skincare 3.0

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Hi everyone!

Literally no one asked me to write this post, but I want to share my skincare regime with you nonetheless. I called this post skincare 3.0 because it is indeed my third main change in how my skin is acting and how I treat it. Please do not hate me for using the word skin so so so often in this post, I could not think of another term and it is needed to avoid misunderstandings.

I had bad skin breaking out like 24/7 for a very long time in my teenage years. Makeup was an essential and I slapped it on my face every day. Breakouts, dark eyes, herpes and pimple scars, blemishes on my skin - they all made me very insecure and I suffered from my problematic skin. Back then I had absolutely no access to professional skincare and I have not visited a dermatologist whatsoever. It was not acne I guess, but it was very near the mark. Thanks to whoever I only had breakouts on my forehead, temples and chin, but they were bad. And I wore makeup all day, so it was a vicious cycle I could not exit. Although you cannot call this skincare, it was the first touch with it. Finding several products at the drugstore was my kind of skincare back then. I did not know how damaging and contradicting it was to use certain cleansers, masks or spot treatments, but they were the last straw for someone who was too lazy to look up skincare AND too fed up with their skin condition. If you want to know what I have learned so far regarding my skin and skincare in general please keep reading!

A few days before turning 18 I went to the apothecary and asked what to do with my skin. I was fed up with the need to cover up, to hide my real face. Makeup itself was (and still is in an extent) an amazing way to represent my feelings, me in general I think. But plastering my whole face just to cover my impurities was a burden. I wanted to look good without having to put on concealer, foundation, powder every single day. As I was not able to access a dermatologist I asked a pharmacist how to cure my acne-prone skin. That was the start of my skincare version 2.0, my first attempt to somehow professionally clear up my face.

The first advice was to skip putting on makeup and use skincare products. I was sold a few NUXE products, as far as I can recall it was a unclogging thermo-active mask, a skin-perfecting purifying lotion toner, a soothing and rehydrating fresh mask and an anti-shine fluid, along with a few sachets of sunscreen and after sun lotion for my body. Aside from the advice to stop using makeup to let my skin clear up and breathe for once, I was made aware of another mistake I was doing back then. For makeup removal I used very harsh cleansing gels from the drugstore because I wanted my skin to be squeaky clean. The pharmacist told me that getting rid of the sebum so harshly to counteract my oily skin is only telling my skin to produce more sebum and this is making my skin look greasier. I mean, that is logical when you bear in mind that your skin is only trying to save itself from losing all its oils so much, but back then that was a revolutionary advice for me. Instead of using oil-stripping cleansers from the drugstore I was recommended to use a toner instead, just to take off the pollution and excess sebum of my skin before going to sleep.

To mattify my skin and also create a barrier to make it harder for pollution and bacteria to reach my skin, the pharmacist told me it is best to apply a face cream at the morning. For oily, acne-prone skin it is recommended to use a lighter type of cream, for example a fluid or gel, which is non-comedogenic and mattifying. The NUXE fluid was indeed mattifying my skin, not all day, but it has been a significant difference and I did not look all greasy after just one hour. The two masks were supposed to clear up my skin in a gentle way. Putting on mask twice a week, alternating between the two, was purifying, but when I look back it was a suboptimal idea to use the thermo-active mask, as it contains walnut shell powder. Thanks to Kylie Skin it should be known all over the internet that walnut shells as peeling agents are harmful to the skin as they can cause micro tears, damaging the skin's natural protection hull. Frankly my skin was not damaged as much by using this mask and my skin did improve.

I do not know how I would have reacted to these advices while still going to school and not being able to hide my impurities under makeup. As far as I still know I was done with school, just waiting for my A-level exams, so going bare face was do-able. It was a very long way to clear up the blemishes and pimples, and I need to confess that I was not strictly leaving out makeup. But it did get better and showing my bare skin was starting to feel better. I was still extremely insecure, but seeing my skin clear up day by day made it easier to accept the journey.

Unfortunately when I moved away to study maths I quickly gave up caring for my skin out of  lack of time and motivation. As soon as I ended up the products I did not even rebuy them because I did not have the money. I started using makeup on a daily basis and in 2015 my skin was bad again. It was not the same though, the blemishes were kind of more adult-y and mature. I feel like I had cystic acne pimples in my teenage years, which switched to oily impurities, not sitting that deep in my skin. At that time I was upset about my breakouts, but was not motivated enough to get myself skincare products to use on a daily basis. So I stayed with makeup.

After quitting studying I lost the interest in going out. So I did not need to use make up so often anymore. I found that it helped my skin to clear up, only a few pimples showed up every now and then. It was okay until last year, when breakouts hit me like a ton of bricks. Somehow they came back worse than ever. To be honest, I completely did not know what to do. Instead of going to a dermatologist or just gathering information about proper skincare, I used whatever promised to clear up spots within hours. Perceiving that I broke out due to lack of hygiene I used harsh scrubs and cleansers to get back my rather uncomplicated skin. Basically I used products similar to those in my first skincare attempt. It was a step backwards and as you can imagine, it did not help at all. My skin got worse day by day, but at that time whenever one pimple disappeared it made me think I am doing the right method.

All my skincare products in one photo, listed at the end of this post ↓

November 2018 I was finally fed up with my skin condition. I needed immediate remedy, so I looked up what to use for my oily, now dehydrated and sensitive skin full of impurities. Instead of following every single routine and suggestion by several influencers I found on the internet, I properly searched for what could be the best for my skin on medical or scientific sources. And I found some products people swear by. My aim was to find something that is going to help my skin, but also to be rather environmentally friendly. As I was not able to completely control the amount of trash the products are going to produce, I ended up looking into the ingredients to ensure that these products do not contain substances harmful to the environment. My skincare 3.0 was born.

Having so many breakouts is hindering my self-confidence to flourish, so I wear makeup. But I learned to use non-comedogenic foundations and primers, while using a good moisturizer and sunscreen beforehand. This has been a game changer, to be honest. Also acids are the second most important part of my skincare routine. I use different ones to help my skin get rid of dead cells and pollution, but to fight my impurities it is needed to use a beta hydroxy acid, aka salicylic acid. If you want to implement acids in your own skincare routine, please be careful. Always start with a low percentage as acids can harm your skin and worsen its appearance.

The color correcting treatment I use whenever I can leave out wearing foundation, plus my favorite sunscreen I yet have to buy in full size

There is such a thing called #60secondrule taking over social media platforms currently. It was created by the esthetician Nayamka and basically her YouTube video says to cleanse your face for at least 60 seconds to ensure the cleanser's ingredients are working perfectly and to let your skin get rid of filth, sebum and dead cells. I personally just now heard about it on instagram, but Nayamka posted the video on January 11th this year. Without knowing about the trend I have been applying a minute rule to my skincare. Not only do I try to cleanse thoroughly without using too harsh ingredients, I also have been waiting at least a minute after my different skincare steps dried before putting the next layer of skincare product on my skin. And I am sure this helped my skin, too.

Every now and then, when my skin is getting irritated and dry, I use a facial spray containing Copper Gluconate and Zinc Oxide to soothe the sensitivity and apply a polypeptide cream afterwards to help my skin avoid drying out too much. To make my skin look dewy without makeup I cleanse it with a jelly cleanser and spray an AHA and BHA toner all over my face and neck. I feel like this is minimizing the appearance of wrinkles and pores, but I do not have scientific proof on this, just my perception. The next step is to apply sunscreen and a green-ish beige tinted face cream to even out my skin tone, topping it off with a facial mist. I love using an aloe vera one containing rosewater, which is not depicted in the photo above. Though I heard that rose water can dry out your skin (I am sorry, I cannot provide a source for this claim), I use it to finish my look without spraying it on my bare skin. When I am out and about and need a little refreshment, I usually spritz a bit of my thermal spring water on my skin - bare or full of makeup, does not matter.

The hyaluronic acid hydrating primer (left), copper and zink repairing spray (middle) and AHA/BHA toner (right) I use

I make sure to take off my makeup, sunscreen, lotions, etc. in the evening. It's helpful to use an electrical face brush, but sometimes I just use my fingers and massage my skin. I apply salicylic acids onto new pimples and usually moisturize my skin during the night, too. 

In the past few months I was able to soothe my skin, as well as get rid of most of my impurities. I struggled a lot from pimples on my chin and I sensed a change when I started to leave out milk in my diet. Although I still eat meat and dairy products I was able to cut out milk completely. I am not sure if going fully vegan is do-able for me, but I already reduced my consumption of animal products and I replace meat with plant-based proteins from time to time. I know animal products are a huge contribution to the environmental issues we are facing at the moment, but even reducing your intake of meat and dairy, while avoiding cheap animal products and opt for better quality meaning better husbandry, have an impact on the ecology, as well as on the economy. As soon as companies learn that dairy or meat are not longer eaten regularly and every day, but maybe just once or twice a week, they will come up with vegetarian or vegan options to make money. That would mean animal product substitutes are going to decrease in price. But this is another story and I do not want to upset anyone over the fact how often they are eating non-vegan food. The only advice I want to give you: avoid milk if you are suffering from acne or breakouts. I know this might not be the solution to achieve flawless skin, but it is often an obstacle why you are still breaking out.

To cut a very long story short, these are my current holy grails (all bought by myself):

• Eveline Cosmetics - Hyaluron Clinic Intensive Hydrating Make-Up Base Primer 3in1 Hydrator
• Uriage - Bariéderm Drying-Repairing Cica-Spray with Cu-Zn
• Cosrx - AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner
• COOP+DAISY - Fresh Glow Jelly Cleanser
• Avene - Thermal Spring Water Spray
• Bioderma - Photoderm AKN Mat SPF 30
• The Ordinary - Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
• Dr.JART+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment
• Heliocare - 360° Gel Oil-free SPF 50
• Drunk Elephant - Protini™ Polypeptide Cream

Are you using any of these, too? Let me know in the comments what products you swear by and what products you are never going to touch again. I am looking forward to your recommendations. ☺

xxxx Aga