Skin Care Routine pt.2 | Acne edition
Thursday, February 16, 2017
As I've grown older, I've started
to realise more and more the importance of having a skin routine and
taking care of my skin. A few years ago I could never be bothered to take my
makeup off, moisturise day and night nor the importance of each different
product. Buuuuut, having watched different videos, read different information,
I have a lot more knowledge about skin products and the different benefits they
have to your skin.
It's a bit like when it comes to
hair products; I hate putting too much product in my hair (when I'm
straightening it) because it looks sooo greasy and it won't last as long, so
I've always strayed away from using too many products on my hair. Just like my
skin. Partially because I hate the way some products feel on my skin and I had
the mindset that too many products make your skin worse, just let it go with
the flow naturally - aka being a lazy fuck n going straight to bed instead of
moisturising.
I absolutely love buying skin care
products, trying new things and seeing my skin get healthier and clearer day by
day. I have combination skin and suffer from dark spots/acne scars, acne and hyper pigmentation on my
skin. Sadly, this means I have acne and acne scars on my face, chest, upper
arms and back. This has spurred so many self confidence issues, I couldn't
imagine wearing something backless or strap less. The acne can accumulate when
I'm not eating right, drinking enough water, getting fresh air, don't take
makeup off - literally, anything and everything. But mostly because I'm a
teenager. Something you can't just cut out.
The majority of people suffer from
acne and I know how much I enjoy watching videos and reading posts on how
different people deal with it.. So I thought I'd write a post about my skin type, what I use and my skin care
routine, in hopes of helping anyone else struggling with acne or if you just
want a nice little read!
Nightly skin care routine & what
I use
Before anything, I'll take off my
face makeup with any kind of makeup remover wipe. I don't really have any
specifically that are beneficial to my skin as I don't only use this to remove
makeup, I'll actually wash my skin after. I also use baby oil on a cotton pad
to take my eye makeup off as I use waterproof mascara which is a nightmare to
get off with wipes - I just hold the cotton pad down on my eye for several
seconds then wipe the makeup away.
African Black Soap - £12.95
For well over a year now, I've
seen people talking about African Black Soap, using it for their skin and how
it works wonders. But for some reason had never thought to buy it for myself
until a couple weeks ago; and let me tell you, it's an absolute LIFE saver!
African Black Soap not only washes all my makeup away but also has a couple of
uses that help me get rid of/control the acne on my face and body! However, a
mistake I did make was using it with my spin brush which was way to harsh on my
skin and left my acne raw and stingy constantly. So, I didn't use it for a
couple of weeks but my skin started breaking out so bad recently and I thought,
fuck it, I need to use it - this time though, I used it without the spin brush
and work just as good if not better because my skin is less sensitive.
So I'll use African Black Soap to
wash my face after removing my makeup and I'll also use it as a spot treatment.
When I break out, I can break out reaaaaal bad. I won't just have one or two
spots, I'll have tons. I'll apply a bit of African Black Soap straight onto the
spot right before I go to bed. In the morning the spot will have reduced in
size and redness as if it was never even there. It will scar over and be
tempting to pick (which I normally do BUT shouldn't), however the scar won't be
as permanent as it would if you picked the spot normally. It's more so just
dried skin that needs removing/time to fall out.
African Black Soap has helped me
so much and is something I will continue using for my face and body as it is an
absolute life saver for acne prone skin.
In my routine, I'll simple make
sure the African Black Soap has lathered up by rubbing it together in my hands
before massaging it into my face, then washing it away with warm water.
When purchasing African Black Soap, try to buy one that is organic and hasn't had a load of other crap put in it to make it smell good or look pretty. The natural, organic African Black Soap is what you need.
Pixi Glow Tonic - £18
This is another product I'd seen
just about everywhere online but never actually brought for myself. This is
only the second toner I've used for my skin and I absolutely love it. The
website states that 'Pixi Glow tonic is an exfoliating toner that helps tighten
and firm normal to dry, ageing skin. The brightening tonic removes dead skin
cells, leaving skin healthy and radiant looking.' And it does just that.
After using this, my skins feels refreshed, looks brighter and feels so
healthy. I feel like this toner has helped even out the pigmentation on my face
as well as helped acne scars fade and all in all, help my skin become much
healthier. Definitely a product I'm going to invest in again!
Using this in my skin routine,
I'll apply some to a cotton pad and wipe it over my skin, mostly in an upwards
motion to prevent lines and wrinkles.
Essential Oils
Peppermint | Lemon - both £1.99
Up until a month ago, I had no
idea about how important it was to use oils on your skin - now it might not be
important for some but for someone with combination skin like myself, it is. I
always thought that adding more oils to my skin would make it even more oily.
Boy was I wrong. After watching Lizzie Loves video about how to fade acnescars, I brought the exact oils that she had been using. I brought the
peppermint oil and lemon oil; peppermint helps get rid of acne, while the lemon
oil helps get rid of acne scars. I apply 1-2 drops of the oil into my
moisturiser and then apply it to my skin. My skin is left feeling so hydrated
and refreshed, rather than how it feels if I just use moisturiser. When I've
used essential oils I wake up in the morning with skin softer than ever, it's
amazing. If you don't use essential oils and tend to have problematic skin, I
highly recommend investing in some!
Once the Pixi Glow Tonic has
settled into my skin, I'll go onto applying my moisturiser with the essential
oils. This moisturiser contains vitamin E which also helps with acne scars. The
moisturiser leaves my skin feeling and looking a lot healthier and regenerated.
It isn't an extremely heavy moisturiser but I wouldn't use it in the day as it
can tend to be heavy depending on how much you use. But the heaviness isn't a
bad thing as it helps towards regenerating your skin and any moisture it has
lost. I'm onto my second pot of this moisturiser due to how much it's helped
towards keeping my skin healthy and clearing up acne.
Morning Skin Care
This is pretty much the same as
the nigh time moisturiser I use but it is a much lighter formula that sinks
straight into the skin. The benefits of this moisturiser are that it has a
sebum correcting formula with deep moisturising action that doesn't clog pores,
effectively controlling shine for lasting, beautifully matte complexion. I
apply this before my primer when I'm doing my makeup as it allows for a matte
complexion which is what I prefer as I have very oily skin.
I didn't realise the important of
moisturising before makeup until I watched Leyla Rose' video on avoiding cakey foundation and prepping skin for makeup. Moisturising reduces the
chance of having dry patchy skin beneath your makeup and essentially can
contribute to acting as a primer for makeup to last longer as your makeup has a
good base to start with!
More skin products I love
Lush - Mask of Magnaminty - £10.95
I've spoke about this face mask in
God knows how many blog posts know but I just can't get over how incredible it
makes my skin feel. I'll use this mask when my skins having a crisis, when I
feel like pampering myself or instead of exfoliating. After using this mask,
skin looks clearer, refreshed and glows which is exactly what I want! The Lush
website states - Easily smoothed over the skin, this mask is made with
peppermint oil to stimulate, marigold oil and chlorophyllin to treat the skin;
evening primrose seeds and aduki beans to gently exfoliate as you wash it away.
There’s mineral rich kaolin to nourish, honey for its antibacterial properties,
and we used just the right amount of peppermint oil to stimulate blood cells
under the surface of your skin and leave your skin looking bright and
refreshed.
I'm on my third pot of this face
mask and absolutely adore it. It is something I will continue to buy and treat
my skin to due to how amazing it is! I've tried out another Lush face mask
which worked equally as well so I'm definitely going to invest in more Lush
face masks.
In the last few months I've tried a few different kinds of black head removal methods; including the egg white and piece of tissue as well as Pilaten. But the one that has worked the best has to be Newtons Labs Charcoal Nose Pore Strips. They work like an absolute dream. No other black head removal method has worked as well as these, despite how inexpensive they are. The Pilaten mask does work but nowhere near as good as this. The Charcoal Nose Pore Strips draw out dirt and excessive oil, help remove spot causing impurities and unclog pores to let the skin breathe. If you have black heads or just fancy unclogging your pores, I definitely recommend these nose pore strips!
The Neutrogena Spot Stress Control is a gentle face scrub that I'll use when my skin doesn't need something as much as African Black Soap. This scrub works to remove dead skin cells, exfoliate and remove excess oil. Although I really like this scrub I don't notice as much of a difference to my skin as I do when I use African Black Soap. It's really good at removing excess makeup and leaving my skin feeling soft but is also something to get me by.
I have also used another face mask
which is kind of a DIY one that you have to make partly yourself. I'm going to
do a separate blog post on that and go more in depth!!
The products I use have helped my
combination skin so much in restoring moisture, evening out my skin tone,
fading acne scars and helping control/prevent acne. It may not work for
everyone but there definitely worth the trial and error. Most of the products
used aren't that expensive and you can get from any shop like Asda or Boots, or
order them online!
My acne scars haven't fully faded
and it is a process that will take time. I've had most of my acne scars since I
was around 15 due to not looking after my skin properly. I also just have acne
prone skin which is quite inevitable, so I've found a way to work with my skin
and what I've got to make myself more comfortable and look after my skin in a
way that works for me!
Let me know in the comments below
or tweet me products that are your absolute holy grail when it comes to skin
care!
I hope you've enjoyed this blog
post and thanks for reading!
Phoebe
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