Skincare

[Anonymous]

What products do u think should I use if I have combination skin

btw I'm 15

[WinglessOne]

Hi @Anonymous ! I'm glad you're already thinking about skincare at your young age! 🙂 

There are only 3 products everyone (regardless of skin type) should use daily: 

1. Cleanser - preferably something gentle that doesn't strip your skin of all its natural oils. A "squeaky clean" feel is bad for skin. If you wear makeup, a makeup removal step fits into this category. 
2. Moisturizer - for your entire face, even your oily zone. The trick is finding one that works on your dry zones without swamping your oily zone. Always apply moisturizer to damp skin to seal in hydration. 
3. Sunscreen (AM only) - broad spectrum, at least SPF 30, worn each day on ALL skin exposed to sunlight (including your eyelids, the back of your neck, your ears, ankles, feet, hands, wrists, etc.), regardless of weather or season. Can be a chemical or mineral/physical sunscreen, or a hybrid of those. All 3 types of sunscreens work fine. Which sunscreen works best for you depends on your personal preferences: finish (matte, natural/radiant, dewy/glowy, super dewy/glass skin), tinted vs. invisible vs. "eh, a little white/grey/purple cast doesn't bug me," any known skin sensitivities or allergies you have, etc. 

Other steps can be added, of course, based on your specific skincare goals or issues. But those 3 steps are the basics. 

I have mostly-dry combo skin. My skincare routine's a mix of various brands. Some are higher end but most are fairly inexpensive, because product price =/= quality or effectiveness. Some products on the market are ridiculously overpriced, considering their ingredients. Anyway, here's what I use for the 3 steps I mentioned: 

Spoiler

Cleanser - At night, I double-cleanse whenever I've worn tinted sunscreen, mineral sunscreen, or any makeup beyond brow products and lipstick. I use Paula's Choice Gentle Touch Makeup Remover (the liquid, not the wipes) to remove all eye makeup. For everything else, I use The INKEY List Oat Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm 5 oz/ 150 mL as my first cleansing step. I shower at night, so I usually wash my face and body with a CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar as my second cleansing step. That's basically the bar version of the popular bottled CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser. 

I recently tried Paula's Choice Omega + Complex Cleansing Balm 3.5 oz/ 104 mL as the first step of my double cleanse and it works great. 

In the morning, I sometimes just water-rinse my face or gently wipe it down with a wet plush microfiber cloth. On the mornings my face needs a cleanser, I use Paula's Choice Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser. It's a very gentle, cream, no-lather cleanser that gets the AM job done without stripping my skin or leaving a weird film behind. 

Moisturizer - I tend to change this based on the season, depending on how my skin's behaving. I currently rotate through Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer (it's lightweight yet surprisingly effective on my dry zones) and Paula's Choice CLEAR Oil-Free Moisturizer 2 oz/ 60 mL . I choose one of those moisturizers and apply it to my entire face each night. On the mornings I use a squalane-based serum, I skip moisturizer if my sunscreen of choice contains at least one good moisturizing ingredient. In that scenario, my sunscreen doubles as a moisturizer. Otherwise, I use one of those 2 moisturizers I mentioned in the morning beneath my sunscreen. 

Sunscreen - Again, this all comes down to personal preference. Any dermatologist will tell you the best sunscreen for you is whichever one you'll actually use daily. I rotate through several sunscreens all year long. For my face and neck, my current faves are Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Invisible Broad Spectrum SPF 40 PA +++ 1.7 oz/ 50 mL (works well as a primer and moisturizer, too), especially around my eyes; Saie Sunvisor Radiant Moisturizing Face Sunscreen SPF 35 1.35 oz/ 40 mL ; and OMI Verdio UV Moisture Essence (a Japanese chemical sunscreen). I also use sunscreens by CoTZ, La Roche-Posay, CanMake, Dermstore (their house brand tinted mineral sunscreen's pretty good), and Colorscience. 

[Anonymous]

thank you soo much @WinglessOne 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@Anonymous I treat my oily areas one way, and my dry areas another way.  So for example, I use BHA primarily on my oily areas.  And I use moisturizers on my dry areas.  Some products I use all over, like peptides, serums, etc.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tip @greeneyedgirl107 !

[ashbrienne]

Hey! I have combination skin and I use The Ordinary toner and Neutrogena‘s combination skin moisturizer. I honestly swear by these two. If I feel like The ordinary toner is too heavy I’ll switch to the Rosewater one by Mario Badescu. I rarely breakout anymore and my skin tone is very even. 

[Anonymous]

that's a nice suggestion too! @ashbrienne