Adult acne? A bitch. She’s rude, unwanted, and uninvited, yet so determined to stay and exist in our space. Sadly, I hit 23 and my skin turned against me, and for that I was not grateful. I am very appreciative though of the research that led me to these amazing products. Key words I deal with: hyperpigmentation, blackheads, combination skin that sometimes feels like butter and sometimes feels like it can never be quenched, and hormonal acne.
The left is my breakout 2 years ago and the right is present day. Big difference for me and still working on dark marks. The amount of products that I have tried is insane. I tried brands that are Korean, Black owned, drug store, luxury, and new to the market, and it took me 2 years to understand what works for me. Top things I learned:
*note please scroll to the end for the list of 5 products and a quick description if you’re not interested in reading specifics because we are always in favor of efficiency*
Your Cleanser Matters
This shouldn’t be news to anyone, technically. I think now in the age of lifestyle vlogs and blogs, we all understand the importance of routines. We understand that routines matter, consistency matters, and your routine is tailored to you. This is the same with your skincare routine. Each step of the way is very specific to your skin and also specific to the other products you are using with it. Each is a chemical and they react to your skin AND each other.
Pick a cleaner according to your skin type: foaming, creamy, gel, watery, grainy, whatever you feel like your skin needs. How do you assess that? Magic question, huh. Luckily, I’m here to tell you that you never know until you try. What works for one person with dry skin might not work for another person with dry skin. There are just too many factors: age, genetics, climate, work-lifestyle, etc. Start with researching what other people with your skin type use (YouTube, blogs, TikTok, etc.) and start cheap. I tried Korean brands first because I like the ingredients they use and how they formulate their products. My suggestion is that tor a combo skin that is acne prone: try gel textured cleaners.
The one I tried first is the Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser by Krave Beauty. Pros: Great cleanser, super affordable, GREAT ingredients, my skin enjoyed it. Con: needs to be ordered online. Regardless, I highly recommend it as an entrance product to Korean skin care and a great, hydrating, gel cleanser. Biggest takeaway from cleanser research: your cleanser should ALWAYS make you still feel hydrated and should never strip your skin.
The cleanser that I religiously use now and do not plan on changing: the Super Food Cleanser by Youth to the People. The hold that YTTP has on me is ridiculous, and I love it. 10/10 cleaner, gel like texture, moisturizing, can buy online and in store, they have a refill option (you can purchase the dispenser once and buy a refill bottle moving forward), and awesome combo/oily skin types. Ugh. 10/10.
Your Skin May Not Like All “Actives”
I’m just gonna dive right into this. My skin hates a lot of active ingredients. Actives include: BHAs, AHAs, PHAs, etc. I can go in depth in a different post about what actives are, OR I can direct you to an awesome duo who has a whole YouTube channel devoted to educating us skincare novices on this. Their channel is called Beauty Within.
Each time I tried an active, my skin reacted and quickly. I tried to push through because of the purge period everyone warns you about, but ultimately decided that BHA/AHA aren’t for me. I tried the Krave Beauty AHA, Paula’s Choice BHA, Youth to the People AHA, and all times my skin disagreed. The bottom line is trial and error. Actives are not necessary, but if you are interested in incorporating these ingredients into your routine, you’ll need to test some things out.
One thing I do recommend: niacinamide. Hyper pigmentation? Niacinamide. Blackheads? Niacinamide. For fun? Niacinamide. I love this ingredient because it’s on the gentle side and helps fade dark marks, which I am prone to. I didn’t enjoy the one that The Ordinary (which is popular and cheap), but Good Molecules has one too that is great AND cheap.
You Don’t Need Eye Creams
But get one if you want one. The joy of taking care of yourself means the joy to make that mean whatever you want it to mean. Is lighting a candle and massaging an gel under your eye necessary for joy of taking care of yourself? Yes if it is necessary for YOU. The good molecules eye gel? Amazing. Refreshing, awakening, didn’t know how much I needed it until I bought it.
The Wetter the Better
This mantra is applicable is many facet of life for many reasons. For now, let’s talk about our skin barrier. The body needs moisture. That is all, thank you. The channel I mentioned earlier (Beauty Within) explains the skin barrier so well, and I highly suggest you give them a view. I learned the most about skin care form them.
Regarding your habits and skin barrier, your top priorities should include sleeping, eating, and moisturizing your body. We need so much water to stay plump and alive, and even though there are some random few who claim to never drink water and still look youthful, you need water. Drink water all day.
But also, don’t be afraid to layer your moisturizing products. I moisturize with my Belief The True Cream Aqua Bomb, and then lock that in with my YTTP Superberry Dream Oil, and if it is my night time routine, I’ll put on top of that the Origins Overnight Hydrating Mask with Avocado and Glacier Water. This is my holy grail routine.
As you can imagine, my overall point is trial and error. RESPONSIBLE AND INFORMED trial and error. Here are the product suggestions that are top of the chart for me:
5 Skincare Products That You Didn’t Know That You Need
2. Belief The True Cream Aqua Bomb Moisturizer
3. Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel
*Note that most of these are in the 20s-30s price point. Good Molecules though is an amazing brand at a drug store price.
Enjoy 🙂
[…] After trying every skincare product possible, I tried every “diet style”: keto, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, etc. When nutritionists tell you to keep a food diary, they’re not being condescending by suggesting the most simple solution possible. They are recommending it because it WORKS. Every time I ate anything, I logged how I felt. I knew something was wrong when I realized that every time I ate Brussel sprouts, I burped profusely. Now, to eat an anti-inflammatory diet, this is what I cut out: […]