Finding the right acne skin care routine can be a challenge. Acne can honestly be one of the biggest self-esteem killers. Personally, puberty brought on a whole lot of acne and skin issues for me. my skin issues include recurring whiteheads, mega pores( i’m talking moon craters) and one giant cystic acne that pops up once a month right in the middle of my forehead.
I have have been dealing with these skin care issues for the past 10 years and I have tried almost every product imaginable to fix the issues. However, my skin care troubles only got worse.
In the past few months, I have been able to turn it all around and find an acne skin care routine that has worked wonders for me. This acne skin care routine allowed me to treat my skin with care, find a treatment for my cystic acne and fix the bad mistakes I’d made in the past
Acne Skin Care Routine step 1: Invest in good skin care products
I understand that the skin care industry is designed to squeeze out as much money from women as they possibly can. while it’s not necessary to spend a ton of money on skin care products buying every single product imaginable, it’s definitely worth it to invest in what you put on your skin.
Personally, I found that using a lot using tons of cheaper drugstore products together was really harsh on my skin. they stripped my skin of moisture, which made my acne a lot worse and my skin a lot oilier.
I invested slightly more money in my face wash and lotion. I used the Khiels Daily Facial Cleanser and Ultra Facial Moisturizer from Khiels. These products are great because they add much-needed moisture while providing a deep clean and helping ease acne.
The ordinary also has great skin care products that work wonders and are under 15$
Acne Skin Care Routine step 2: Simplify
There are so many products out there that claim to help treat acne and while they might work individually, mixing so many products can actually make your acne worse. Personally, I invested in better products and simplified my routine
Here is what my daily routine looks like now
AM
- Wash face ( I use Khiels Daily Facial Cleanser)
- Moisturize ( Khiels ultra facial moisturizer)
- Sunscreen
PM
- Wash face (same as AM)
- Exfoliate (the ordinary Glycolic acid toner)
- Moisturize (the Ordinary rosehip seed oil)
- Jojoba oil is also a great skin care oil to use because it is the closest oil to your skins natural sebum and you can find it in any grocery store
You don’t have to follow this routine exactly. you can modify based on your skin type. I have oily skin and although it seems counterintuitive, I make sure that my skin is moisturized to control the amount of oil my skin produces.
Fading Dark Spots
Diligently exfoliating has helped me fade my dark spots. Stay away from physical exfoliants, i.e face scrubs, sometimes these scrubs can actually be bad for your skin because they create micro tears and scars. Switch to chemical exfoliants such as the Glycolic acid toner from the ordinary, or Nip and Fab glycolic face pads. These allow for more even exfoliation and removal of dead skin without creating scars and tears. Chemical exfoliants are also amazing because they not only provide you with an evener skin tone, they also help to fade dark spot a lot quicker
( note that if you use a chemical exfoliant then you definitely NEED to use sunscreen daily, because chemical exfoliants can make you more susceptible to sunburns.)
Cystic acne
Cystic acne is a whole different ball game. Sometimes your skin care routine can be amazing and efficient but it won’t stop Cystic acne from recurring. Cystic acne treatment can be really expensive as one way to treat this long term is going to a dermatologist and receiving cortisone injections. However, there are topical treatments such as the Neutrogena Hydrating acne treatment.
when I have a cystic acne flare up, I repeat my skin care steps above and I apply the Neutrogena hydrating cream as a spot treatment directly on the acne as the last step of my PM routine.
Acne Skin Care Routine step 3: Be Patient
Acne cannot be cured overnight. I made the mistake of expecting every product to work magically and instantly. When it didn’t I would hop on to the next best product advertised on Instagram and end up frustrated. I also made a bad habit of popping my acne the moment it appeared. I couldn’t wait to 2 to 4 days it takes for it to reduce in size. This lead to me damaging my skin even further by piling on harsh chemicals and causing scarring.
Be patient if your acne doesn’t go away immediately, be diligent with your routine and make sure you are doing what’s best for your skin type.
Taking the time to make sure that you nail down a routine that works for you will not only get you great skin, it will definitely allow you to feel confident in your skin even without makeup
If you’d like to try some of the products I used from Khiels you make sure you use this link to get 10$ OFF and 5 free samples on your first order
You can find the products I’ve from the Ordinary below