Hi followers. It’s been awhile.

Since writing my last post, I’ve moved across country, started a new job, had family fall ill, and had numerous weddings to attend. My entire life in upheaval (and with new obligations), I’ve been a bit away from this little corner of the Internet. While I do not have an update for when I will be back writing content, I can say that the blog has been out of sight but not out of mind. Life has just simply been too busy for me to write.

In the meantime, I wanted to unlock all of my old Patreon content. I have not had an active Patreon in about 6 months, so I feel comfortable unlocking previously paid-for content at this point. You can now find all of those posts under “Skincare History” at the top. Those articles are as follows:

• Skin Anatomy and Physiology – Glands of the Skin
• Skin Anatomy and Physiology – Layers of the Skin
• An Overview of Product and Claims Regulation in the United States
• Molecular Weights, Hyaluronic Acid, and Product Penetration
• The History of Animal Testing and Buying Cruelty-Free

Thank you all for sticking around, and continuing to read, after all this time.

You may have noticed my silence over the past few weeks and I wanted to explain why, but first I wanted to thank you for bearing with me and continuing to follow me, despite my silence.

Over the past month, my life has imploded, to put it mildly. On August 7th, I was a named source in an article about sexism experienced at my previous employer, Riot Games. At the time of publication, I came out with my experiences in both a tweet thread that was retweeted 811 times as well as a follow-up story I published on Medium. In the aftermath, I’ve had literally hundreds of friends and strangers reach out to me to thank me for my bravery (which feels really weird to say as someone who never thought they were particularly brave) and honesty. I’ve seen my name published on Newsweek and my experiences referenced on ESPN. It’s been surreal, but mostly anxiety-inducing for me.

On top of this, I’ve been taking the time to care for other women and non-binary people who have been abused by this industry. It’s incredibly important to me to be an advocate as well as a support to these people right now, as we have all been re-living trauma that has been stuffed down our collective psyche’s for far too long.

As you can imagine, this has been incredibly emotionally and mentally draining. I’ve struggled to write and write well, so I’ve opted to just not write at all and to take the time to rest when I can.

I promise I will be back at it in a few weeks, so never fear – I’m just taking some much-needed time to heal.

Thank you so much for your love and support,

-K

Hi guys,

Some updates on the blog posts this week! I frequently go back to update old posts in an effort to keep them current, concise, and ensure that they have the best information as I learn new things. Consider this like blog patch notes.

I am out a majority of this week and into next, so I wanted to give you guys a little update.

One more note before below: I may be switching to 1 Patreon, 1 Regular post a week. This is because it is quite hard to do 3 really heavily researched posts a week and is leaving me with a bit of brain drain on my days off. I have more notes about this below under PATREON.

Blog Changes

• SHE’S GOT THE LOOK: Updated the entire look of the blog!
• SPAM: People who were subscribed to my blog via email received a large number of emails on July 5, 2018. This was due to me updating the front-end of the blog, which pushed several fake “posts” out as demos. This was a function that I wasn’t aware of, and so it spammed my Twitter account as well as my blog subscribers. The site was not compromised. It was my own error. I’m so, so sorry to those effected. I know the last thing you need is more spam.
• PATREON: I’ve begun creating written Patreon content. Patreon content will appear “protected” and be shown with a Patreon logo. Patrons will receive access to these pieces, which will be deep-dives on specific topics pertinent to skin, ingredients, and research. It will not be replacing my regular content, as I know many people who enjoy the blog are unable to pay for content, and that’s okay! Patrons can find all Patreon-specific content either on my Patreon page OR at the top of the blog, under Patreon Content. I really appreciate the support. 🙂
• SOCIAL MEDIA: You can find my social media at the top, in the menu, on the far right, as well as at the bottom of the blog. If it does not appear for you, turn off your ad blocker (I am not running ads anyway :)). I’ve thrown my Instagram, Twitter, Twitch (yes, I stream video games sometimes), and Reddit (gulp) there.
• WHAT ABOUT IT: I’ve ditched my About page since I have a fancy, floating sidebar with an About.

Post Changes

Evaluating Your Routine: Hydroxy Acids

• Updated to removed Azelaic Acid (AzA), as it is not a true hydroxy acid, but a dicarboxylic acid. You can find the fancy new post on AzA here.

Totally Normal Features of the Skin: Sebaceous Filaments

• Updated with lots of fresh information on the origin of the term “sebaceous filament,” switched around the title, and updated the information on whether or not you should use pore strips (do they “stretch” the pore?!).

Things I’m Working On

• Body Care. I’m trying some new products and routines out to find the best and most comfortable routines for the body. I’ll be working on a post about that, since we frequently discuss facial care but not body care.
• Adapalene. I’m trying out Differin again, so we’ll see how that goes! I’ll be writing a post on Adapalene in the coming weeks, similar to the AzA post.
• Acne. I ordered a textbook a couple weeks ago that gets referenced a lot on places like acne.org. It has taken several weeks to ship out to me, and I receive it in the next few weeks, so when I do, I’ll be digging into that.
• Rosehip Oil. The next oil on my list to write about. I use it all of the time and people swear by it. Personally, it does really well by my skin, so I’m excited to write about it.
• Reviews!
  • HadaLabo Premium Whitening
  • CeraVe Hydrating Body Wash
  • Some old The Ordinary products

Hi all!

As you might have noticed, there was no post today. I’ve been battling what has felt like a stomach bug on and off for about two weeks now and this weekend I was super exhausted and didn’t have the energy to write. I’m sorry about that. 🙁

I will also be out of town for the better part of next week on half work, half vacation. I will try to put some content in the pipeline for you guys during that time, but it may only be one or two posts.

Additionally, I will be picking winners for the Reader’s Survey by the end of the month. I’ve gotten great feedback from you all and I really appreciate you taking the time.

I’ve also swapped to written content for my Patreon, as you may have already noticed. It is not replacing my usual content or anything, so don’t fret, nor do I have plans to put existing content features behind a paywall. Instead, I will be trying to write very deep-dive content for my Patreon that is a companion or supplement to the content you see here. Last week, I started with the anatomy and physiology of the skin, specifically the two major glands of the skin (three, if you want to count the two types of sweat glands) as well as how each layer of the skin breaks down.

I’ve also updated my post on Kiku High Moist Skin Lotion with some additional information about licorice root extract, which I missed the first time, as well as some studies on sake that a wonderful Redditor on /r/AsianBeauty gave me. I’ll always do my best to keep old content updated and relevant as I learn new things, and to let you guys know what has changed.

Thank you for hanging around! I hope you have fun plans for the Fourth if you’re in the US. If you aren’t, I hope you have a beautiful week without too many bumps in the road.

• Kristen, Skinologist