A Little Background

Beginning around the 7th grade, I faced (no pun intended) what most preteen, crimped haired, skinny jeans wearing millennial middle school girls feared most: the first breakout. Initially, I assumed the problem would resolve itself sooner or later.

Little did I know that puberty would keep these breakouts coming back for the rest of my teenage years, and into my twenties.

Adding to the Problem

On top of my pretty standard pubescent breakouts, I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 17, and forced to take heavy duty chemotherapy that did some serious damage to my skin.

The combination of chemicals, an unstable diet, stress, and being sick caused these breakouts to escalate more often, and far more noticeably than they had before.

I wanted to get rid of the problem ASAP, and immediately started looking into different products to ameliorate the issue.

What Now?

I tried Murad, Trish McEvoy, bought a Clairsonic, and dabbled in a few other big name brands, and they all seemed to make my skin worse.

I chocked up their lack of success to something I was doing wrong. Using too much or not enough, not eating well, or simply my loss of interest after they didn’t work overnight

Deciding on KPS

coffee, tea, beer
Haley Mellen

In my quest for a more effective skincare routine, I was introduced to KPS Essentials, which was the most natural, and “homeopathic” skincare remedy I was yet to try out. It wasn’t the naturalistic qualities that intrigued me, but more so the story behind the product.

Natalie Bauss, KPS’s CEO, was working at a cosmetic counter at Nordstrom in California when an earthquake hit. The high end, designer skincare she was selling had actually seeped through the floor, and eaten away at the carpet all the way down to the concrete.

Seeing these well-renowned products having such an aggressive reaction on carpet, Bauss feared the implications these products were having on customers’ skin.

Bauss and her husband Ron (who is a rocket scientist, so he’s kind of smart), developed KPS, in an attempt to match the quality of these high end products, in a more natural, and effective manner.

Starting Point

beer, bacon
Haley Mellen

I hoped going to all natural route would reduce redness, and clean up the patches of acne I had on my cheeks. With this story behind the name, I couldn’t help but try it out.

Initial Reaction

Haley Mellen

This stuff smells SO good. I felt like I was giving myself a facial, so major props to KPS for that. The combination of witch hazel, aloe, charcoal, eucalyptus, and a slew of other all natural detoxifying ingredients could definitely be to blame for the spa-esque aroma.

After 24 hours, I swear my skin already felt better. More than anything, I felt my skin was balanced, instead of being dried out, or overly oily. It was significantly less red too. Almost a week into using KPS, I swear my problem areas had completely disappeared.

I was convinced these results were temporary, but almost three months later, I am still basking in clear skin.

Final Thoughts

I have, and will always look at healthy skin as a holistic process. Your skin wears what you eat, your stress levels, your good habits, and bad ones too. Yet, people still expect a single product to trump all of these factors and give them flawless skin.

KPS recognizes this, and uses all natural products to create a balance that help put good in, and counteract some of the damage we do to our bodies. I can honestly say after trying KPS Essentials, I am never going back.