Excel V Laser before & after for rosacea—The brutal truth!

The brutal truth about my experience with the Excel V Laser for rosacea

[*before and after photos included]

**Includes Amazon links at the end of this post. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn a small commission on products purchased through my links.

The last straw

I finally broke down and decided to have the Excel V Laser treatment to get rid of the visible capillaries on my cheeks, due to my rosacea. I was so tired of meticulously trying to cover them up each day with make-up. As each line got darker and more difficult to conceal, I finally decided it was time for the Excel V Laser treatment to zap those pesky capillaries away for good. 

Consultation & Cost for Excel V Treatment

The price was almost a deal-breaker. It's not cheap. The esthetician in my Dermatologist's office quoted me a jaw dropping $550.00 to eliminate the visible capillaries on my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin, (aka the "whole face" treatment), with a lesser option, cheeks and nose only, for $250.00. 

Although the deep capillary threads on my cheek were of most concern, I opted for the "whole face" treatment, hoping to make all my dreams come true by zapping away visible capillaries, cherry spots and any other noticeable red blemishes to give me the cleanest results I could.

Day of Excel V Laser Treatment

I'll admit, I pictured the treatment going differently, more like a spa day post on Instagram, with a fuzzy robe, tranquil music and a deliciously smelling diffuser puffing away in the background. There was none of that. 

The esthetician had me lay way back on a treatment chair, fully clothed (no fuzzy robe), in a plain dermatology treatment room and covered my eyes with pieces of tape. Had they run out of those cute little sunglasses?  It was much less "zen" than I thought it would be. Zero pampering.

Next, she smothered my skin with a cool gel and began zapping away.

The Pain Factor: Better or worse than I thought it would be?

They tell you it will feel like a rubber band snap. I don't know who made that up, it's not like any rubber band I've ever seen unless it was also attached to barbed wire.

Every pulse of the laser actually felt like being stabbed in the face with a tiny needle. It really hurt. It was way worse than I thought it would be. They did not offer to put any numbing cream on my face, so I'm not sure how much difference that would have made.

The pain was so traumatizing, in fact, that it kind of sent me into a state of shock, where my body was literally shaking. At the end of the treatment I had to ask her for a blanket and some water, which thankfully helped me start to relax and feel better.

I don't know why I'm surprised. I shared another bad experience I had at this same clinic having sebaceous hyperplasia treated with a hot needle. I think it may be time to switch clinics. 

The Unexpected Aftermath, Recovery and Healing time

Bad Bruising

I bruised badly, almost immediately. My face looked like I had purple polka dots, about the size of a pencil eraser, all over my cheeks. This bruising was not only unexpected, but devastating to me because it took 2 weeks go away! I even took the Arnica supplement they told me to take (even though it caused tummy troubles) and topical Arnica gel, because it was supposed to help speed up healing time for bruising and swelling.

Shocking Swelling

The other shock was how much my face swelled! Especially under my eyes!! And how long it lasted (about 2 weeks!!). I used gel ice packs (with a cloth) daily on my cheeks. I tried sleeping with my head elevated, but nothing really seemed to help.  My face was so puffy I looked like I had a fat suit on and my eyes shrunk down to nothing with so much puff around them. It was devastating to look in the mirror. I felt depressed, didn't want to leave the house, and was afraid none of this would go away. Had I just made my skin worse than when I started? It was an awful 2 weeks until my skin started showing signs of improvement.

Healing time and results

I have read some people's experiences were quick and "painless" and saw immediate results, while others took over a month to heal and are still waiting to see the finality of results. I would definitely say it took me at least 2 weeks, if not more time to heal, but I'm still hoping better results are coming.

For the first 2 weeks, washing, moisturizing and SPFing my face felt like I was wiping my hands over a thousand tiny cuts on my cheeks. Foundation burned my skin, so I didn't try using it again until my face had more healing time. 

Even today at over 2 weeks healing, when I blot foundation on my face it still feels like I have tiny slivers on my skin. I imagine there are still tiny cuts from the surface of my skin down through the layers.

Were the results worth the suffering?

It has been 17 days since my Excel V Laser treatment and I'm still not sure whether this investment was worth it. The major dark capillaries on one of my cheeks is gone, but there are still other areas that didn't go away (or did new one's pop up?). My face still has some visible capillaries, the small cherry spots did not go away and there are still areas of redness.  Thankfully, the bruising and swelling are gone. 

I still have to use make-up to cover up the redness and visible capillaries, which ironically enough, is why I did the treatment in the first place. I do feel the ache of that $550.00 and wonder if it was all worth it for such minimal results. 

Are you considering having Excel V Laser done for rosacea?

If you are considering having the Excel V Laser treatment for your rosacea or visible capillaries, just understand the real experience you may have, not the "rubber band snapping experience" they tell you it will be. 

It's definitely not all unicorns and rainbows and your healing time may be way longer than you anticipate (don't plan anything important for 2 weeks!). And your results may not be exactly what you hope for (they often do recommend more than one treatment -I cringe at the thought). 

And if you do have the treatment, try not to look in the mirror very often (it's extremely depressing!) and know that time should heal all wounds. 

Wash your face gently with gentle products - I used Vanicream Gentle Cleanser and CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. (both amazon links)

And AFTER your skin has had time to heal you can go back to using your gentle soft face cloths again (Fairface soft flannel Washcloths are the best).

If you have any questions about my experience, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Is Sebaceous Hyperplasia removal painful?

If you have pesky bumps on your face that just won't go away, it might be sebaceous hyperplasia. 

Sebaceous Hyperplasia is, in basic terms, overactive, overgrown sebaceous glands that no longer function properly so all the oil build up in the gland just sits there leaving you with a permanent bump.

I have been dealing with these unwanted bumps for many years, and was hesitant to have them removed because I was, 

1.) Afraid it would hurt, 

2.) I didn't know how long the healing process would take, 

3.) I didn't know whether it would leave scars, and

4.) I was concerned about the cost.

*This post includes an Amazon product link. As an amazon associate I make a small commission on products purchased through our links.

I finally decided to roll the dice and had my sebaceous hyperplasia removed by a licensed dermatologist yesterday, and today I am here (tho barely) to answer the burning question you are asking (pun fully intended) -

Does it hurt to have sebaceous hyperplasia removed? 

Answer: YES! It really hurts to have sebaceous hyperplasia removed via Electrocautery. More like torture. Here's what happened to me:

*This answer is based on my experience with a licensed dermatologist using Electrocautery (which is basically an electric hot needle) which melts away and "destroys" the oil gland. There are other types of procedures that can be used, so the degree of pain or discomfort may vary. 

If you are looking for great products to help diminish the look of sebaceous hyperplasia:

I like Paula's Choice BHA 9 serum with 9% Salicylic Acid. Only put it where you need it (be careful with sensitive skin). 

I use it at night, every other night, on the bumps on my nose to help make them appear a bit smaller and smoother, and not on more sensitive areas of my face.

*Amazon Disclosure: As an amazon associate I make a small commission with purchases made through our links.

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Fairface Washcloths- soft flannel washcloths for gentle exfoliation of sebaceous hyperplasia

Sorry, we're not on Amazon.

Shop here:

FairfaceWashcloths.com 

and here:

FairfaceWashcloths.etsy.com 

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More about the Author:

Shannon Sorensen is the CEO and Founder of Fairface, makers of the best washcloths for sensitive skin and rosacea, Fairface Washcloths.

She holds a Master's degree in Human Developmen, loves learning and sharing everything she knows about sensitive skin and rosacea care (having it herself) and stands as an advocate for those with rosacea and sensitive skin.

Best Skin Care Routine for Redheads

With the recent release of a make-up brand just for redheads, cleverly called, "How to Be a Redhead", we wondered if there might also be a skin care brand just for redheads?

After a bit of searching, it doesn't seem to exist, HOWEVER, since redheads tend to be sensitive skin types, it just so happens that's our specialty!

Today we're going to share with you the perfect redhead skin care routine full of gentle products that can help support your one-of-a-kind beautiful skin! 

Skin Care Routine for Redheads

According to most dermatologists, the foundation for any healthy skin care routine, for redheads or otherwise, includes at least these 3 things:

1. Gentle Cleanser (am/pm) 

Choose a product made for sensitive skin that won't strip natural oils or cause redness or irritation from fragrance or other harsh ingredients. We love Vanicream products! (see our skin care guide below, for specific products)

2. Gentle Moisturizer (am/pm) 

Choose a moisturizer that is made for sensitive skin, to lock in moisture and protect the barrier of your skin. Also look for products that don't contain fragrance or other ingredients that can irritate. We love CeraVe products! (see our skin care guide below, for specific products)

3. Gentle Sunscreen UVA/UVB SPF 30+ (am) 

Apply sunscreen every single day to protect your skin from harmful UVA/UVB rays and prevent premature aging and skin cancer. Most mineral sunscreens are better tolerated by those with sensitive skin but some sunscreens contain both mineral and chemical ingredients that are also well tolerated. We love Eucerin products! (see our skin care guide below, for specific products)

*If you need a great Gentle Skin Care Routine for Redheads or other Sensitive Skin types, 

grab a copy of our "Dream Team Skin Care Routine for Sensitive Skin" It's a digital skin care guide you can download and view right from your digital phone or computer, where I share step-by-step the skin care routine I follow and gentle sensitive skin products I use that help keep my sensitive skin stay clean, clear and calm.

Once you have a great foundation for your redhead skin care routine, now you can build onto it with other products like:

Up your face washing game by adding Fairface Flannel Washcloths to your redhead skin care routine:

If you are a redhead, and have sensitive skin, Fairface soft flannel Washcloths are the perfect face cloths to use on your sensitive skin. 

Fairface Washcloths are made with soft, plush flannel so they are never irritating and don't cause redness like so many other face cloths can. Don't be fooled by trendy washcloths made from microfiber or other textured fabrics that can feel soft when they're dry, but drag and pull against the skin when they're wet.

Fairface Washcloths are made for sensitive skin and are the only washcloth you should be using on your face. 

Other products you may consider adding to your redhead sensitive skin routine:

• Eye cream
• Night cream
• Mists and sprays like rosewater for hydration and refreshening
• Retinol (meet with a licensed dermatologist before using)

If you have been diagnosed with a specific skin condition or you are experiencing difficulties with your skin like acne, rosacea, eczema, dermatitis and more, we recommend making an appointment with a licensed dermatologist for more personalized care. 

Leave your comments or questions below! We're here to help!

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About the author

Shannon Sorensen is the Founder and CEO of Fairface, makers of the popular Fairface Washcloths for sensitive skin. She is a business woman, as well as an advocate for those with sensitive skin and rosacea, as she understands these conditions first hand. Her mission is to provide high quality sensitive skin products that can help sensitive skin-types maintain a healthy skin care routine and be a help and resource for those with sensitive skin and related conditions.

You can listen to the Fairface Podcast for sensitive skin tips, on your favorite podcast channel, or read our show notes here on our blog.

What IT Cosmetics Did to my Rosacea-prone skin

Is It Cosmetics really Rosacea friendly? 

Today I share what happened when I tried It Cosmetics on my rosacea prone skin 

*Disclaimer: This It Cosmetics Rosacea Review is my personal experience with It Cosmetics with products I purchased myself and may not reflect the experience you or someone else may have. 

LISTEN NOW:

Also available on Apple Podcasts

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Episode Transcript

Intro:

I have wanted to try It Cosmetics foundation for my rosacea prone sensitive skin for years, and I finally did! 

Today I’ll share what products I tried and what happened when I used them on my rosacea prone sensitive skin.

If you’ve been considering It Cosmetics. Or trying to find the right make-up for your rosacea or sensitive skin, this will be an important episode for you.

Welcome to the Fairface Podcast, where we talk all things rosacea and sensitive skin to help you and your skin look and feel your best. I’m Shannon Sorensen, your rosacea and sensitive skin advocate, and the founder and CEO of Fairface Washcloths for sensitive skin. I’m so glad you’re here. Lets take a look at today’s episode

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I shared on Instagram that I bought some It Cosmetics foundation for the first time back in Nov, 2023, during their Black Friday sale. 

I had been wanting to try it for years, but I had just put it off because it’s always such a process for me to find products that work for my rosacea prone sensitive skin. 

And since my long time favorite Mary Kay medium coverage Foundation was discontinued, and I’m almost out of what I have left, it lead me back to It Cosmetics, since it’s a brand known for make-up made for Rosacea and Sensitive Skin.

It Cosmetics: Make-up made for Rosacea?

In case you don’t know the back story, It Cosmetics was initially founded by someone who has rosacea and sensitive skin, Jamie Kern Lima. It has since been sold to Loreal, if I’m understanding that correctly. 

The story goes, that Jamie couldn’t find products that worked for her skin, so she wanted to create her own so she teamed up with plastic surgeons and dermatologists and created this line. 

One of her most memorable moments, was boldly going bare-faced on live QVC tv to demonstrate how well the foundation covered up her redness. I think I actually remember watching that many years ago.

So because of all that, It Cosmetics seemed like it should be the perfect foundation for my sensitive skin.

BTW, I really enjoyed reading Jamie’s book, “Believe IT: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable”, where she shared abut her life, her struggles, and the back story to It Cosmetics. If you like reading founder stories, hers was really good. And I was surprised we actually had more in common than just having rosacea. It’s an interesting read.

Lets dive into my review of It Cosmetics Foundation

My It Cosmetics CC Creams Review 

I purchased 4 foundations -

• I CC Cream Illumination, in Faire
• 1 Your Skin But Better CC Cream, in Faire Beige
• 2 CC Creams 1 Faire light and 1 Light

I also received a bonus zipper pouch with some mini skin care products, but I haven’t tried them yet.

Lets take a look at the first one I tried: The CC Cream Illumination in Fair 

CC Cream Illumination Review

CC CRM ILLM S50 FAIR

Here’s what happened-

• 1st - It was a little lighter coverage than I expected but the color was pretty good
• 2nd - It looked shiny on my skin, which unfortunately, pronounced every bump and line and imperfection 
• 3rd - what was most unfortunate, was that it made my skin feel kind of itchy and I ended up having a couple of welts appear on my cheeks. 

I took a break for a couple of days to let my skin settle down and then I decided to try one of the other full coverage cc creams

It Cosmetics Full Coverage CC Cream Review

Next I tried YSBB CC CRM FAIR BEIGE

Here’s what I thought:

• 1st- I liked the amount of coverage (the full coverage offered) and I did like the color, the light beige was spot on, which surprised me because I wouldn’t have thought a rosy cheeked fair skinned girl would use light beige, but it totally worked! 
• And just so you know, I had used their website color match against Mary Kay 100 Ivory, which is what I’ve used for years. 

• 2nd- The full coverage cc cream went on a little thick. I used a makeup sponge to dot it all over my face and then blot and blend it on. So I did not use the make-up brushes they have on their website, but I have always applied my foundation with these make-up sponges so I just did the same thing with that.
• And it felt kind of thick like that feeling where you want to scrap some off.  I don’t know if it’s because they also have sunscreen in the formulation? But it felt thicker than what I am used to and what I am comfortable with

• The next thing was that the finish was shiny - like I said before, this didn’t do me any favors. It magnified any imperfection and made me feel like I needed to blot my face or use a power, but I also did not want to be putting even more products on my face.  

• Another thing, my hair kept sticking to my face - like it was just tacky enough that any fly away hairs would kind of stick and tickle my face and it drove me absolutely crazy.

• And the last thing was that unfortunately my skin started getting itchy with this as well and I broke out on my cheeks again.

So that was Fail #2 

It Cosmetics CC CREAM US FAIR LIGHT Review-

And you would think I would have stopped there, but after a couple days when my skin cleared up,   I was curious about one of the other CC Creams and how that color would be on me. Maybe I was thinking 3rd time would be a charm…but unfortunately, it was not. 

The other shades had worked for me, but 

• the CC CREAM US FAIR LIGHT was way off and no where near as light or fair as one would expect. 

The other cc cream I purchased I just didn’t use at all because it was even darker than that one and that one was called Light.

• For the Fair light, from the first blot I could tell it was totally not my color, and I should have stopped applying it…but I didn’t, I kept going…and it looked so wrong. 
• My skin has never been that color in my life and it didn’t look natural whatsoever. And no, it also did not match my neck color, which was like ok, if I go to the post office today I need to wear a scarf. Every time I walked by a mirror I had to look at myself and laugh.  Had I just gone on a cruise or am I appearing on broadway with heavy stage make-up? What happened? It was pretty hilarious

• Unfortunately, the color wasn’t the only problem, a little later, my skin started itching and was getting the same break out starting again on my cheeks, so in the end I decided I had to break-up with It Cosmetics.

It Cosmetics is not for my rosacea prone skin

Honestly, I’m so disappointed after all the hype around It Cosmetics being the “It product” so to speak for Rosacea and Sensitive skin types, because it definitely did not work for me. 

And that’s not to say another person with Rosacea and sensitive skin couldn’t find success with these products, but they did not work for me.

I actually may head back to Mary Kay and try their Time Wise foundation and see how my skin does. I tried a little sample of that but the color I got that was supposed to match my Ivory that I had previously used, but the match was so bad - it was really pasty and light, like I looked like a vampire, but the matte finish looked way better on my skin, than the shine of It Cosmetics. So if I try that, I will let you know how that goes.

Does It Cosmetics Take Returns?

And in case you’re wondering, the return process for It Cosmetics was fairly simple. They took a report about my skin’s negative reaction to the products and didn’t ask me to send those back, but I did have to pay for shipping back the one product I didn’t use, which was kind of annoying because it was kind of expensive even to ship one back. So just keep that in mind if you want to try It Cosmetics, you do have to pay for return shipping.

So, although quite unfortunate, that was my experience with It Cosmetics CC Cream foundations. 

If you have Rosacea and had better luck with It Cosmetics, or have a favorite make-up brand for sensitive skin rosacea types that you can share with me, I would love to hear about it. 

If you’re still on the lookout for rosacea or sensitive skin friendly make-up, I shared back in episode 24 10 Tips to Finding the Right Foundation for Rosacea-prone Skin   so you can go listen to that if you want to, and I also share how I happened upon my last 10 tubes of that discontinued Mary kay foundation.

So that’s it for this episode, thanks so much for being here and I’ll see you next time!

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Thank you so much for listening! 

Be sure to subscribe to the Fairface Podcast so you never miss an episode! 

Try the best washcloths and face cloths for rosacea and sensitive skin   fairfacewashcloths.com or fairfacewashcloths.etsy.com. 

Once you try the softness of Fairface Washcloths, you’ll never go back to scratchy old washcloths again. 

See you next time!

Skin Care Guides for Rosacea and Sensitive Skin

If you're looking for the best skin care routine and products for rosacea and sensitive skin? You're in the right place! 

This episode of the Fairface Podcast features 

Our New Skin Care Guides for Rosacea and Sensitive Skin 

- Fairface Podcast Episode 52

LISTEN NOW:

Also available on Apple, Spotify and your favorite podcast channel

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Podcast episode show notes

Intro:

Hello my friends! Welcome back to another episode of the Fairface Podcast! I’m so glad you’re here!  I’m going to share something with you that I’ve been working on for a while that I’m really excited about and I am also very excited that I’ll be able to share them with you this coming week, when I finally launch my first one.  So what am I talking about?

I have created a series of really helpful Skin Care Guides focused on the things that have helped me with my rosacea and sensitive skin. It’s a compilation of things I’ve tried that haven’t worked, things I’ve found that have helped a lot, tips for taking care of your skin when you’re traveling, or tips for helping to soothe your eyes if you also have ocular rosacea symptoms, like I do.

Creating these guides are really special to me because I remember how difficult it was when I was first diagnosed with rosacea to know what to do next. 

How was I supposed to take care of my skin and figure out which products to use and how to use them? It can be really hard to navigate sensitive skin and rosacea because it can be so reactive to different things and what may have worked before a diagnosis, suddenly causes irritation and you can no longer use it.

I get a lot of questions from our customers about what products I use on my rosacea prone sensitive skin and I decided to create a series of digital skin care guides to put all the information in one accessible place to help people who are trying to figure out what to do next.  

Whether it’s for themselves or someone in their family, my goal is to try to help as many people as I can with what I have learned over the years and hope it can help them too, without having to go through all the trial and error like I did.

"Dream Team" Skin Care Routine for Sensitive Skin & Rosacea - *Instant Digital Download

The first of these downloadable skin care guides is an in-depth look at my personal skin care routine for my rosacea - sensitive skin. 

I share in depth about the products I use and exactly how I use them. I also share some resources for ways to get free information about rosacea and sensitive skin so there are many ways to find helpful information.

I’ve been working on it for a while, to make sure I got it just right, and it is finally available for download!

>>Grab your copy of My Dream Team Skin Care Routine for Rosacea & Sensitive Skin  Digital Download, for only $4.99

Before I go, I’ll quickly share some of the other Guide topics that will be available. 

• I’m creating one that will cover some of the lifestyle habits I can’t live without that really help my rosacea and sensitive skin

• Another is about Soothing Tips for Ocular Rosacea - my symptoms happen to be dry eyes, so I’ll share things that help me.

***UPDATED:

Our Ocular Rosacea Guide is available Now for Instant Digital Download!  

Soothing Tips & Remedies for Ocular Rosacea & Dry Eyes

In this Instant Digital Download, I share loads of tips and remedies, as shared by my Ophthalmologist, that have helped me so much to ease my dry eyes (and contact lens wearing) related to Ocular Rosacea.

Pick up your copy of Soothing Tips & Remedies for Ocular Rosacea today - click here for our Etsy Shop for only $4.99! 

Others Skin Care Guides coming are: 

• Travel Tips for Rosacea and Sensitive Skin
• What to take to the Beach if you have Rosacea and Sensitive Skin

I also will share 

• Skin care products I’ve tried that didn’t work for me and my Sensitive Rosacea prone skin

• And my experience going through in vitro and the connection it had with the onset of my rosacea.

So I’ll be sharing several different topics around rosacea and sensitive skin and personal experiences and I hope my tips and suggestions can be helpful for anyone who needs some guidance in those areas. 

So you can be looking for those to launch through our Etsy shop, Fairface Washcloths, and I’ll be announcing in social media - instagram and Facebook @fairfacewashcloths so if you’re not following us now, you can do that so you don’t miss the launches.

It’s a Saturday evening, the last day of September and I squeezed in a podcast this month because I wanted to make sure you had a heads-up about this.

I hope you’re enjoying your fall and I’ll see you again in October! Thanks again for being here!

ALSO VISIT OUR SKIN CARE HUB FOR LINKS TO MY FAVORITE SENSITIVE SKIN AND ROSACEA APPROVED PRODUCTS!

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About our Podcast Host:

Shannon Sorensen is the Founder and CEO of Fairface, makers of Fairface Washcloths, the best washcloths for sensitive skin.

My Sensitive Skin with Olay Skin Care Products

How My Sensitive Skin is Tolerating Olay Skin Care Products- 

Fairface Podcast Episode 51

Listen Now>

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Also find the Fairface Podcast on Apple/iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast channel.

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*Show Notes Coming Soon

Olay asked me to be an Influencer - or did they?

Fairface Podcast Episode 50: 

That time Olay asked me to be an Influencer... or did they? 

Listen Now

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you can also find the Fairface Podcast on Apple iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast channel.

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*Show Notes

Hello my friends welcome back to another episode of the Fairface Podcast!

If you have hopes of being a big brand influencer, you'll be particularly interested in what I have to share today.

I'm going to talk to you about how Olay reached out to me and invited me to be part of their influencer program...or did they?

Let me paint the picture for you-

This was a Saturday morning over the 4th of July weekend. We were over in Cle Elum, WA, which is about an hour and a half east of Seattle, with family, for the holiday weekend.

We were sitting out on the front porch at my parent's property, talking and enjoying the beautiful scenery, when I think I heard an order come through, so I opened my business email. 

And what should appear at the top of my email thread, but a message in all caps that said, OLAY OFFICIAL COLLABORATION.

And my stomach flipped because are you kidding me, Olay is asking me to do a collaboration with them? What on earth? Are you for real?

So to give you a little back story-

I had been (and still am) posting about using Olay products and tagging them. I am a little unique to their products because of my sensitive skin and more so, the fact that I also have rosacea. So using Olay's retinol cream (and most recently their vitamin c cream), is a little unique to my skin type so I wanted to share what my experience has been like. 

So, as I said, I had been posting about my expeirence with Olay products and tagging them on my Instagram feed @FairfaceWashcloths, blogging about my experience on FairfaceWashcloths.blogspot.com, and sharing videos on YouTube of my experience using Olay products (one of the videos has gotten 65 thousand views, as of today).

So Olay reaching out to me, was a huge surprise, but not totally out of the question because of what I had been doing.

So I open the email and this is what it says,

Hello dear,

I am Maggie Chang, brand partnership manager for "OLAY”. So we are just launching our influencer/ambassador campaign and really want you involved. We love the work that you do, we really appreciate your style, beauty and confidence. Your social media profile is great! We think our audience would find your content very interesting. We discovered you from explore page on Instagram and we also saw that you have tagged us on few of your posts and we became interested in your beauty content. You would get free monthly packages (10 items of your choice per month), your own exclusive discount code to share, shoutouts and reposts to our Instagram and website!

We will be sending you out free PR packages every month, this means you will get to show off our newest products completely free with no catch! in return just tag us with the products either wearing them or just showing off the package! You will also be getting a payment of $2000( this is because of your social media engagements) per post for a start subsequently we may increase as you grow your audience and make the best post we want to see. You will be paid via bank transfer or Zelle every time you post a shout-out of our newest brand product, wearing them on your page. We expect a maximum and minimum of ten posts from you in a month.

Note: this is a paid collaboration, and this campaign's payment will depend on your social medias engagements as it is still low but as we work together it will get a lot better. If this first 3 months goes well, we may consider making it a long term collaboration. Kindly let us know if you accept our offer and want to work with us. Thank you.

Kind regards

Olay,

Maggie Chang.

So I'm sitting there talking to my parents and sister about it and we were all in shock and excited and my stomach was still doing flips but in the back of my mind I was totally skeptical. Like I still didn't believe it was actually real. 

It's like, am I winning the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes and I don't open the door because I don't believe it's actually them?

What was my hesitation? I'm guessing we might all naturally feel a little skeptical when it feels like an offer that's too good to be true...but then we also think, but it does happen to people. Big brands do reach out to people to become influencers...

But on top of feeling like, did they really just pick me? 

There were a few things about their email that stood out to me.

• The first thing was the way I was addressed, "Hello dear,"

My mom, she's so sweet, she was saying, oh that's so nice, it's just a sweet way of saying hello...and I'm thinking, every scam email I've ever received says something a little off, like "Hello dear" or something like that.

• The next red flag for me was the way the email was formatted and it had some grammatical errors.

• There also was no Olay logo, it was worded pretty well, but it was clumped into different paragraphs that didn't follow what normally formatted paragraphs usually look like and read like.

• The next red flag was the fact that Olay was written in quotes "Olay".

• The next red flag was the way the email was signed, Maggie Chang with a period after it. Most people don't write their name and end it with a period, and there was no signature footer to show who she was.

So these things are all making me question whether or not this was a real offer to collaborate with Olay. 

My parents and sister are excited and pumping me up and saying, why wouldn't they offer you the chance and complimenting me and I start to kind of believe it and imagine what types of posts I would make and thinking about this extra money coming in...but in the back of my mind I still did not quite believe it.

• So I looked up Maggie Chang, are you real? I looked her up on LinkedIn and sure enough, she's a real person who is the Brand Director, for Olay at Procter & Gamble.

• The last thing I knew that would kind of cinch it for me, was to look at what email address this offer came from.

I don't if you know this or not, but anyone can name their email account anything they want. So you can choose an email address and then you can connect your name to it, so when it pops up in someone's email, it will show the name, but your email address itself isn't always shown.

So for example, someone who is trying to run a scam, might open an email account 123456@emailaddress.com but name it, a well known bank. So you get an email that says its from your bank, BUT it's not from your bank, it's a scammer who named their email address YOUR BANK and wants you to believe that and eventually get you to share your banking information with them. 

So one of the ways you can tell whether an email actually came from the source it claims to be, is to hover your mouse over who sent you the email and the email address will pop up.

So if the email came from XYZ Bank and you hover your mouse over XYZ Bank in the heading where the email addresses are, it will show you which email it came from and instead of seeing customer service at XYZ Bank.com, it will show 123456 @ emailaddress . com so you can know that is NOT from your bank, it is fake.

That's why emails you get from your actual bank will always have an email address with their domain name, so like Bank of America .com so you can trust it is from them if you receive an email from them and their email address ends in bank of america . com or whatever their actual domain name is. Someone might call themselves a particular bank, but unless their actual email address is connected to their verified domain, it's not legit.

Anyway, I hope that makes sense and can help you if you need to discern who emails are actually from.

Okay, back to my Olay email.

So I got my laptop, instead of just looking at it on my phone, and I braced myself to see who the email was actually from...

and it was from customerservice.olay@gmail.com.

*So if I believed that Maggie Chang, the Brand Director over Olay for Proctor and Gamble, would address me sweetly as Hello Dear, would write Olay in quotes, and send an email in odd paragraph formatting, with some grammatical errors, who would also end her name with a period, and would also use a random free email account, not her own account, but also a customer service at Olay, no less, then I could believe this was real...which CLEARLY all red flags were flying in fierce wind.

Keep in mind I still had not replied to this Olay email collaboration offer, mainly because I was so skeptical and I didn't want to reply to a scammer.

But at the same time, if you can believe this, we all are sensitive human beings, on the one hand, part of me felt rude for not responding, and not quite believing it because I would never want them to think I was turning my nose up to such an opportunity, and what if they hired people to reach out to potential influencers and they used this free email address? Potentially it could happen, I guess.

My parents and sister still weren't totally convinced that it wasn't real, so I had this teeny tiny question mark in my head, but I was 99.999 percent sure this was not a real offer to be an influencer for Olay. 

So not to be gullible, because I was very certain it was fake, the only way to find out for sure was to contact Maggie Chang herself and to email the real customer service for Olay, which I did.

I never heard back from Maggie Chang (Twitter was the only way she had listed on Linked in to contact her directly, which I can understand she's a big wig, so she remains protected, but I did see her redacted email address online and it showed up as pg.com (Proctor and Gamble). So, surprise, she doesn't use free gmail. ha! In case you wondered.

Several days later, it actually took them quite a while to get back to me, Olay did get back to me. Their customer service department, and confirmed the email was NOT from them and that any emails from them would be Olay.com or pg.com and they thanked me for bringing this to their attention. It's upsetting that people are trying to defraud people and act like they are Olay and they are not.

So just to be clear, 

• Am I an influencer for Olay products? No, I'm not.
• Did I receive a ligitimate offer from Olay? No, I did not. 
• Would I accept a legitimate opportunity to collaborate with Olay? Yes, absolutely.

I bring this funny story to your attention because if you are someone who is interested in being an influencer, and likes to make videos of products and tag companies, in hopes of being found and offered an opportunity like influencing for big brands, just make sure you do your due diligence to make sure it is a legitimate offer.

• Watch for the red flags I talked about and always follow up with the actual company if you have any hesitation at all. 

• In all your excitement, do not just respond, do not just accept an offer and start giving out your personal information. You absolutely must make sure it is legitimate.

I was asked, how would I have been scammed by them? They didn't ask me for personal information in their offer. Their approach was a little more believable with the way the offer was written (besides the wonky paragraphs, and all the quirky things) but in order to get paid, the next step would most likely have been them asking me for my banking information. They were coming in friendly, once I was "on board with Olay" they probably would have started to collect personal information at that point. 

So watch yourself.

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Has this ever happened to you or someone you know? I would love to hear your experience. You can message me on Instagram @FairfaceWashcloths and I'll get back to you. I would love to know.

Thanks for listening! In case you're wondering, I am the real Shannon Sorensen, founder and CEO of FairfaceWashcloths, I promise! I'll see you next time!

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