Skin care AM and PM

[SAANVI19]

I am 37year old, oily skin who is very late in the game of skin care. Can someone help me what skin regime I should have and products? I have below products but don’t know the correct way to apply these.

I am happy to discontinue any of these or buy new ones.

Products I have are
face wash- Saffron based
Cosrx toner, Snail mucin and all in one cream
Derma co Retinol( India)
Pligrim Niacinamide (India)
Derma co SPF( India)

Thanks

[Preppyzzz]

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[WinglessOne]

@SAANVI19  Welcome to the world of skincare! In general, your routine would look like this: 

1. Face wash (PM, optional AM) 
2. Toner - exactly which COSRX toner do you have? What's the product name? That'll help determine how often you should use it. 
3. Niacinamide (AM or PM) 
4. COSRX snail mucin (AM or PM) 
5. Retinol (PM) - since you're new to retinol, use it just 1-2 nights a week for a few weeks to see how your skin tolerates it. Then increase usage to 2-3 nights a week. Keep gradually increasing usage til you're at a comfy-for-you frequency: can be nightly, every other night, or even just 3 nights a week. 
6. Moisturizer (AM and PM) - this would be whichever COSRX cream you have, assuming it's a moisturizing cream. 
7. Sunscreen (AM) - if your sunscreen contains at least one good moisturizing ingredient (like squalane, dimethicone, argan oil, shea butter, etc.), you might be able to skip the morning moisturizer step and let your sunscreen pull double duty. 

Since all these products are new to you, consider starting with just the basics for a few weeks: face wash, moisturizer, and sunscreen. Then add another product to your routine, perhaps the toner. A couple weeks later, add another product, maybe the niacinamide. And so on. It's best to introduce new products to your skincare routine one at a time rather than all at once, so you don't overwhelm your skin. Also, if your skin reacts badly to one of these products, it'll be easier to narrow down the culprit if you don't jump into using them all at once. 🙂 

[SAANVI19]

Thank you so much.

toner is AHA BHA clarifying treatment.

also since I have active acne, what can I use to calm them? Salicylic acid or anything else?

[WinglessOne]

@SAANVI19  Quick tip: be sure to @ the person you reply to so they'll get a notification. Otherwise they might never see your reply. 🙂 

Ah, since it's the AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment, use it just 1-3 times a week, and never twice on the same day. That toner contains glycolic acid, the "strongest" AHA (alpha hydroxy acid). I think the % AHA in it is very low—but since it's easy to overuse glycolic acid and break your skin barrier (which leads to all kinds of badness), stick to 1-3 times a week. 

Acne treatment depends on what type of acne you have. Some types respond better to certain ingredients than others. For instance, cystic acne doesn't respond well to salicylic acid; for that, you'd wanna talk with a dermatologist about other options. For other types of acne, you could try salicylic acid and see how your skin responds. I know that COSRX toner has "BHA" in its name, but it doesn't contain salicylic acid; it has willow bark extract instead, which doesn't do what salicylic acid can. Consider trying a leave-on 2% BHA product like The INKEY List Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) Blemish + Blackhead Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL or Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant . 

Many people's skin will tolerate salicylic acid 5-7 times a week; heck, some folks even use it twice a day with no irritation. Salicylic acid can be drying though, so start slowly with it and see how your skin tolerates it. If you find it's too irritating, then switch to a wash-off product like The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser 5 oz / 150 ml or The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Masque . 

Oh, and be patient: none of these products are overnight miracles. In fact, when you start using retinol, you might notice new acne popping up; that's "purging" and it happens to some people when they start a retinoid or other acne-fighting ingredient (salicylic acid, azelaic acid, etc.). Purging should calm down within a month. Think of it as the ingredient(s) evicting crud from your skin.