My Skin Care Routine & How I Cleared My Skin

Comment
skin care routine

Here’s my new skin care routine!! 🙂

Face Wash: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance-Free

I’m almost done with my second bottle of the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance-Free. I’m not having any issues with it. I tried switching over to a benzoyl peroxide-based face wash. The benzoyl peroxide-based face wash did nothing for my skin. It didn’t clean my skin well and didn’t help with acne at all. It was such a waste. Here’s the benzoyl peroxide-based face wash I was using — PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash (4%). I’m better off just sticking to a leave-on benzoyl peroxide product. And that’s what I exactly did. So I’m going to keep using Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance-Free. It works on my skin. It doesn’t dry my skin out, moisturizes, and hasn’t caused any breakouts. Yay! It works! I’m moving on to my third bottle soon. I think I found the one.

Skin Treatments: Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment & Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10

I started using Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment two months ago. This was after I stopped using other skin care products on my skin. After switching to the Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment, I started seeing results within the first 2 WEEKS!! It helped to decrease sebum in my skin and reduce blemishes. This BP treatment absorbed so much faster and better compared to my Acne.org BP Treatment Gel that I was using for many years. I thought about purchasing the Acne.org BP Treatment Gel again but decided to try something new. I needed something quick. I ran to the store and picked up the Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment. So far, it’s been working very well. My skin stays clear when I use it. I stopped using it a few days and that resulted in my skin going back to extremely oily with a few blemishes. Once I start using it again, my acne vanishes. I’m trying my best to use it as often as I can. I’m currently using it mostly in the morning while I use something else at night…

At night, I use Clean & Clear Persa-Gel. I don’t really need to use Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment twice a day. I know it says AM treatment, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s just a benzoyl peroxide treatment product. As for Clean & Clear Persa-Gel, this product brings back so many memories! I’ve been using it for so many years. I guess it’s back! I use this product to treat stubborn areas like my nose (blackheads begone!) and any blemishes that pop up out of nowhere. The 10% is much stronger and more effective on very stubborn acne. With this combination of acne topicals, my skin is clear. I couldn’t believe it either. I’ve been struggling with acne for years now. I can actually look at my skin in the mirror now.

Sunscreen: Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 & La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100 & Altruist Sunscreen SPF 50

I’m currently using 3 sunscreens. It’s Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 (not pictured, I ran out), La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100, and Altruist Sunscreen SPF 50. Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40 works on my skin now, haha. It’s great since it’s silky smooth and easy to apply. It doesn’t burn my eyes and that’s awesome. La Roche-Posay SPF 100 is my favorite sunscreen right now. It’s moisturizing, hasn’t caused any breakouts, and the high SPF is much better for my complexion! I was still getting freckles when I was using SPF 30 and SPF 50. I decided to bump it up to SPF 100 and noticed that my skin feels and looks better. I like it a lot more EXCEPT for the fact that it burns my eyes. I only use it on my face. I have another sunscreen that I use around my eyes and that is Altruist Sunscreen SPF 50. I’m not a huge fan of using this sunscreen on my face. It’s greasy, causes acne, and makes my face look very shiny and oily. I only use it around my eyes and neck/body. I love that it’s high UVA. So those are the 3 sunscreens that work on my skin.

That’s all I use. I thought about adding at least a serum in, but I’m so afraid that it might cause breakouts. I am very acne-prone. I don’t want to make any changes that’ll revert my skin back to a field of acne. I’ll wait it out just a little bit more.

1 Month + 1 Week Using BP & Some Changes I Made This Week!

Comment

I started using taz again this week. I tried sticking to benzoyl peroxide only, but I drifted towards taz to help with oily skin and acne. Benzoyl peroxide worked, but it dried out my skin when used back-to-back. I thought I would give taz another chance before officially quitting. Here are my results this week using this combo!

Benzoyl peroxide has been helpful, but it’s not quite cutting it. It helps with oily skin and some breakouts, but my skin needed something more. And that would be taz? I guess? So I tried it out again. This week, I only used taz twice. The first two applications (not back-to-back) dried out my skin, and I noticed some purging/peeling. I hope it was just purging and not breakouts from something else! Well, my skin exploded in acne in my blemish-prone areas. They weren’t just tiny little pimples. They were hard, nodules underneath the skin. As the days went on, those pimples burst and left a mark behind. 🥺 I wish this wasn’t so, but that’s what happened. By the end of the week, my skin started to look better. A lot of the pimples that popped up decreased in size. By the looks of it, it seems like taz is helping with my acne. Maybe as much as benzoyl peroxide. We’ll have to see. It’s only been 1 week (2 applications). As for benzoyl peroxide, I’m still using it. I’m only using it as a spot treatment. If I have to use it as an all-over treatment, I will. It doesn’t seem like I need to use benzoyl peroxide as much anymore after adding taz. But, that’s the combination of acne products I’m using to treat my acne. Hopefully all goes well in the next upcoming weeks!

I also experimented with a few sunscreens this week. I didn’t purchase any new ones. I really don’t want to purchase a new sunscreen. I used whatever I had. Here’s my experience with sunscreen this week!

Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40:

This sunscreen feels amazingly soft, silky, and smooth on the skin. It works great as a makeup primer, but it didn’t work for my skin as I wanted. 😞 It clogged my pores. I could pick out hard sebum that sat in my pores. I loved the weightless feeling of this sunscreen, but it sucks that it breaks me out.

Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30:

I tried using Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30. I loved how it moisturized my skin, but it made my skin so oily. It’s not like what it used to be. I eventually stopped using it after experiencing oily skin that led to clogged pores. I only tried using this moisturizer with SPF indoors. My experience wearing this sunscreen outdoors in the past years was not good. My skin burned and freckled. But, keep in mind that this sunscreen has been discontinued. I’ll use the rest (one last bottle) as a body lotion or something.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100:

I started using this sunscreen at the end of the week. I’ll make an update next week! I hope it works!

Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++:

I started using the Canmake sunscreen too. Not outdoors. Only indoors. I still have it so why not use it? It’ll work for indoors for now.

Catch up on my experience right here!! 🙂

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

My Week 2 Results With Tret. Changes I’ve Made.

My Week 3 BP Results!

1 MONTH Results with BP!

1 MONTH Results with BP!

Comment
CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Sheer Tint

Last week, I didn’t use any acne treatments all-over. I paid the price for it. My skin went from dry and crusty to extremely oily. I developed breakouts from it. Once I stopped using taz or tret, my skin started to get better/heal. I’m thinking about quitting those products and just sticking to benzoyl peroxide (pm) and sunscreen (am) for now. I went back to using benzoyl peroxide all-over at the beginning of this week. I spot treated most of the week. On the last day, I started using benzoyl peroxide all-over. I thought I could spot treat most of the week only. I was wrong. I really need to apply benzoyl peroxide all-over for the full effect. When using benzoyl peroxide, I have less breakouts, skin is less oily, and my skin just looks overall better. I noticed improvements in my skin after the first all-over application! My skin didn’t dry out either. It just soaked up the excess oils and killed the bacteria. Yayyyyyyy! I’m still not using a moisturizer. My skin seems to not need it. Also, I’m not using salicylic acid anymore. It’s not working for me. It made my skin worse at the end. It could just be the product I was using too (Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant). It leaves an oily residue behind while absorbing excess sebum all at once. It’s weird. I’m going to try my best to move on from it, haha. Let’s see how this goes, lol. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m done with it. 🤔 Pretty sure…

I stopped using CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Sheer Tint and Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 this week too. I tried using La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50. I thought it was breaking me out at one point or many points, lol. Go here to check out my previous thoughts on it. I tried using this sunscreen most of the week. It didn’t cause breakouts like I thought it did. It must’ve been the CeraVe sunscreen. Darn it, I’ve been using it for so long and not realizing it was clogging my pores. I’ve officially stopped using it. There goes another sunscreen that doesn’t work. As for La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50, it worked OK for the first few applications then my skin became extremely dry. I could see dry patches on my skin. It accentuated so much dry skin that I had to stop using it every day. It’s not going to work if it makes my skin look like shit. I need a more moisturizing sunscreen that doesn’t break me out. I tried using Altruist Sunscreen SPF 50 again, haha! I feel like I’m never going to let this sunscreen go. It worked well the first day. After using it again for the second time, my skin started to feel clogged. It made my skin look super shiny and more oily during the day. Felt sticky on the skin. Whatever, maybe this is the last time. My experience with it lasted for 2 days this time. Good to know that it doesn’t work (again, lol).

After 1 month, my skin is almost clear. I only have a few stubborn areas of my face with pimples. It’s mostly my chin and mouth area. Probably hormonal too. I ended up with at least 3 nodules right for my period. Ugh, they took forever to go away and left dark acne marks behind. I’m not using anything to treat the pigmentation. I just don’t want to use any new product right now and ruin my skin. So, it’s just sunscreen (not sure what works yet 😭😭😭), face wash, and benzoyl peroxide. Oh, and that vitamin c serum which has helped brighten my under eyes. It’s so silky smooth! By the looks of my skin condition, I’m pretty sure the less products I use, the better my skin gets. I just need to find a new sunscreen. Something that’s lightweight, non-greasy, doesn’t clog my pores, and dries quickly into the skin. Looking back at all of the sunscreens I’ve used, the only one that worked for me was Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30. It’s not even a sunscreen product. It’s a moisturizer with SPF. By the way, it’s been discontinued for some time now. I only have one bottle left that hasn’t expired yet. I better get going and use it up real soon before it does.

What’s happening? Check out the links below!

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

My Week 2 Results With Tret. Changes I’ve Made.

My Week 3 BP Results!

More December Skin Care Empties! 🥳

Comment
Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream

I didn’t expect to finish more skin care items after posting my December Skin Care Empties. Here’s more!

RoC Multi Correxion Hydrate + Plump Eye Cream:

I have 2 tubes of the RoC Multi Correxion Hydrate + Plump Eye Cream left. I finished one this month. I stopped using it on my eyes a while ago due to skin irritation and burning. It made my eyes look super swollen. Since I’m trying to use it up, I’ve been using it on my body. I haven’t had any issues with using it on my body. It’s such a waste using this product like this. This is supposed to be an eye cream. Who wants to use a 0.5 fl. oz. (15 mL) product on their body? Definitely not a product I would purchase again. Don’t waste your money.

Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40:

I really liked the texture and consistency of this sunscreen. It’s soft, soothing, and moisturizing on the skin. It’s full of silicones, lol. Yeah, the silicone texture was way too much for my skin. But, the sunscreen was super easy to apply and blend into the skin. It smooths over the skin and vanishes nicely. It’s clear and doesn’t leave any cast behind. It works great as a makeup primer too. It makes the skin appear softer and blurs a few imperfections here and there. Also, it’s broad spectrum and SPF 40. I finished my last bottle of the Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40. Will I purchase it again? With this sunscreen, sometimes it breaks me out, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m not sure if I’ll buy it again. Maybe if I’m at Trader Joe’s and shopping for groceries. It’s not a bad sunscreen product, to be honest.

Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream:

I finished a jar of Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream this month. I stopped using this face cream on my face so long ago that I don’t remember when. So this is a heavier cream made for the facial skin. I used this face cream for quite some time. I eventually stopped using it due to it clogging my pores. It’s just too heavy for my facial skin and didn’t do much for my skin. My skin never felt truly moisturized. It felt heavy and cakey on the skin. I didn’t see improvements in my skin while using it. I just stuck to it for so long because I needed a moisturizer and couldn’t find one that’ suitable for my skin type. Many times, I thought it worked on my skin. It just didn’t after plenty attempts. I have 2 jars of this face cream left and am trying to finish it up. I know for sure that I won’t repurchase again. Out it goes!

Melano CC Vitamin C Essence:

Finally, another tube of Melano CC Vitamin C Essence down! I think I have 4 more left! 😭 I’ve tried using this essence on my face so many times that I gave up. It just doesn’t work for my skin type. It doesn’t brighten my skin like I thought it did. I used it then stopped using it. There was no difference in my skin before and after. I haven’t noticed a reduction in acne marks or evening of the skin tone when using it. I never liked the oily, grimy texture that it leaves behind either. It leaves a matte finish, but there’s some odd residue texture thing going on after application. I need to find a new vitamin c product. This one isn’t working for me.

For more skin care empties…

August Skin Care Empties! 🧴

September Skin Care Empties 😎

November Skin Care Empties 🦃

December Skin Care Empties 🎄

Review: Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40

Comment

I picked up a box of Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 over the weekend. I’ve been searching for a new sunscreen that’s more affordable and convenient to purchase. I haven’t purchased a new skin care item in so long. I made an exception for SPFs, since I go through bottles of this stuff very quick. So this sunscreen is supposedly a dupe of the Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40. I haven’t used the Supergoop before, but I’ve seen it. I’ve never had the urge to buy it. The Supergoop is $36 for 1.7 fl. oz. (50 mL) of product. That’s way too much for a sunscreen for me. The amount of sunscreen I use in a day…that would eat my wallet up so fast! IMO, it’s just not worth it. Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 is $8.99 for 1.7 fl. oz. (50 mL). It’s way much less expensive compared to Supergoop at the same size. I can see what the fuss is about! Similar product and better price, why not?! Let’s try it out!

The product comes in a pretty tannish color (box and tube). The tube is sealed (see photo). That’s awesome. I love products that are sealed, so I know it’s new, unopened. The product itself smells like plastic vinyl. Looking at the ingredients, I’m not shocked. The first three ingredients are isododecane, dimethicone crosspolymer, and polymethylsilsesquioxane. They’re silicones. Here’s the full ingredient list if you’re interested:

Active Ingredients: Avobenzone 3%, Homosalate 12%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 6%

Inactive ingredients: Isododecane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Polyester-7, Isohexadecane, Jojoba Esters, Silica, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tocopherol.

The ingredients are short and simple. It’s a chemical sunscreen. It’s oil-free, invisible gel formula, fragrance-free, water and sweat-resistant (40 minutes), and has a broad spectrum of SPF 40. That sounds really nice, especially the sunscreen being an invisible gel formula and is water/sweat-resistant. I’ve been trying to find a sunscreen that is invisible on the skin (no white cast) and stays on the skin well. This could be the one if it works.

The product claims to be fragrance-free. In fact, it is. But I’m able to pick up smells easily. This sunscreen smells too plastic and too chemical-like to me. In saying that, I would be able to let this aspect of the product go if the sunscreen actually works on my skin. The product when dispensed is a gel. It looks and feels like a primer (if you have used any of those). That’s exactly what it felt like on my skin. It’s soft, smooth, silky, and glides over the skin nicely. Blends into the skin without leaving a white cast behind. The sunscreen simply just vanishes into the skin. It’s truly invisible. It settles into the skin comfortably. It has a smoothing effect on the skin. My skin looked pretty good with this sunscreen on. It makes a good makeup base too due to it being a primer as well. I loved how it felt on the skin and how it looked on my skin. All was well…until…

Unfortunately, I had issues with this sunscreen. I noticed breakouts after using it the first day. I developed some closed comedones in random places. Also, I wasn’t able to use this sunscreen around my eyes. The product burned my eyes and made me teary. The smell of this product is irritating on my skin (face only). I’m able to use it on other parts of my body without any issues. I think it’s because it’s a chemical sunscreen. The sunscreens I’m using on my face right now are hybrid and physical sunscreens. They seem to work better for my eyes that get irritated and red easily. Even though I like how convenient this product is, meaning that I can go to Trader Joe’s to pick it up when I’m shopping for other essentials. It’s not something I would repurchase again. It didn’t work on my skin that is oily and acne-prone.

This is what the sunscreen looks like. It looks and feels like a typical makeup primer.

A quick recap on my thoughts. 🙂

✅ Pros

❌ Cons

Those are my thoughts on Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40. I hope this was helpful! Have a nice day! 😊

© xfurbeauty