023! She stopped using it and things started resolving soon after.
Everything continued going well until the last few days of March, when she started breaking out in little zit clusters on her forehead, which is new for her. We dialed back the mandelic usage to give her skin a break.
April Progress Report:
In her questionnaire, Maggie said she had gotten a facial the week before with someone she trusts, who said that the forehead congestion looked like fungal acne, unlike the hormonal acne on her lower face. I agreed this may indeed be the issue and during our call, we discussed what “fungal acne” really is and why it has to be treated differently**.
Despite all of the ups and downs throughout Q1, Maggie said having a routine–even a changing one–has been a really positive experience, especially knowing that her skin can bounce back. Woohoo! Regarding the acne on her lower face, she is definitely seeing improvement overall and feels like she has a plan for when something comes up (trust the routine, use ice as needed, and increase acid use if necessary). When something inevitably does pop up, it’s smaller and goes away faster. She also feels like she’s starting to get more instincts about how to listen to her skin’s needs as the temperature changes and can trust her gut more, recognizing when something isn’t working, which has also helped her understand why certain products haven’t worked in the past. Her skin feels stronger/more resilient when using LED consistently, as well as making it bouncier and brighter!
Q2 Focus:
Maggie is going to operate under the assumption that the forehead congestion is fungal acne and treat it as such, including two recommendations from her facialist. She’s going to use micellar water as a first cleanse instead of her oil cleanser, which could be feeding the fungal acne. She’s also going to try using Head & Shoulders or Nizoral shampoo as face wash, rinsing off after 1-2 minutes, a few times a week. Otherwise, she’ll keep up with the new cleanser, mandelic acid serum, mist, hydrating serum and lightweight sunscreen, as well as diligent LED usage and icing her face as often as possible (I suggested these shot glasses up and keep them in freezer for easy icing). We also decided that she should incorporate facials every 8-12 weeks to help with congestion and get extractions.
In general, she’s going to be extra extra careful to minimize sweat accumulation on forehead via hypochlorous acid, wearing a sweatband while exercising/under hats, and increasing hair washing frequency. I also recommended keeping a claw clip in the shower so she can put her hair up after washing to keep it off her face and from dripping down her back. (If you have bacne, try this!)
Main Takeaways:
Consistency is key! For Maggie, having a routine has been a really positive experience overall and it’s great to recognize how even if you have a week off, your skin/your mindset can easily bounce back.
Healing is not linear! Everything takes time and sometimes you need to try different approaches to see what your skin responds to.
Don’t use expired products! After that experience, Maggie started marking when she opens a product in Sharpie.
Regular facials can be necessary for acne management/prevention to help clear up congestion and also allow for a professional to assess your skin in person.
A tip she wants everyone to know: Icing your face makes a really big difference as long as you do it! I credit the combo of hypochlorous acid + time to dry before sunscreen reapplication to my skin feeling cleaner even as Georgia heat starts.
Take Your Own Progress Photos
If you’re anything like me, your phone is filled with selfies intended to “document” progress, without any real system to compare. Here’s how to actually take progress photos and track changes.
Guidelines for taking photos:
3 main photos: front view, profile view of each side
Take close-ups of any problem areas (ex: does the right side of your chin always break out? Make sure to have a clear image of that area)
Take photos in natural light with the light facing you (i.e. you should be facing the window)
Clean, bare skin with no products or makeup on
Try for the same time of day and wearing the same/similar color shirt (to minimize any tricks that lighting can play on your eyes!)
Put these photos in their own album/folder for easy reference
Guidelines for analyzing photos and assessing progress:
Determine a timeline and set realistic expectations based on what you’re tracking and what the product claims to do.
For a spot treatment, daily photos might be useful, but for a significant reduction in acne, daily photos will just drive you crazy. Instead, opt for every 2-4 weeks. But still…
Give things time to work before making a final call. For anything claiming to improve acne/dark spots/fine lines & wrinkles (pretty much anything except hydration focused products), 8-12 weeks is necessary to see overall improvement. Taking photos over the course of that time will help you track changes, but don’t let it discourage you early on.
Think big picture. Consider how your skin looks/feels overall, without getting caught up in specific problem areas. Does it seem less dull? More bouncy? Are spots resolving faster? Do you wake up with your skin still feeling hydrated? These things can’t always be seen in a photo, but still take note! These differences in your skin’s behavior can tell you a lot and will often be the first signs of change.
Take the same 3 photos, as well as close-ups of problem areas. Look at the photos side by side, not just flipping back and forth in your Photos app. Put them in a Notes App, Google doc or Canva.
When looking at photos, divide your face in half or in quadrants to help you focus. It’s all too easy to immediately think “my forehead wrinkles are still there” and let that distract you from recognizing improvement in other areas.
** MALASSEZIA FOLLICULITIS
“Fungal acne” is actually called malassezia folliculitis. It’s fine to say fungal acne because it’s easier/everyone knows what you’re talking about, but the reason fungal acne is a misnomer is because it is not actually acne. It can often be mistaken for acne, but it is a fungal infection versus acne, which is a bacterial infection. That’s why they respond to different things! It happens when there is an overgrowth of malassezia fungus (naturally on our skin) that infects the hair follicles. It’s characterized by itchy, red bumps, usually in clusters. Malassezia is lipophilic, meaning it loves sebum/oil, which is what it feeds on. Anyone can get it, but risk factors include hot humid climates, excessive oiliness, sweating and occlusion from moisturizer/SPF. To address it, avoid face oils and oil cleansers, use lightweight moisturizers/sunscreen, remove sweat as quickly as possible and incorporate an antifungal shampoo (like Head & Shoulders or Nizoral) to use as face wash on the affected area a few times a week.
Office Hours Reminder
Join us for Office Hours on Sunday! This exclusive weekly opportunity is available to paying subscribers.
Every Sunday at 5pm EST, I’ll begin a new thread for the week in Substack Chat, where you can ask me anything. Every Monday from 5-6pm EST, I’ll be in that chat live, answering questions for the hour. That way, if you can’t make it, you can submit any time after 5pm Sunday and still get an answer. If you can make it live, join in! You can ask questions in real time and (hopefully) interact with others in class ;)
Discount Codes
CurrentBody: JOLIECB for 10% off
Eadem: JOLIE15 for 15% off
Experiment: JOLIE10 for 10% off
Sachi Skin: JOLIE15 for 15% off
Sofie Pavitt Face: JOLIE10 for 10% off
Have a great week!
xx,
Jolie
yes, also came here to say how much I enjoyed this post and this series! So much good knowledge here!! Really appreciate how much you have learned and your ability to share it in an understandable fashion!
This was a fun read! Looking forward to Q2 updates!