So, without further ado, let's get into my new skin care routine!
The Products:
I've been using Clean and Clear Daily Soothing Acne Cleanser. Not all salicylic acid cleansers are created equally--they vary from about .5% to 2% in strength (at least the over the counter ones do--prescription products may be stronger). I opted for this product because it's 2% but claims to be gentle on the skin. I like that it's a foaming cleanser, and I started out by using it morning and night. I have since cut back to only using it at night, and I use a gentle cleanser with no acne fighting ingredients from Aveeno in the mornings.
I let the toner dry, then apply my eye cream as usual. The next step is moisturizer, and I've been using this one with .5% salicylic acid (the Target brand of the Clean and Clear Essentials Dual Action Moisturizer).
I've only been using these products for one month, and my skin has definitely improved. After about a week, my skin felt more dry, and I also noticed flaking. I expected this to happen, as the salicylic acid helps skin cell turnover (the flaking comes from the ingredient working to slough off dead skin cells). This makes it an effective acne treatment because you won't have as many dead skin cells clogging your pores. However, you still need to exfoliate. Twice/week, I swap out the Clean and Clear cleanser for a gentle exfoliant at night (I use the Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Scrub).
If you already have drier skin, I would recommend only using all these products once/day. You may also want to add something more moisturizing on top of the salicylic acid moisturizer. Also, if you're going to be out in the sun, make sure you use sunscreen on your face. I haven't been, but come summer, I'll be using a sunscreen over the moisturizer
The fact that I've also not been wearing makeup as often is worth mentioning. I have basically stopped wearing liquid foundation (something I used to wear daily) except for special occasions or if I want my skin to look especially flawless. Instead, I've been going with a naked face whenever I can to let my skin breathe (which is hard when you want to cover up your acne!). When I still want some color on my face, I use a BB cream or a primer with light powder foundation over it (I recently re-discovered an old love, the Bare Minerals SPF 15 Foundation). I like this product because it makes your skin look healthy and provides coverage--plus, it doesn't have all the heavy ingredients my liquid foundations have. I plan on continuing with this routine and going light-handed with products on my face, and with any hope, I'll have clear skin one day! To any of you out there going through the same thing, I hope this was helpful. Thanks so much for reading!
xoxo,
CC