My Skin Care Journey + Simplified Beginner Tips

"Healthy skin only enhances your glow from within"

Chapter 1 - Beginning of my Acne | bumps, scars, dark spots + discoloration

For the longest time ever since I was in high-school I have struggled with my skin. If only I documented my progression and journey with pictures so I'll settle for a story time with all of my details. I first started developing heavy acne when I was 15. I had bumps, scars and dark spots all over my cheeks and my most sensitive breakout areas were my forehead and my chin. The type of skin that I have is oily skin which I found so irritating because I would always look super shiny and sweaty like I just ran a marathon. I went to a dermatologist who prescribed me with Tretinoin which is a cream that treated my acne and cleared my dark spots and sun damage. I was on this cream for about 2 years and by the time I was 17 my face cleared up with the acceptation of casual breakouts here and there.Things were steady that way for a few years and I would still use the Tretinoin cream when needed. Even though my face was clear from the bumps and dark spots I still had minor discoloration and redness mostly around the nose and chin area.

Chapter 2 - My Skin Texture

As time progressed my oily skin just did not want to be my friend. Because I had so much natural oil on my face, this caused me to have lots of little oil bumps called Milia. From what I've learned these bumps appear when your pores are clogged and oil becomes trapped under the skin. These bumps do not have a white or black head or a coloration. They are hard to see if you are not looking too close but when you are you can see the bumpy texture. This was my next greatest struggle because even though my skin was now clear from all the bumps and dark acne scarring, the texture of my face was rough to the touch instead of smooth. I had these Milia bumps all over my cheeks and under my neck. Most of the time Milia is very easy to pop but take it from me as tempting as it is, do not do it! Once you pop them, even more will grow back. For me the Tretinoin was not helping me with that so I dabbled into Curology. This was what helped me even my texture.

Curology is a skin care company that does personal consultations online and develops personalized treatment plans for your needs. You simply take a skin care quiz on their website and submit pictures of your skin and a dermatologist will assess you based on your answers and what they see. I would highly recommend this because of how simple and convenient the whole process is. It is a super quick and easy and you get your own personalized sample size to try for free! I highly recommend!

Find more information on their website: https://curology.com

Chapter 3 - Finding the Essentials

Searching for the right skin care products can get very overwhelming especially when there are so many options out there to consider. I used to think that I needed one of everything there was. Although it can get distracting seeing what other people are using especially from celebrities to people on social media, try to stay focused specifically on your needs for your certain skin type only (oily, dry, mixed, sensitive). Not every product out there positively treats everyone the same.

To start simple, all you really need is the essentials which are:

- a good cleanser

- a good moisturizer

- sun screen with SPF of at least 15+

My dermatologist told me that when looking for skin care products I should always make sure to look for things that are"non-comedogenic." This simply means that the product does not contain anything that will block or clog your pores.

Simple breakdown of what to look for when shopping for a cleanser, moisturizer + sunscreen:

Facial cleanser

When looking for a good facial cleanser look for something that is non-comedogenic, has nicinamide which calms the skin and something that is preferably fragrance free to help avoid irritation.

Moisturizer

When looking for a good moisturizer look for something that has hyaluronic acid and dimethicone. Hyaluronic acid helps heal scars quicker, provides lots of hydration and helps the skin look more radiant. Dimethicone helps with long lasting smooth skin especially for those rough and dry areas.

Sunscreen

When looking for a good sunscreen make sure it is SPF of at least 15 or higher to have the right amount of protection, is water resistant (does not mean waterproof, you would still have to reapply) and has a broad spectrum coverage that will protect your skin from UVA and UVB rays. UVA has to do with skin aging and UVB has to do with skin burning. Wearing sunscreen when you have acne prone skin is very crucial because the sun's rays are more likely to cause hyperpigmentation, can cause your acne scars to get darker making them harder to fade away and you can also risk the increase of having more breakouts that could enhance the gunk or dirt underneath your skin.

My Essential Products that have been working out for me recommended by my dermatologist:

*find with attached links*

Facial Cleanser - Cerevae foam wash

Moisturizer - Neutrogena Hydro-Boost water gel, occasion switch offs from Cerevae Day moisturizer and Cerevae Night moisturizer

Sunscreen - Hero cosmetics force shield or Hero serum stick (for easier application).

Extra's

If you would like to take your skin care routine up a notch I recommended trying out a Vitamin C serum, Eye Cream, Lip Mask or other treatment serums based on your needs.

The main benefit for a Vitamin C serum is to strengthen your collagen and brighten your complexion. The main benefits for Eye Cream is to treat dark circles, reduce eye bags and puffiness. Lip masks are extremely beneficial to mostly wear overnight because it will provide longer lasting moisturizer and hydration for a new day the next morning. Lastly the serums that I am using for my personal needs are all from The Ordinary brand.

It never hurts to have extra hydration so I use their Hyaluronic Acid serum, the Niacinamide serum to help the appearance of my blemishes and their Retinol serum to help whenever my skin gets congested with my Milia struggles.

Extra Products that I have been using:

Vitamin C serum - Derma-E

Eye cream - Cerevae eye repair

Extra treatment serums - The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid, The Ordinary Retinol, The Ordinary Niacinamide

Lip balm mask - Burtsbees overnight intense lip treatment

Lip

Chapter 4 - Maintaining a routine

The key to taking good care of your skin is to keep up with a good routine. If you want to have the best results, just like with anything you must stay consistent. Keep in mind to not over wash and over cleanse your skin. Extra washing, cleansing or even more product application is unnecessary. Keep the mindset of simplicity. You only need two routines; one in the morning and one at night and you only need a little bit of any product that you have. A little goes a long way.

Tips for reducing breakouts (from personal experience + current bad habits)

- Have a separate towel for your face only

- Do not wipe your face with your body towel

- Change your pillow cases (1-2 weeks max)

- Do not touch your face

- Refrain from eating at night

- Get enough sleep

- Reduce your stress levels

- DRINK LOTS OF WATER!

One's skin care journey can be exhausting and discouraging a lot of the time because under understably, poor skin affects our confidence. However it is really a matter of loving yourself regardless, learning how to be kind to yourself and having more self compassion when things aren't going right in order to be able to make the choice to show up and make a healthy, positive change.

Whether it is making that dermatologist appointment to getting a facial, investing in different skin care products, I say it is all worth it. Choose investing in skin care over makeup. I reached a point in my journey where I just wanted to give up so I chose getting the best makeup focusing too much on coverage when really I should have been focusing on my skin. If you are in to makeup, makeup should be your secondary focus. It will look so much more natural and smoother on top of healthy skin. With enough patience and effort it will get better! Remember you are only as beautiful on the outside as your are underneath!

*DISCLAIMER*

Aside from all of the information I just provided, this is just my experience. Therefore I am not saying that whatever has worked for me will also work for you. If you share similarities to anything I have mentioned such as skin type, personal struggles, or trials of the same products I am more than happy to relate and help if I can. I still consider myself as a beginner in skin care so I am not an expert by any means. I have learned a lot from my personal dermatologist over the years since I've started having acne and I have also spent a lot of time doing my own research. I am still learning and testing out my products and routines as I go, as well as switching up my habits. I am open to any suggestions and other tips from professionals, anyone of knowledge or any personal inputs.