CURRENT SKIN CARE ROUTINE 2019
Hello darling, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Welcome back to wonderland in the NEW YEAR of 2019! I hope you all had a wonderful, fun and safe new year’s celebration, along with making some resolutions to stick to for the best year yet and striving towards living your healthiest life!
In today’s post, I’m sharing my tried and true skin-care products and routine! I mainly use gentle and affordable skincare products that are not only effective, but is an affordable routine for just about everyone to start taking care of their skin!
Most of my skincare products, you can find at the drugstore and even can find for cheaper with store sales and coupons! Let’s dive into my skincare routine, and favorite products that will transform your skin for the better!
Oil-Cleansing Method
You may have heard the oil cleansing method, using an oil based cleanser that removes oil and debris from the face, but is this safe solution to remove dirt, oil and makeup on acne-prone skin?
Personally, I find that cleansing oils are gentle and hydrating to skin rather than the harsh ingredients that strip skin of natural oils from the surfactants and detergents found in most face washes. Using a cleansing oil can be hydrating and soothing to the skin, therefore being more effective and less irritating when removing sunscreen and makeup, especially sensitive areas around the eyes.
I personally like to use both, a cleansing oil and a hydrating cleanser at night to remove all traces of dirt, grime and makeup on my skin; therefore enhancing the effectiveness of the active ingredients and treatments I use in this skincare routine!
Favorite Cleansing Oil
Gentle Cleansers
It’s important to find a cleanser that can remove sunscreen, makeup, pollution and other debris from skin, but it’s even more important to find a gentle formula that cleanses the skin without disrupting the skin’s natural protective barrier and doesn’t strip natural moisture from skin.
I LOVE Cerave’s cleansers because they’re gently formulated to cleanse skin, but offer skin barrier protective ingredients such as ceramides, which restore the skin barrier, along with hyaluronic acid which are water attracting molecules that lock in hydration and moisture from underneath skin’s surface.
Another important factor along with using gently formulated skin care products, is using non-irritating ingredients on skin such as some questionable plant extracts, fragrance, or essential oils that disrupt the skin’s protective barrier.
Favorite Cleansers
CeraVe Salicylic Acid Cleanser
Moisturizers
After I’ve cleansed my skin, I always follow up with an essence, serum, and moisturizer that I apply directly on wet skin to lock in and seal moisturizing and active ingredients to restore the skin barrier, that is disrupted when cleansing the skin. I regularly use lotions and moisturizers as part of my skin care regimen, but it’s important to use a thick cream to lock in hydration and restore moisture back into skin.
I choose lotions with plenty of skin restoring ingredients, such as ceramides, vitamins, and antioxidants that increase hydration and restore health back into skin by fighting free radical damage that causes premature wrinkles and aging.
The most important time to moisturize skin is after showering, shaving, or exfoliating the skin. Moisturizing after the shower is extremely important as water strips moisture and oils out of skin, leaving skin feeling parched, dry and prone to trans-epidermal water loss (evaporation of water from skin).
Types of Moisturizers
Emollients
These ingredients sink into the skin’s broken protein links and dry crevices on the surface of skin. These ingredients alone don’t do much to hydrate the skin, but are more of crutches for skin when there isn’t enough moisture supply.
Occlusives
Unlike emollients, occlusive ingredients don’t sink into skin but rather lay on top of the surface, creating a protective film preventing water from evaporating from the epidermis – commonly known as trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) – the process in which skin loses its moisture and water content.
Humectants
These ingredients also prevent trans-epidermal water loss, but rather than sealing the surface of skin to block water from evaporating, humectants bind water to its surface which it draws from the environment and underlying dermis (deeper layers of skin). It keeps the skin hydrated by slowing the rate at which water evaporates from the skin’s surface.
Favorite Face Moisturizers
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
Favorite Body Moisturizers
Naturewell Extra Virgin Coconut Oil Moisturizing Cream
| CeraVe Healing Ointment (Occlusive) |
Essence & Toners
Gentle skin around the face, neck and chest shed skin cells more rapidly than other parts of the body and therefore need more moisture to repair itself from free radical damage, allowing for younger skin cells to regenerate for a visibly brighter, more youthful appearance to skin.
Serums and essences are very similar and if anything, they differ in texture; Serums are gooier and more concentrated, while essences are watered-down with a more fluid texture (ex. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence). However, I believe it’s mostly a difference in marketing.
An essence is a concentrated formula of active ingredients that targets free radical damage, premature aging, and uneven skin tone. I currently use a Korean essence, which contains active ingredients that optimize skin’s natural cell turnover and regeneration. The main ingredient in these essences is yeast, which help to restore vital balance by promoting skin’s natural 28-day surface renewal process. With regular use of essences and toners, skin is revitalized, smooth and brightened over time.
Essences have a variety in consistency. For my face, neck and chest, I prefer liquid to gel type of consistency. I also like using an essence for spot treatments, such as a very concentrated gel-like formula that concentrates treatments in specific areas.
The Korean Beauty routine is all about gently tapping the skin rather than rubbing skin when applying products on the face and recommend that tapping products into skin enhances the absorption of the active ingredients.
Favorite Essences/Toners
MISSHA Time Revolution Essence
HADALABO Gokujun Hyaluronic Lotion
Chemical Exfoliants
Our skin naturally exfoliates dead skin cells every day, but over time this shedding process slows down; The result includes dull, dry, or flaky skin; clogged, enlarged pores, wrinkles, loss of firmness, and uneven skin tone. Gently exfoliating skin reveals the beautiful, soft, hydrated skin hiding beneath.
There are two different types of chemical exfoliants, beta-hydroxy acids (BHA) and alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA), which can be combined to work together, diminishing various skin concerns and problems over time. BHA is popularly referred as salicylic acid and AHA’s such as glycolic acid and lactic acid.
AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids, e.g. glycolic and lactic acids) and BHA (beta hydroxy/salicylic acid) act to “unglue” the bonds holding dull, dead skin on the surface. Once those bonds are broken – gently and evenly – skin naturally sheds.
Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) are small molecules that penetrate the top layer of skin to dissolve and slough away dead skin cells. AHA exfoliants have been shown to increase cell regeneration, generating new skin cells, revealing younger, brighter, and more evenly toned skin.
Beta-hydroxy acids (BHA) works this same way by dislodging dirt and grime deep inside pore preventing blemishes and acne. BHA is an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial ingredient commonly used in acne products and treatments, and is extremely beneficial in clearing acne.
Favorite Chemical Exfoliants
Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum
Serums + Skin Treatments
A serum is a skincare product you can apply to your skin after cleansing but before moisturizing with the intent of delivering powerful ingredients directly into the skin and is particularly suited for these tasks because they contain smaller molecules that penetrate deep into the skin and deliver high concentrations of antioxidants and active ingredients.
Ignore all of the marketing claims on the packaging and look at the ingredient list with skin beneficial ingredients like niacinamide (improves skin brightness, elasticity, increases ceramide levels in skin), vitamin C (increases collagen production, enhances skin’s repair process, and reduces inflammation), retinol (also an antioxidant, increases collagen production and reduces inflammation), vitamin E (an antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative damage), glycolic acid (gently exfoliates and lightens discoloration), hyaluronic acid (retains skin moisture), and antioxidants like green tea extract, resveratrol, ferulic acid. These ingredients combat free radicals, increase effectiveness of sunscreen by day, and promote cellular repair and healing by night
Favorite Serums
MISSHA Time Revolution Essence
Missha Time Revolution Night Repair
Missha Super Aqua Ultra Water-full Intensive Serum
Special Treatments in my Routine
Differin ( OTC Retinoic Acid, Adapalene .1%)
Differin (Adapalene) is the only retinoid available over the counter, and is similar to the ingredients that are derived from vitamin A (which is only available through a prescription) but has a slightly different chemical makeup that makes it less irritating.
Tretinoin ( vitamin A) **Only Available with Prescription**
Retinol is an ingredient derived from vitamin A, an anti-aging powerhouse only available in prescription Vitamin A creams. Prescriptions such as Retin-A or Tretinoin cream is a stronger version of retinol you will find in over the counter products.
Vitamin A has a tiny molecular structure that gets into the deep, lower layers of skin, where it finds and repairs collagen and elastin. Retinol has been proven to improve hyperpigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, uneven skin texture, skin tone and color, and increases your skin’s hydration levels.
Hydroquinone
Products containing hydroquinone are typically called bleaching creams or lightening agents. These skin care products are used to lighten hyperpigmentation, such as age spots and dark spots. Over-the-counter skin care products contain as high of a 2% concentration, but your doctor can prescribe a cream with a higher concentration of hydroquinone if your skin doesn’t respond to over-the-counter treatments.
Dual Action Skin Lightener, 2% Hydroquinone & 10% Gycolic AHA