Dry skin, blemishes, clogged pores.

[Anonymous]

Hello, I do not have a skincare regimen. All I do is wash my face with warm water and any soap. I do not usually take my look or the problem seriously. But now I want to change. I have a dry skin, blemishes, clogged pores and also pigmentation too. I hope I could find the right producta for my skin routine. I wish to have a healthy glowing skin this year. I hope you could help me out. Thank you in advance.#

[BeRihBe]

You wanna include a toner that talks about unclogging pores

[Jazzy11]

you should get out @Anonymous.skin on instagram. they also have a website. they post skincare info and customize routines for people.  a couple of my friends contacted them and they made a whole routine for them

[itsfi]

Hi @dgyuki. If you are just starting out with a skincare routine, I'd recommend keeping things simple, keeping to the basics, while addressing the skin concerns you mentioned. My skin is usually dehydrated-combination (oily T zone, dry elsewhere) and I often deal with clogged pores, blemishes,and hyperpigmentation. Everyone's skin responds differently to products so whatever you end up using, I'd recommend introducing products slowly into a routine and doing a patch test to see how your skin responds. Also, to the extent that you can get a sample in the store or purchase a mini / travel size to test out the products. Speaking of which, here are some that might be of interest to you; I'll try to provide a couple of options at different price points. 

Evening routine:

1. Cleanser: It sounds like one cleanser would work for you. A couple of cleansers you might want to look into are REN CLEAN SKINCARE - Perfect Canvas Clean Jelly Oil Cleanser or SEPHORA COLLECTION Clean Skin Gel Cleanser with Prebiotics. Cerave Hydrating Cleanser, which can be found at Target, Ulta, drugstores and some supermarkets is also a good option for dry skin.

2. Exfoliate: Exfoliating once per week will help with your pores as well as sloughing away dead skin, dry patches and allow the other products to absorb better into your skin. There are chemical exfoliators and physical / manual exfoliators that you can chooose from. FIRST AID BEAUTY - Facial Radiance Padsare gentle and effective and great for those new to chemical exfoliants - they're great for those who have been using exfoliants for a long time as well; these First Aid Beauty ones are one of my favorites. For a physical or manual exfoliant, Dermalogica Mini Daily Microfoliant Exfoliator 0.45 oz/ 13 g is a good one to start with as well. 

3. Hydrating Serum: A serum containing hyaluronic acid will help your skin retain moisture from the skincare products that follow. There are a lot of serums on the market that contain hyaluronic acid. Another name for it, another form of it, is sodium hyaluronate. Some serums you might consider are The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Hydrating Face Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL, Drunk Elephant B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum with Hyaluronic Acid 1.69 oz/ 50 mL or Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Hyaluronic Marine Hydration Booster. I've also heard The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronics is a good one; I haven't tried it yet though.

4. Moisturizer: It's important to pick the right moisturizer for your skin and like the rest of your skincare, will involve trial and error. If there is a Sephora store near you, I highly recommend you test out the formula / consistency in the store and ask for a sample of a couple of the ones you like best; that goes for all your skincare products to the extent you can get samples of them. Moisturizers that my dry skin responds well to include BELIF - The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb, or Drunk Elephant Lala Retro™ Nourishing Whipped Refillable Moisturizer 1.69 oz/ 50 mL or FRESH - Rose Deep Hydration Moisturizer. If your skin is very dry, I'd recommend DR. JART+ - Ceramidin™ Cream and/or mixing in a drop or two of a face oil to any one of these moisturizers. If you decide to add a face oil, The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil 1 oz/ 30 mL is a nice one for dry skin.

Morning routine: Like with the PM routine, I'd keep it simple, especially as you are starting out with skincare. If your skin is dry, you'll likely not need to cleanse your skin in the morning, but I would recommend either splashing your face with water to rinse off the products from the night before and/or using a warm washcloth to do the same. Then:

1. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is good for a lot of things, including discoloration. Apply a Vitamin C product to dry skin. Some Vitamin C products that work nicely for dry skin include Farmacy Very Cherry Bright 15% Clean Vitamin C Serum with Acerola Cherry 1.0 oz/ 30 mL, Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL or BIOSSANCE - Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil. Some people are sensitive to Vitamin C and if that's the case, you should build up to it. Dear, Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Drops is a lower dosage of Vitamin C and is combined with centella asiatica (good for soothing, calming redness and for acne). Give whatever Vitamin C product you use 10-20 minutes to fully absorb into your skin before moving on to the next step.

2. Hydrating Serum: Layer the same hydrating serum product from your evening routine here, immediately before your moisturizer.

3. Moisturizer: It's fine to use the same moisturizer you used during your evening routine. If you find you want something lighter for the morning, BIOSSANCE - Squalane + Probiotic Gel Moisturizer might be worth a look. 

4. Sunscreen: This is a very important step in your skincare routine and an absolute must (can't stress how much of a must it is) if you use an active in your evening routine (i.e., exfoliant) and if you use Vitamin C. My preference is for sunscreen from Asian brands which are not sold at Sephora, but there are several good sunscreens available at Sephora - Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Invisible Broad Spectrum SPF 40 PA +++ 1.7 oz/ 50 mL - this is a chemical sunscreen and works wonderfully. It goes on smoothly and does not leave a white cast. Shiseido Urban Environment Oil-Free UV Protector Broad Spectrum Face Sunscreen SPF 42 1 oz/ 30 mL is another good sunblock; it's a chemical and physical sunscreen; there's a high percentage of zinc oxide in this formulation so it will leave a bit of a white cast (that will fade away eventually as you massage the product into your skin). The Anthelios line from La Roche-Posay also offers a lot of good sunblock products that are worth looking into. 

[EndofaneraADTR]

My absolute holy grail item that doesn't dry my skin out but stops acne: Dermalogica Age Brightening Clearing Serum I have never in my life had an acne product that didn't dry the ever living soul out of my skin and caused worst acne. Until I found that product. It's really quiet amazing. My skin has never been so good. I just finished my first bottle and I already have a backup that I bought two weeks ago. Seriously, that product and just a good moisterizer and cleanser. Thats it.

[AshGarcia]

I love the advice that @Boudreau gave. Vitamin C, an acid exfoliant, face oil and washing with harsh cleanser less often. One thing that has helped me most with staying hydrated and keeping clear is Rose Hip Seed Oil. If you do a little research online you will see all the benefits of this particular oil for breakout prone skin. Biossance makes one that has vitamin c in it but I have been using this one The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil 1 oz/ 30 mLit works well at a bargain price. I mix a couple drops into my face cream making it easier to apply. The Ordinary has a lot of really good products that are budget friendly but that one, the vitamin c powder, and the glycolic acid toner are by far my favorites of their products.

[Boudreau]

I totally agree with @AshGarcia 

Rose Hip oil is a godsend! Personally, the one from the ordinary didn't work for me, but, many of my friends rav about it! It's a really great affordable option!

If you go to the Ordinary website, there is also an opportunity to do an online test that helps determine what line of products would work best for you.

[AshGarcia]

@Boudreau Which one worked for you? I’m just curious b/c I like trying different brands once in a while. I use the heck out of this stuff but there is no way I’ll go through the entire bottle in 6 months when it needs replaced.

[Boudreau]

There are a few that I really love @AshGarcia :

BIOSSANCE - Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil

Glossier's, Boscia's, Beauty Bio's and Aveda

[Boudreau]

Hi @dgyuki, it sounds like your skin is where mine was at a few years ago.

One thing I learnt for me, from a dermatologist was that using face wash twice a day really wasn't working well with the sensitivity of my skin. They recommended instead of washing my face using Micellar Water (I use the one from Caudalie) or a toner (I use the one for Dry Skin from Aveda) and to only use face wash at night. I currently have been using Perricone's Vitamin C Ester Brightening Cleasner. One product I found that really helped with my clogged pores is Laneige Mini Pore Water Clay Mask. It's very light and works well with dry sensitive skin. A few days a week I also use either NUFACE - Prep-N-Glow™ Cloths or FIRST AID BEAUTY - Facial Radiance Pads - they help to maintain unclogges pores and keep acne at bay.

I also started using Lactic Acid & AHA Products to help with uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation. Some of my current favourites are: 

Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One AHA Lactic Acid Treatment 1.7 oz / 50 ml

FARMACY - HONEYMOON GLOW AHA Resurfacing Night Serum with Hydrating Honey + Gentle Flower Acids

I also try really hard to keep my skin hydrated by drinking lots of water and applying oils both in the morning and evening. Some of my current favourite oils are:

Herbivore Emerald CBD + Adaptogens Deep Moisture Glow Oil 1 oz/ 30 mL

Sunday Riley U.F.O. Salicylic Acid BHA Acne Treatment Face Oil 1.18 oz/ 35 mL(I love their Vit. C Tumeric Oil as well!)

My go to mask for those especially dry days is the DR. JART+ - Ceramidin™ Cream and Sheet mask. 

These are just a few of the products that I found helped me get through a crazy skin phase.

S

[doonyuuh]

You can go to the clinic and ask the doctor to refer you to a dermatologist, a dermatologist will figure out what you need to be able to have clear healthy skin, he might prescribe you something to help.