A Memoir of Regret and Education
SECOND HALF**
Day 8 – *The Return of the Human Face*
Somewhere between the itching, flaking, swelling, burning, and emotional detox, something miraculous happened: my face began to resemble *skin* again instead of a moulding lizard who regretted all its life choices. The swelling was down. The flakes were fewer. And for the first time in a week, I didn’t wake up stuck to my pillow like a Fruit Roll-Up.
By this point, I had fully entered a committed exclusive relationship with **Mother Slugger™**. I kept it on the counter, the nightstand, my purse, my car, and if we’re being honest, inside my hoodie pocket like some people carry lip balm. You know how emotional support water bottles are a thing? I had an emotional support slug.
But I also knew that if I wanted to stop being the horror-movie version of myself, I needed to do more than slug and pray. It was time to bring in the big guns—our *rebuilders*, our *restorers*, our *peacekeepers*—the products we developed for moments just like this… except ideally without the chemical shockwave origin story.
**Day 9 – Enter: The Facial Edition™ (aka My Skin’s Emotional Support System)**
I stood in my bathroom, looked in the mirror, and said the truest words that have ever come from my peeling lips:
**“We need the full Facial Edition™. All of it. Immediately.”**
I went in order, like a woman who’d just been given the map to treasure island.
**Clay Cleanser (super diluted with water)** – because friction was the enemy and my face still thought everything was a personal attack.
**Vitamin C Serum - very watered down as well once a day.
**Mother Plumper™ - This saves me every time - even when my skin isn’t in distress. I love using as Step 2.5. Hydration to the max.
**Uplift - because I need ALL the restoration I can get.
**Bamboo Mist (aka my cooling baptism)** – it stung, yes, but it whispered, “Shhh. You’re safe now,” and honestly that was enough emotional support for me.
**Nourish - makes the the first four steps worth it, seals in all the nutrients and moisturizes with wild abandon.
Then it was time for the real restorative queen…
**Mother Slugger™** – Let me tell you something: when your skin barrier has been emotionally and physically betrayed, Mother Slugger™ shows up like the mom who brings soup, draws a bath, and tells you she loves you even though you made a stupid choice.
It sank in instantly, like my face had never seen hydration before.
And just when I thought I couldn’t love another product as much, the next hero stepped up.
**Day 10 – Mother Plumper™ Fixes What the “Vitamin Infusion” Broke**
Listen… there’s hydration, and then there’s **Mother Plumper™**, who shows up wearing a toolbelt and boots, saying,
**“Yeah, looks like your moisture barrier’s shot. Lemme fix that right up.”**
Mother Plumper™ restored the deep moisture I didn’t even know I’d lost. My skin looked like someone finally turned the water back on in my epidermal pipes.
The tight, cracking, desert-floor texture? Gone.
The burning? Eased.
The alligator feeling? Sent back to the swamp.
I layered Mother Plumper™, then Mother Slugger™ as my grand finale. Hydration. Healing. Occlusion. It was like patching drywall, repainting, and then sealing the whole house with the strongest top coat known to man.
By bedtime, my face was so glossy, I reflected my own lamp back at myself. And I smiled—for the first time without pain.
### **Day 11 – MOTHER SLUGGER™: STILL THE MAIN CHARACTER**
Here’s the thing: even after the swelling left and the flakes slowed, my face was still fragile—like a baby bird made of tissue paper and trust issues.
So I kept slugging.
Pretty sure half my healing was biology and half was the emotional comfort of having Mother Slugger™ within arm’s reach at all times.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Day 12 – The Plot Twist: Skin Reborn**
I woke up and did a double take.
My skin looked… good.
Not pre-accidental chemical exposure good, but “I survived something and came out wiser”good. Smoother. Calmer. Less offended at the world.
Like my face had gone to therapy and learned boundaries.
The breakouts were clearing up.
The redness was fading.
The peeling had slowed to “annoying” instead of “biblical.”
I actually whispered, “We’re gonna make it,” to my reflection like we’d just survived a natural disaster.
**Day 14 – New Skin, New Rules, No More Ambushes**
By two weeks, I was back to myself—but honestly? Better.
Because this wasn’t just a reaction.
This was an education.
A reminder.
A deeply uncomfortable, fiery, itchy parable.
I had ignored my own number-one rule:
**ASK what’s going on your skin. Always.**
Even when the person applying it loves you.
Even when you’re relaxed.
Even when you assume they already know your boundaries, your allergies, your beliefs, your mission.
Convenience is never worth a compromised barrier.
**Epilogue – In Defense of My Skin (and Yours)**
I tell this story not because it’s embarrassing (though it is),
not because it’s dramatic (though *also yes*),
but because it proves why Give-A-Derm exists.
We built these products to *restore*, to help *heal*, to *nourish*,
to reverse the damage of the very industry that claims to “treat” skin while sneaking in irritants, allergens, and hormonal disruptors.
And when my own face went to war, who rescued me?
**Mother Plumper™,
Mother Slugger™,
And the full Facial Edition™ System.**
They didn’t just help me recover.
They rebuilt my skin barrier
So here I am—face intact, dignity mostly restored, lessons learned, here is my takeaway:
**Ask questions.
Read ingredients.
Honor your skin.
And for heaven’s sake…
Bring Mother Slugger™ everywhere.**
Health if I know…
But now, at least, my face does.
Julianna Grimmes
CEO of Give-A-Derm