Skin Regime

[ilsye]

Please share any tip from anyone here, I have combination to oily skin, blackheads and whiteheads, hormonal acne and milia. Is there any recommend what should I use? like moisturizer, sunscreen, night cream, serum and vit c.

[Sephora85Maven]

 I really like drunk elephant as a brand because i know what goes into the formulation is good for my skin and more importantly not going to harm my skin. I spent many years with terrible acne and a lot of redness. I started using tretinoin (Retin-A) which I have to admit probably did a lot of the repair as far as those concerns go but shortly after i also started drunk elephant. I feel like what products are best really depends what concerns you have and what your actually looking to get out it. I have a tube of A passioni but I have yet to try it because I use tretinoin which is a prescription Retin-A.You would have to pry that from my cold dead hand, that's the only way I am going to stop using it...death! So I would suggest giving it a try if you aren't able to get a prescription. I believe they state its the highest non-prescription on the market. It uses Vitamin A deep within your skin to promote skin renewal. On a cellular level it speeds up new cell production and pushes old cells up and out to the surface to be shed. It does have a scary dragon lady peeling stage as you adjust to it and it takes time. Up to a few months but is extremely worth it! The second most noticeable difference you can see when adding a product to your skincare routine is an acid. the most effect acids have both AHA and BHA. The BHA helps the AHA penetrate deep into the skin getting past the natural oils. For this there are two options  T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial with 25% AHA and 2% BHA which again they claim is they highest non-professional grade peel available on the market. (I say they state because I have no proof of these claims.) It is a very strong acid you use once a week (Or less) and if you aren't already using an acid I would suggest working up to something of this caliber. Your other or additional option is T.L.C. Framboo Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum it is basically the same concept but you can use it nightly. Again I would work up to nightly if your new to acids. Acids help with skin texture, the size of pores, and over all surface of the skin. It helps to loosen and remove the top layer of skin revealing fresh new baby skin. Together the Retin-A and Acids keep a constant new cycle of fresh faced baby skin showing to the world. The difference is very dramatic! It is important to use Sunscreen as both leave you more vulnerable to sun damage. I personally do not like the sun screen by drunk elephant. My skin does not want to absorb it. It sits on the surface of my skin and feels greasy. I apply a dime sized amount which is recommended for sunscreen. I prefer a spray formula face sun screen as it just work better for my skin. However I do not have dry skin so if you do it may work for you. Getting samples of these things is a great way to find what works for you just introduce one product at a time. I use to have oily skin but since using these products I have pretty middle of the road normal skin. B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum is like a booster not meant to be used alone but as an added shot to your moisturizer. You can add a squirt to your face cream to up the hydration content of needed. The Virgin Marula Antioxidant Face Oil is just that Marula oil which is built into most things in the line. After all that its name sake. Marula is ate by elephants they act drunk hence the name Drunk Elephant. Their are many oils on the market that have more complex dense ingredients but I do really like this oil anyway. I over did the baby facial and had some chemical acid burns on the side of my face and this oil really helped alleviate the dryness and helped my skin bounce back pretty fast. Its very nice and hydrating I like to use it before moisturizing. Protini™ Polypeptide Moisturizer is a lighter more gel consistency moisturizer and great for daytime if you have more oily skin as it isnt as heavy and rich making it easier to absorb. Lala Retro™ Whipped Moisturizer with Ceramides is a more rich dense thick moisturizer great if you have dry skin. I like to use it at night because it is heavier. If you skin care isn't absorbing your probably using too much product. (Raises hand *guilty*) You can actual make cocktails using little bits of each product together and apply them as one. I believe drunk elephant refers to them as face smoothies or something along that line. F-Balm™ Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask I don't have dry skin and while it does feel good and hydrate my skin I am not sure its that different from a traditional moisturizer. Again samples are great! I also am not sure how I feel about the eye creams I don't see why you cant just pull your face products up into the eye area. (not the retin-A or acids thou) I have and I probably will continue too. i like Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic with Retinol Triple Correction Eye Serum because its an anti aging product with retinol specifically for the sensitive eye area but the drunk elephant ones don't seem too special to me.  I will probably continue to use them because they come in the holiday set but those items are just bonuses in my opinion. I highly suggest if your going to take a big plunge into the brand take advantage of Sephora's holiday sales to stock up on what you need aside from C-Firma™ Vitamin C Day Serum. It has a small shelf life due to the sensitivity of Vitamin-C so make sure to use it up and restock around the six month mark. (Do I go over that, yeah I do *Shrugs*) It's air tight, light sensitive prevention packaging but they recommend 6 months. It's great to use as your day serum it adds glow, radiance, and life to the skin. It also helps improve the appearance and feel of skin. I personally think it's one of the best on the market because of the lengths they go to prevent the product from being compromised. I have tried other brands that come in clear bottles it's super sensitive and should avoid light and air. D-Bronzi™ Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops are great if you don't wear makeup and want a summer glow. The Lippie, bar soup, and jelly cleanser are alright I don't think they are really very special either. However i do like Slaai™ Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser it really breaks down my eye makeup and is gentle so I don't have to tug and pull on the sensitive eye area. I am 35 and I am not trying to look it! It also doesn't create the hazy cast in my eyes I have found with other balms. I also really like that they added the Bamboo Booster with charcoal powder so I can easily add it to the balm to get a gentle physical exfoliation. The product states tiny, ultra-fine bamboo spheres this is important to me because products like Saint Ives Apricot scrub have crushed shells with jagged edges and while i couldn't see it, it was damaging my skin. I have loved makeup for a long time but with age decided to get serious with my skincare game. I don't want anything in my routine that's counter productive and jagged shells ripping my skin is not something i want. I also wear a lot of makeup so having something that effectively and gently removes it is super important. Some other things I like are FRESH Seaberry Skin Nutrition Cleansing Oil its a liquid oil cleanser I like it keep in the shower. ALGENIST GENIUS Ultimate Anti-Aging Bi-Phase Peel again not a daily use product. Too much chemical exfoliation is bad as I stated before I burned myself and learned the hard way. CLINIQUE Moisture Surge Face Spray when ever my face needs a drink. I like to use it as part of my skincare routine locking it in under a moisturizer but i have even used it after makeup. CLARSONIC is another game changer I am still rocking the old Mia 2, she still going strong. I don't know how I feel about the Smart ones. I know this is a lot of information so sorry I did a lot of research on my skin journey I hope it helps.=) XO

[AshGarcia]

I have combo with very oily nose/chin and very dry neck. I find that adding extra moisture in a mindful way helps balance the oily/dry areas. My HG products that I can’t live without are First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair® Hydrating Serum because my skin loves it’s very lightweight, silky gel formula The Ordinary 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder 0.7 oz/ 20 g great for anti-aging and dark spots that I get post-blemish Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Firming Refillable Moisturizer 1.69 oz/ 50 mL as my day cream Biossance Squalane + Omega Repair Deep Hydration Moisturizer 1.69 oz / 50 mL as my night cream and The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil 1 oz/ 30 mL mixed into my creams helps regulate oil while boosting hydration. For blackheads I find that doing a weekly peel mask helps, both DE and Ordinary make really good ones, but I also use either the FAB radiance pads or Ordinary glycolic toner several days a week. Another thing that helped me with breakouts was using the DE bar soaps (the travel sizes are nice to try, I use the moisture one more than the clay) and always removing makeup with micellar water before cleansing. I don’t keep a perfect regimen with these products, I tend to move them around based on how my skin feels since some days the harsh winter requires less acid/drying products and more moisture, or if it’s rainy and humid I can use one drop of the oil instead of several drops and can use the acid toner while still adding the acid powder into my serum. I also add retinol to my serum 2-3 times each week. Another thing that helped balance my skin was not always doing a morning routine. Sometimes when I wake up my skin is perfectly balanced from my night routine so I carry on without a morning routine letting it self-regulate.

If you listen to you skin when trying out new things it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what is and isn’t working. I love some drunk elephant products but found that the type of hydration in Lala retro cream broke me out in multiple cysts, but adding rose hip seed oil to protini cream gave me similar level hydration that balanced oil without clogging my pores. For whatever reason I also find that mixing some things together, like the c powder and hydrating serum or the face cream and oil has been helpful. It keeps the number of steps down and changes how it’s absorbed by my skin. It’s really all trial and error unless you specifically narrow down ingredients that do/don’t agree with your skin. I hope you find something helpful in this reply!

eta- with all the actives I use sunscreen is a must, my tinted primer has sunscreen.