Skin and etc

Last night, I had a little impromptu girls night out with my friend Windy. She and I went over to a friend's house for an Arbonne party (very similar to Mary Kay...free facial, purse games, pitch the product, prizes, "set up in the other room" to sell). Windy and I were most excited about the free facial part. The first step of the process was to choose whether you wanted the clear, toner like facial or the thick mask. I have sensitive skin, and after researching a bit online before I went, I found out that Arbonne products are hypoallergenic (more on that later). This was great news! Anyway, I didn't really want a gooky-then-thick mask situation, and since she'd recommended the thicker mask for the teenagers there, I went with the clear, toner like facial solution.

The sweet hostess gave me a pump and I put it on. While we let things "set-in" she was going over the minerals, nurtrients, and great qualities of the facials. She said there was a spa in town that used the same products and charged $80 for what we were getting. I was happy to hear that. Suddenly, my face was on fire hot. I looked around the room, and no one else appeared to be in discomfort. I asked Windy, who was beside me, if her face burned. The way she was looking at me, I knew right then and there- I was having an allergic reaction to the gunk on my face. I asked the hostess if it should be burning-- she got really concerned and said "NO! go wash it off if its burning!!" I ran to the kitchen sink and with a bathcloth, scrubbed my face clean. It was still burning. I looked in a mirror and my face was the color of a tomato. Later in the evening, small welts began to appear! Thankfully, after another wash off and some benydryl, I appear to have made a recovery. I felt really bad to disprove this hypoallergenic claim, but I suppose someone has to bust out of the control group with a reaction....? This is not to say that Arbonne makes bad product- they actually have good eczema lotion and some after sun stuff that I would have bought if it werent $45. Next time, I will test a little spot before slathering up. Sigh- to have normal, able to tan, freckle free skin! (as an aside- NEVER google image search the word "skin", because I am permanently scarred. People have some freaky pictures of skin problems out there!)