1. De Fiore 1
Arielle De Fiore
3/20/2012
Ms. Tillery
Skin Care
As human beings we all have one thing in common; skin. But what’s great about
skin is that it’s with us forever. And don’t you think that something that’s with us forever
should be taken good care of? Hi, I’m Arielle De Fiore and my topic today is skin care.
Skin care is extremely important but also extremely overlooked. As you can see, here are
some of the dangers of not taking care of your skin. Before this project I used all sorts of
skin care products. Some products were so harsh on my face that they would dry out my
skin minutes after I used it, but I didn’t care because I thought that was what it was
supposed to do. I didn’t ever use moisturizers and I would only wash my face in the
morning after sleeping with my makeup on. After researching this topic more thoroughly
I quickly learned that all of my bad skin care habits had to change. Did you know that
anything you do to your skin now can permanently affect it in the long run even if you
don’t notice it right away? Because many people don’t notice a change in their skin
immediately they will treat it however they want whether it means not washing it enough
or maybe even washing it too much. Also many young people think being tan is
extremely important and will do whatever it takes to get that beautiful golden glow even
if it means sitting in the tanning bed once a day or laying out in the sun for hours. And I
myself am guilty of this. But what most people don’t know is that while being tan may
make you look great now, in the long run you may suffer with major age spots or extreme
wrinkles and irritation which is what I learned after completing my research paper.

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Learning about all the dangers that can occur if proper skin care is not taken really helped
me get into this project. It also better prepared me for this because I now know more
background information on my topic and what I want my final product to be. These three
women volunteered to help me out with this project. They were each given a different
Mary Kay skin care supplement and were asked to use it daily and record their progress.
My overall product is the end results of the Mary Kay skin care collections that
were used on the volunteer’s faces. I chose this because for my future career I would like
to do something dealing with cosmetology, but instead of just giving makeovers for this
project, I decided to go a litter deeper and do skin care. I first met with my project
facilitator, Cindy Fournier and discussed with her how we should take on this project. I
chose Cindy as my facilitator because she has been in the Mary Kay business for many
years directing new consultants on how to become a better salesperson. She also has a
great amount of experience with skin care. When we met we decided that it would be
best for me to come in and observe her while she trained the new Mary Kay consultants
just to get a feel for what it would be like when it came time for me to explain to my
volunteers what products they would be using and how to use them. After sitting in on
some of the training I then attended “Glamour Night” which is basically a night where
ladies come in and get free Mary Kay makeovers. I attended Glamour Night to see how
each director presented their products and how they instructed their group of ladies to use
them. When I got better acquainted with the products I sat down with Cindy and ordered
3 different sets of product for each of my volunteers. Then came finding my volunteers
which was a little difficult and because I could only find two women who were willing to
help, my mom decided to be the third volunteer. Once I had enough volunteers I took the

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products to each of them and showed them what to do and how to do it. I then gave them
a journal to keep track of their daily activities, for instance what kind of environment they
were in during the day, what they ate, and how faithfully they used the products because
all of those things have a lot to do with the condition of one's skin. A "before" picture
was taken of each of them before the use of the products as you can see. I provided the
two volunteers, Caitlin and Vernal with a camera to take a picture of their faces weekly to
show the progress. Because they live about an hour away we left it up to them to keep
track of their pictures and daily journal. I did however make monthly visits to check up
on them and record their feedback. As for the third volunteer, my mom, we also kept up
with her weekly pictures and daily journal entry. After two months I took a final picture
of their progress and also gave them a Mary Kay makeover. I then collected all pictures
and journals and put them into a presentation.
Certain problems occurred throughout this process, for instance some of the
volunteers did not always keep up with the product usage which in the end may have
meant that the results were not as accurate; but for the most part they did the best they
could. Another problem encountered was that some of the products did not react well
with the volunteer’s skin type and caused breakouts rather than clearing up the skin
which is completely normal when it comes to using new products. I was able to deal with
these problems by giving the volunteers more time for their faces to get adjusted to the
products which in turn was beneficial.
Overall this process taught me about the importance of skin care and how it can
affect us in the long run if we do not take proper care of our skin. I am also now aware of
the steps it takes to maintain healthy skin composure which are not many. A simple facial

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cleanser, moisturizer and a healthy diet are all it takes. As for pursuing this topic as a
career choice I would have to say no to it only because while it is in the same field as
cosmetology, I would much rather do something along the lines of hair or makeup which
I find more interesting. Coming into this process I thought it would be extremely easy to
keep up with but as I got more and more involved with it I realized it takes a lot more
work than just taking a few pictures. I had to take serious time to learn about these
products so that I could make my volunteers feel confident in me that I knew what I was
doing and that I wasn’t giving them just any ole facial products. I also learned that results
may not be as obvious as you think they would be. In some moments throughout this
process I got discouraged thinking that there wasn’t going to be enough evidence of
change in the end but then I reassured myself that everyone’s skin is different along with
the results.
Like I said in the beginning, our skin stays with us forever. It is the first thing
people see when they look at you and should be taken care of. So why not take a few
minutes out of your day and pamper your skin because it will all be worth it in the long
run. Thank you.