Radiant Skin and Fabulous Hair: I Spent $150 on Deep Cleansing Facials. Then I Found a $9 Cleanser That Fixed Everything

Glowing skin was never about the spa. It was about this aisle at Target.

Let’s set the scene:
I was in a dark room, wrapped in warm towels, listening to ambient music while someone with perfect skin extracted tiny regrets from my pores.

It felt luxurious.
It also cost $150.
And the next morning, my skin looked… the same.
Actually — worse. Red, tight, and a little angry.

But I kept going. Because I believed the lie so many of us believe:

“If I just invest enough, eventually I’ll look like her.”

You know who I mean.
The one whose skin glows like it’s made of silk and filtered light.
The one who says “drink water” and somehow that works for her.

So I kept booking facials.
Kept trying products with French names and glass jars.
Kept walking out of Sephora with a $60 cleanser I didn’t even know how to pronounce.

Until one random Tuesday, I forgot to restock my $60 cleanser.
And I panic-bought a $9 one from the drugstore.

That’s when everything changed.

🧽 The Lie I Believed About Skincare

I used to think “deep cleansing” meant spa days, steaming, microdermabrasion, 12-step routines, and tiny expensive jars with gold lids.

But here’s what no one tells you:

If your daily cleanser isn’t working, all the extra stuff is just expensive damage control.

The facials were a band-aid.
The real wound was a cleanser that looked fancy but never actually removed anything.

🤔 The Cleanser That Shocked Me (In the Best Way)

Let’s talk product.
It wasn’t trendy. It wasn’t in a pink bottle. It didn’t have a celebrity co-sign.
But it had:

✅ A pH of 5.5
✅ No fragrance
✅ Gentle surfactants (aka, actual cleansing power without stripping)
✅ $9 price tag

I won’t gatekeep: it was CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser.

Day 1: My face didn’t feel tight after.
Day 3: No weird dry patches.
Day 7: My skin looked calm. For once.
Week 2: I started skipping foundation.

I wasn’t glowing because of the facials.
I was glowing because my skin was finally clean — and not pissed off about it.

🙃 Why We Fall for the Expensive Stuff

Because it feels like doing something.
Because if it hurts a little or costs a lot, we think it must be working.
Because the packaging whispers “she would buy this” — and we want to be her.

But your skin doesn’t care about branding.
It cares about balance.
And chances are, it’s just begging for a simple, affordable cleanse that doesn’t tear it apart twice a day.

🧠 What I’d Tell the Me Who Booked That First Facial

Skip the $150 facial. Go to Target instead.
Don’t trust anything that says “tightening” or “clarifying” unless it shows you its pH level.
If your skin feels stripped after cleansing, it’s not working — it’s screaming.
You don’t need a 12-step routine. You need one cleanser that does its job.

💬 Final Thought: Skincare Shouldn’t Be a Luxury

It should be accessible.
Understandable.
Unglamorous, even.

I still love a facial now and then — for the massage, the mood, the nap.
But for results?
I’ll take my $9 cleanser and real skin over aesthetic rituals any day.