Update: The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA & La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA:

I tried The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA again. I thought I could add a lactic acid serum into my routine instead of a glycolic acid serum (when I want a chemical exfoliant that is more gentle on the skin). Lactic acid has always been one of favorites. It’s gentle, exfoliates, and moisturizes the skin. I have 2 bottles of this serum left that I could use. Let’s just try it out again? So I did. The serum comes in a 30 mL glass bottle with a dropper. I’m not a fan of products that come in this type of format. I try to avoid it as much as possible. I just don’t like it. Personal preference. So this serum was very easy to use. Just a few drops and that’s it. I love how the serum absorbs into the skin quickly and leaves the skin feeling like there’s nothing on it. But, unfortunately, I woke up the next morning with some hard sebum within my pores and some more closed comedones out of nowhere! Ugh! This was the only new product I used that night. I knew it was this serum causing breakouts right away. This experience was disheartening. I was hoping that it would work. It’s an affordable lactic acid product. I don’t remember it causing breakouts either. I could be wrong. I was using a ton of products at one point, haha. Once I noticed the breakouts, I stopped using the lactic acid serum and never looked back (at least not use it on my face ever again, it doesn’t work). Here are the ingredients in this product.

Aqua (Water), Lactic Acid, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Isoceteth-20, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethylhexylglycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol.

An ingredient or more than one ingredient in this product caused breakouts. I wonder if it’s the isoceteth-20? I remember using a serum with this ingredient. It gave me the same reaction. I developed hard sebum within my pores and closed comedones. My skin looked bumpy.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50:

I haven’t used La Roche-Posay Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50 consistently in a while. I’ve been using CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Face Sheer Tint as my main SPF. It’s been working for me even though it’s only SPF 30. Even though I’m using it, I do have some gripes on this (CeraVe) particular sunscreen. Since it works and doesn’t cause too many issues, I’m going to keep using it until it stops working. Whenever that is. But there are days where I reach for a higher SPF. That happens to be the La Roche-Posay Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50. This sunscreen is a lotion that feels soft and spreads ever so nicely across the skin. It blends in so well. It does leave a slight white cast on my skin, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I was able to finish at least 5 or 6 bottles of this sunscreen last year. I think I’m on my 6th or 7th bottle now. I can’t remember, but it’s around there. This mineral sunscreen is different from the ones I’ve used before. It’s moisturizing but helps to absorb excess sebum on the skin. When used on flaky, dry skin, it can accentuate the dryness. Also, that white cast that I mentioned, if you have a richer, deeper skin tone, I don’t recommend this sunscreen at all. You can give it a try if you want, but there is a noticeable white cast (considering how much sunscreen a person has to apply to get the full SPF labelled on the bottle plus reapplication). Even though the white cast didn’t bother me that much, I eventually moved on to a tinted mineral sunscreen instead. It’s less of a hassle, and I’ve had less issues with blending it into my skin when I’m in a rush in the morning.

I thought this sunscreen would become my HG sunscreen. I mean, I’ve used several bottles of it already. Sadly, lately, it hasn’t been working like it used to. The sunscreen still has all of the qualities it had before like having a nice texture and consistency that’s soft to touch, blending into the skin well, has a nice matte finish, high SPF, it’s a mineral sunscreen. But, I’ve been noticing breakouts every time I use it. Every time I use it, I have new acne. I always make sure I remove my sunscreen off thoroughly at the end of the day too. Why is it making me breakout now? Was it clogging my pores before? I wonder if it’s been clogging my pores this whole time! 🤔 It could be. I was using a bunch of products, so I couldn’t pin point what product/products were causing breakouts. This could be one of the products along with a bunch of others, lol. So after experiencing acne from this sunscreen, I immediately stopped using it on my face. I didn’t keep trying to make it work. I’m already using another sunscreen that isn’t causing acne (I hope, hahaha!). It was whatever to me at this point. I only have one bottle of the La Roche-Posay Mineral Sunscreen left, so it’s not that big of a deal. I’m already more than halfway through the bottle. I guess I’m back to searching for a higher SPF mineral sunscreen once again. It’s disappointing that this one didn’t work. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out! I thought it worked so well!! Ahh! Who knew! ha!

Follow me on my battle against closed comedones! ~ My Experience After 1 Week Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + Other Skin Care Updates

After My Break & Trying Out Exfoliants

I stopped using tret about 2 weeks ago. My skin healed within 4 days, but I wanted to play it safe and just leave my skin alone for a bit. My skin became really oily during the break. If I didn’t have oily skin that is prone to blemishes, I would just stick to a basic skin care routine. I could only wish. Knowing my skin, it just can’t. It needs more than a basic skin care routine. So after 1 week of taking a break, I decided to add a cleanser that contains salicylic acid (CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser) into my routine. I swapped my moisturizing facial cleanser for another facial cleanser that contains salicylic acid. I’m nearing 2 weeks on this facial cleanser! 🙃 It cleanses my skin and doesn’t dry my skin out! This cleanser feels moisturizing on my skin. I didn’t expect it to be this moisturizing. Maybe it’s because I have oily skin. It seems to work to cleanse and makes my skin feel good afterwards. No dryness or any irritation. But, I’m not sure if it’s doing anything for my acne. Since I didn’t notice an improvement in my acne using the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser, I started using other products to treat my acne.

Here are some products I tried out first…

Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant:

Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid has always been my to-go-to salicylic acid product. It contains 2% salicylic acid. I love that it’s a liquid too. It absorbs quickly into the skin, and I can use it twice a day without drying my skin out. Unfortunately, this product isn’t working like it used to. It helps to decrease some sebaceous filaments and some blackheads. I said SOME. Not most or all. My skin is still struggling with acne when using this product. I’ve been trying to get rid of closed comedones that have been lingering around for far too long. This bha product isn’t doing much. So far, I’m quite disappointed in the results. It’s been months using this bha product. I still have 2 bottles left, so I’m going to keep using it to finish it up. But, I most likely won’t purchase it again unless I notice a difference with it vs without it. I’m currently using it in the morning, 7 days a week. I know that’s a lot for some people. My skin is pretty sturdy, lol. I was using it twice a day, 7 days a week before I changed it to using it only in the morning. Not because it’s drying. It’s because I wanted to make room for other products. I didn’t see results using it twice a day either. The results were the same using it once a day.

Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum:

This is the first aha product that I decided to try again. It’s the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum. It contains 14% glycolic acid. I haven’t used a glycolic acid product in a while. I was pretty excited about it, haha. I chose the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum first because it’s the strongest aha product I have. And I have acne to demolish. 💥 This serum is more like a gel rather than a serum. It smooths over the skin nicely and leaves the skin feeling moisturized. Once it absorbs into the skin, it leaves the skin looking dewy, but it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy on the skin. I noticed some stinging upon application. It didn’t bother me. I was thinking, hey, at least I know it’s effective, haha. My results with the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum has been…not too bad. So, I guess it’s effective after all. I noticed some clogged pores unclogging, and my skin looking softer and smoother. I had a closed comedone on my upper lip for months. It’s finally out! This glycolic acid serum is pretty moisturizing too. This could make it back into my routine if it keeps on improving my skin!

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA:

I have a few bottles of The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA left. I decided to try it out again. This serum is more on the watery side compared to the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum. It actually feels like a serum. It absorbs into the skin faster and more efficiently. With this serum, also, I noticed a stinging sensation upon application. That stinging sensation disappeared after a few seconds. This serum felt moisturizing on the skin. I really love the way lactic acid makes my skin feel. Why did I ever stop using it?? I noticed a brighter, smoother, and a more even complexion after using it once. Compared to the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum, it feels so much stronger. Between the two, I’m leaning towards glycolic acid at the moment. It was nice to try out this lactic acid serum though.

The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA:

I haven’t used The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA in ages. I was searching for an exfoliant that could work better than salicylic acid. This one popped up. I wanted something that would work better for blackheads and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Mandelic acid is a popular choice. This serum felt thicker and more greasy in texture and consistency. It was oily. I didn’t enjoy using it, so I only used it once and never looked back. I didn’t notice any breakouts after the first try, but I can’t see myself using this serum on a daily basis to treat my acne. The texture of the product is just way too greasy and oily for day-to-day use. My experience with The Ordinary skin care products that have this type of texture is a no-go. It was nice to try out. It’s just not going work. My skin doesn’t like oily serums. I’m trying to eliminate my acne here, haha!

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution:

The last aha product that I tried this week was The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. You know, I’ve always loved liquid skin care products (like the Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid). This one was very easy to use and apply. I dispensed the solution onto a cotton pad and swiped my face all over! Easy-peasy! There was a stinging sensation that later on disappeared. No troubles there. Once the solution absorbs and settles into the skin. Wow, my complexion looked brighter and super glowy instantly! I was so amazed. I dropped all of my other exfoliating skin care products (except for the bha liquid) and decided to stick to this one. It’s a texture thing. The product is a liquid and it just sinks into the skin easily without leaving any sticky residue behind. It doesn’t feel greasy or oily either. Here’s another product where I catch myself asking why I stopped using it, lol. I’ve only used it once, but I’ll make an update next week.

What I’m Doing Now…

After this experience, the only product I’m going to continue on with is Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid (have to use a lightweight acne-fighting product in the morning, maybe it’s doing something if I keep using it? lol.) and The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution (a nighttime exfoliant and also helps with acne). I really love my liquid-based skin care products. Having oily skin, they just absorb and sink into my skin better. It makes it easier to apply other skin care products afterwards too. They’re also time-savers. I find them more effective too. My skin loves them! What else this week?? I started using tret again. It’s about time I get back into it! My skin condition now is so much better this time. I wonder if it’s the aha products. My skin transformed so quick after using them in a short period of time. My skin looks cleaner, clearer, and more glowy. It helped to unclog clogged pores too. Goodbye closed comedones! My jaw literally dropped after seeing immediate results from aha products. Along with the chosen exfoliants, I’ll be using tret. I’ve already started using it, and I’m trying to use it every day. So far, it’s going pretty well. I haven’t had any issues with redness or dryness using it daily. Hopefully it works out this time. Wish me luck!

Review: The Ordinary Products (What I’m Trying to Finish)

Here’s a list of The Ordinary skin care products I’m trying to finish. I’ve been trying to use them every night. I couldn’t use most of them during the day. The texture of most of these serums are too thick, heavy, and greasy on my skin. I started to get itchy from them too due to the oiliness of the serums. But I’ve been trying to purge these products from my life. But since I’ve been using them consistently, what are my thoughts on them now? Are they any good? Will I try them out again or just drop them from my routine? Keep reading to find out!

The Ordinary Pycnogenol 5%:

I remember when I first purchased this serum. I thought it would work well with my other antioxidants. The product advertised itself to recycle oxidized vitamin c. It’s supposed to help hydrate the skin and improve skin elasticity. Also, scavenge free radicals and so much more. When I was using vitamin c serums, my face was darker than the rest of my body. My facial skin was literally a pumpkin. 🎃 Who knows if the pycnogenol serum did anything to help recycle oxidized vitamin c. The overall formulation of this product is moisturizing, but it’s more on the greasy, heavy side. It didn’t help to rejuvenate my skin or improve skin elasticity. I didn’t notice any changes in my skin. Why did I purchase this again? lol. The bottle of the serum is tiny. It comes in a 0.5 fl. oz (50 mL) glass dropper bottle. It’s cute and all, but it’s not worth it for me. It did nothing for my skin. I’ve been using more than one drop (more than I usually use) to finish it up. Still, it’s taking forever to finish it. It lasts forever. I guess that’s a good thing if you’re interested in this product. I’m on my last bottle and can’t wait to be done with it!

Hylamide Booster Glow:

Before I begin, this product is a self-tanning serum. It contains a raspberry derived alternative instead of self-tanning ingredient DHA to build pigment in the skin. The purpose of this product is to give the skin some radiance, golden glow after 2-3 days of use. I made a mistake of purchasing this product thinking that it would help fade some acne marks and skin discolorations. It’s a self-tanning product, not a product to help fade acne marks or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The last time I used a self-tanning product was when I was a teenager. That was when it was all about having that bronze, glowing tanned skin for me. Since I’ve only used self-tanning products to get a tan, I think I saved my skin from UV damage over the years. Looking back, I’m pretty happy with most of my skin care decisions. haha. I said most, lol.

When I first opened this product, it smelled so bad. I almost vomited. The smell of the product just gives me headaches as I continued to use it. The smell lingers on the skin too. I haven’t used this on my face in months due to it having an awful smell. But also, I didn’t really like the results. The times I used it on my face, I took a few drops and pat the serum into my skin, twice a day. After a few days, I noticed some color in my skin. It really does add some pigment into the skin. Unfortunately, it made my skin extremely yellow (just like the color of the serum). I was expecting a more natural, less-yellowish hue to my skin. More like a light tan, bronze shade that I got from my past tanning products. I didn’t get those results from this product. I stopped using it. It takes some time for the color to fade, so my skin was just bright yellow for a while. I don’t remember how long it lasted, but I could clearly recall how yellow my face was. I’ve always liked the smell of tanning products but this one just stinks. 🤢

The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane:

I used to love squalane in products when I first started off with skin care. I was able to use them without clogging my pores. But it seems like pure 100% squalane does a number on my skin. The oil sits on top of my skin and doesn’t absorb as quickly. The product claims that this serum is a fast-absorbing oil-like serum. No, it didn’t absorb fast. It felt heavy and greasy on my skin. It saturates the top layer of my skin and just sits there. It just makes my skin appear more oily. It doesn’t hydrate or moisturize my skin either. Maybe oils are just not for me. This squalane oil serum didn’t work for me. I didn’t like the way it felt on my skin. I’ve been using it on my feet to get rid of it, lol. I can’t use it on my upper body. It sticks to everythinga and (once again) it doesn’t sink into the skin properly.

The Ordinary Amino Acids + B5:

One of The Ordinary products that feels like water. 💧 The purpose of this serum is to add hydration to the skin. The key ingredients are Betaine, Arginine, Panthenol, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, and PCA. It also contains other amino acids, to name a few, Valine, Proline, Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, and Threonine. The product is called ‘Amino Acids’ for a reason. It contains a bunch of amino acids in it. B5 or panthenol is a b vitamin. Panthenol is an ingredient that soothes, moisturizes, and strengthens the skin. I love skin care products with this ingredient. It’s non-irritating and leaves my skin in good condition. But, this serum didn’t live up to my expectations. As I mentioned, the serum feels like I’m applying water to my skin. It didn’t leave my skin feeling hydrated at all. I tried applying it once (didn’t hydrate my skin well) and applying layers of the product to my skin (no hydration or extra hydration, just wasted product). Honestly, I didn’t think this serum did anything special for my skin including something as basic as hydration. It absorbs into the skin quick, but I didn’t see any noticeable improvements in my skin. This serum was a waste of time and money. On my skin, at least.

The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane:

The purpose of this retinol product is to help with uneven skin tone, texture irregularities, signs of aging, and dryness. Bingo. That’s what retinol does for the skin. For me, even though this is advertised as high-strength retinol, I thought it was too gentle on my skin. I wasn’t able to use it for too long due to the other ingredients being incompatible with my skin type. I thought the texture and consistency of the serum was too oily. The first ingredient in this product is squalane. And I know that squalane won’t work on my skin if it’s the first ingredient or base of the serum. It also contains jojoba seed oil and tomato fruit extract. I wish the ingredients were even shorter for my acne-prone skin. This serum ended up breaking me out (not a purge). It clogged my pores, and my skin never improved using it due to the breakouts. I don’t think this is a terrible product. If your skin can handle the other ingredients besides retinol in this product, it could work for you. My skin didn’t like the overall formulation of this retinol product. So, as you can see, I’ve been using it on my body instead.

The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3%:

So the purpose of this serum is to help with dullness and target the signs of aging. I’m a fan of resveratrol and ferulic acid. And I was madly in love with this antioxidant serum for a while. I kept trying it over and over again. I even tried it on my face again not so long ago. I was hoping that it would work on my skin because it’s an affordable serum and contains resveratrol and ferulic acid. Nope, too bad, my skin rejected this serum. I started breaking out in acne out of nowhere. I didn’t have to use this serum for too long to develop breakouts. I think I’m finally over this serum. I don’t have the urge to use it on my facial skin anymore, lol. I love the active ingredients in it, but the overall formulation of the product is too heavy and greasy for my oily skin. It makes my skin even more greasy and shiny. So I’m glad I have finally detached myself from using it ever again (on my face). I thought about purchasing it for the skin on my body (haha!), but I can’t seem to get over how greasy it is. It’s official. I’m over it. It’s time to move on.

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2%:

Another product that I kept on going back to like the Resveratrol & Ferulic Acid is the Ascorbic Acid & Alpha Arbutin. The purpose of this serum is to even out the skin tone, combat signs of aging and dullness, and it’s also an antioxidant (woohoo vitamin c!!). I was in deep denial when I was using this serum (not the first time, lol). With this serum, I didn’t notice much brightening in my skin. I didn’t notice fading of acne marks or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation either. My skin actually turned orange. It made my face darker than the rest of my body. I just kept using it because it was affordable and contains vitamin c plus alpha arbutin. I didn’t think it was worth using anymore due to poor results. But also, the serum has a greasy, heavy feel to it (like a bunch of other The Ordinary skin care products). I was using it in combination with the Resveratrol & Ferulic Acid serum, and it was a huge disappointment. I can’t believe I stuck with it for years! This serum isn’t coming back to my routine. Once I’m done with it, it’s done.

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA:

I really love lactic acid. It’s one of my favorite aha products. It’s gentle, works to exfoliate the skin, leaves the skin looking glowy and smooth. It’s just amazing. I’ll choose it over glycolic acid any day. It simply works better on my skin with less irritation. So this lactic acid serum is a high-strength exfoliator that works to reveal smoother skin. It’s for uneven skin tone, texture irregularities, and skin dullness. All I needed was a few drops for the whole face, pat it into the skin, and that’s it! It absorbs pretty fast into the skin without leaving any sticky residue and doesn’t feel heavy or greasy on the skin. It’s not like the other The Ordinary serums that I’ve talked about. This one is lightweight and feels decent after application. I’ve used this product on and off over the years. The first time I used it was a mess. My skin was just terrible and nothing was working. Not even this lactic acid serum alone. I stopped using it for a while. I started using it again, and it seemed like it worked better on my skin this time around! I was shocked and excited at the same time. My skin was actually peeling like it’s supposed to when using a chemical exfoliator. Keep in mind that this is the 10% formula. It’s much stronger. If you’re not experienced with lactic acid, The Ordinary has the 5% formula. I haven’t tried the 5% yet. I’ve only used the 10%. I stopped using this product because I went on to use other products to treat my acne like salicylic acid. They seem to work better for my acne than lactic acid. So, in saying that, I would definitely give this serum a try again if it comes to it. That’s if my other acne products stop working. I’m currently using this product up right now because I don’t want to let it expire. It’ll be a waste.

The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%:

This product is advertised as a ‘non-injective’ solution for dynamic lines. It’s supposed to treat crow’s feet and signs of aging. Some say it’s ‘botox in a bottle’. The star ingredient in this product is Acetyl Hexapeptide-8. I don’t have major dynamic wrinkles, but the product did claim that it’ll help with signs of aging. I have some signs of aging that I could tackle or at least prevent. The serum is a watery liquid and very easy to use. It absorbs into the skin fast and leaves the skin feeling like there’s nothing on the skin. It felt like I was applying water to my skin. As for the results, I didn’t like what it did to my skin. I noticed my skin started to look droopy and saggy. Like, what, what’s going on? I stopped using it immediately, but that was after going through a more than a few bottles. ha! *sigh* My skin bounced back to what it was before using the product. Thank goodness! While using this serum, I would like to mention that my skin didn’t freeze or feel motionless. From my experience with this product, I won’t purchase again. Honestly, I don’t care much about it anymore. Just trying to finish up what I have now (not on my face).

The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA:

With The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%, I used the Matrixyl 10%. The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA is a skin-firming serum that targets fine lines and signs of aging. This product contains peptides, such as Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38. I’ve gone through several bottles of this serum too. I’m not sure if it did anything for my skin. In my mind, I was hoping that it did and will. 😁 It’s an affordable product that contains peptides. I stopped using this product on my face. My skin doesn’t like the texture of the serum. It’s a gel that blends into the skin well, but it seems to dry out my facial skin and irritates it to no end. After quitting this serum for months, maybe I should try it again? lol. Not on my face but the skin around my eyes. I have some fine lines that I want to get rid of or at least diminish. Hopefully it’ll help with the ‘signs of aging’ too. Why not? I still have it. I think this is the only serum I’ll make an update on soon! Counting down the days and look forward to a new review on The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% HA!!

I do have more products from The Ordinary that weren’t included on this list like The Ordinary EUK 134 0.1% and The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA. They’re on my list to finish up, but I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of products I’m using right now. 😮‍💨 I’ll get to them when I can. More reviews coming up soon!

My Acne Journey: 5 WEEKS IN!

Here are my 5th week results! 🙌🏻

At the beginning of the week, I started off with what I was doing before, which is using tret and lactic acid every other day. Turns out that was way too much for my skin. I couldn’t handle the dryness and peeling skin any longer. My skin looked terrible with sunscreen on. It would cling to every dry patch and flaky skin at every corner of my face. It just didn’t look good, and it was impossible for me to go through the day like that. I just can’t. I have to see and talk to people. lol. By the end of the week, I stopped using tret and lactic acid on my skin. I took a break. No exfoliants. Nothing. Just moisturizing my skin. My skin improved for once this week! It was peeling, looking softer and smoother, and just overall brighter! So yeah, there’s such a thing as over-exfoliating. 😬

Also, I ended up dropping some more skin care products from my routine. And guess what? My skin looked so much better without them. I think I may have been doing way too much. I wasn’t seeing results using a bunch of products either. Just a waste of time and money. My skin care routine has dialed down a ton, but I’m really liking it. It allows me to focus on letting my skin heal in its natural state (as much as possible) instead of having blobs of products on my face. I’ve also been trying to reapply sunscreen more often too. I did some updated reviews on Cetaphil mineral sunscreen products this week, don’t forget to check them out!

What I’m Using Right Now…

The sunscreen I’m still using is Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++ Clear. I also have it in White. The White version is horrid. Don’t buy it. It doesn’t blend well into the skin and leaves a very noticeable white cast on the skin. I guess some people might like that type of look. I didn’t. I thought it was atrocious. It just looked terrible on my skin. Like white face paint. lol. The texture and consistency of the sunscreen is just like the Clear, but it just leaves an obvious white cast behind, doesn’t blend into the skin well, and dries out the skin a lot more. I’m currently looking for a better sunscreen. I like Canmake, but it dries my skin out when I reapply. I do wear moisturizer underneath and my skin still dries out after applying and reapplying the sunscreen. It gives the skin a dewy look but also feels like plastic silicone on the skin. Well, on my skin it does, lol. Also, I want a sunscreen that is water-resistant. It’s summer and sunscreen comes off much more easily during this time of the year. Canmake isn’t water-resistant.

So I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this sunscreen. Maybe I’ll keep using it. All I know is that it’s the only sunscreen that I have that doesn’t break me out. It might work better on days when it’s less sunny and when I’m not outdoors often. Because when using this sunscreen, I noticed that my face became a little tanner than usual. Hmmmmm. 🤔 I’ll be on the search for another sunscreen in the meantime.

So what products did I remove from my skin care routine??

Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence:

It took me a while to see if I wanted to remove this product or not. Looking back, I used it for a few years, I think it’s been about 2-3 years already. Honestly, it hasn’t helped much with hydration. It hasn’t helped with fine lines and wrinkles either. I don’t think it really did anything significant. Absolutely nothing. So! I decided to stop using this product. I didn’t see the point anymore.

The Ordinary Amino Acids + B5:

Here’s to another serum that I saw ZERO results from. It’s not even hydrating. I don’t even know why I’m using it anymore. It’s pretty much a waste of time using it. It didn’t break me out or irritate my skin. It just felt like I was applying expensive water to my skin.

Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence:

I had a chance to try this essence again. It felt very lightweight and soothing on the skin. I didn’t use it long enough to see the full benefits of this product (if there’s any). I used it, stopped using it. I didn’t notice any breakouts this time. I didn’t think this essence was super moisturizing. It’s somewhat drying on the skin. I think I’m over it. Apparently I still have it, lol. That’s why I tried it again.

RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream:

I started using this cream last week but decided to stop using it. I know, it’s way too soon. But, this is another product that I don’t need. What’s the point in using it when I have other exfoliants and retinol/retinoid products? Also, I think it’s too moisturizing on my skin as well. I didn’t think it was working for me. FYI, I’ve used this product before in the past. I guess I stopped using it for a reason.

RoC Line Smoothing Daily Cleansing Pads:

I loved these cleansing pads, and they do work to cleanse the skin. I’ve been using them whenever my skin starts to peel. I think this is a good product, but it’s another product that I don’t necessarily need in my life. And I don’t feel like wasting my money on it anymore. I feel like the dead skin cells on my face comes off naturally as I continue to moisturize my skin and let it heal. I’m not into cleansing pads or even scrubs right now. It’s not my thing at the current moment, so I decided not to buy it again when I’m done with it.

That’s all I changed and have done this week. I spent the week mostly re-evaluating my sun care products and how I’m applying them (how often too). I’ve been eliminating skin care products from left to right too. My skin is still adjusting to tret after 5 weeks. In all honesty, I feel like this acne journey shifted from using tret to lactic acid. The results I’m getting from lactic acid have been amazzziiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnng! ✨

My Acne Experience:

My Acne Journey: 1 Week In…

My Acne Journey: 2 WEEKS!! 🙌🏻

My Acne Journey: 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 4 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 4 Weeks Results!

It’s been quite a journey! I honestly can’t believe it’s the 4th week! Time just flew by! After 3 weeks, my skin is nearly clear! I’m only dealing with some odd pimples here there. Nothing major like cystic acne. Now I’m just battling tiny pimples, blackheads/sebaceous filaments, acne marks, and this darn oily skin! My skin looks pretty soft and smooth overall! Everything is going well so far! Just need to kick some of the other issues out of the way or at least keep them at bay! After 4 weeks, I’ve made more changes! Here are my thoughts and my experience!

My 4th Week Experience

The 4th week was a breeze since I’ve decreased my use of tret. I didn’t experience red, irritating, burning skin this week. All went pretty well. I said I was going to use tret 2-3 times a week, but it turns out that I could use it every other day. My moisture barrier is healthy. It’s not burning or red. It looks really good! So! Tret has helped my acne by a ton, but I decided to add a couple of exfoliants in my routine. They are The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA and a glycolic acid product. I haven’t talked much about this glycolic acid product, but I will soon.

I chose The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA because lactic acid is one of my favorite alpha hydroxy acids. It’s gentle and has worked for me before in the past. I once had a lactic acid serum that was super elegant in texture and delivered results. Too bad it’s been discontinued. 😔 Since I’m using other The Ordinary skin care products that are working on my skin, I thought I would try The Ordinary’s lactic acid product (again, lol) too. I planned on using it 2 times a week, but my skin is tolerating it much better than I thought! What I’m doing is using it every other day along with tret. Now more on this lactic acid product that I’m speaking of!

Here’s my experience using The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA!

I didn’t know I wasn’t going to start using a lactic acid product. It just popped up out of the blue that I wanted to add one in. It’s because I’m not using tret every single day anymore, and my skin felt, looked really oily on the days off. My skin started to get clogged during those days off due to the amount of moisturizers I use plus how oily my skin is. I had to do something about it. With the lactic acid serum, I don’t apply it directly to my skin. Just not yet. I apply it after I apply my heaviest moisturizer. I know that’s sort of weird, but the lactic acid serum does a great job at absorbing excess oil from my skin and tames the shininess from the moisturizer I’m using. This also helps to prevent any skin irritation and breakouts from the excess oil. Amazingly this worked! I woke up the next morning with skin peeling off of my face in my acne-prone areas. I also had some new blemishes due to the exfoliation, but it’s doing exactly what tret does! I didn’t get any breakouts from the product itself either! Awesome!

The other product I’m using is RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream.

This product contains retinol, zinc gluconate, copper gluconate, shea butter, glycolic acid, ascorbic acid, and a bunch of other anti-aging ingredients. I’m only using this product 1-2 times a week. I tried using it separately from the lactic acid, but it didn’t yield good results. The product feels a little heavy on the skin and makes my skin appear oily. It’s a bit too moisturizing when applied to the skin on my particular skin type. It’s a little too much on my skin that’s all. That’s when I decided to use it in combination with lactic acid. Lactic acid is already gentle. My skin didn’t dry out from layering these two products together. I’m getting the benefits from the RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream and getting the exfoliation from the lactic acid at the same time. RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream helps to soften the skin. It exfoliates (sort of, haha) and makes my skin appear softer and smoother the next day. Honestly, I feel that it’s more moisturizing than exfoliating.

How about tret?

I’m still using it. Just not every single day (as I mentioned earlier). I don’t need to use it every day. I feel like using it every day doesn’t give me the results I like. It dries my skin out, leaves my skin feeling like it’s burning, and my skin feels and looks like it thins out when used too often. I prefer it when my skin appears more fuller and healthy rather than thin and gaunt. It’s really difficult to explain but more of tret doesn’t mean better or faster results. I’m just going to take tret for what it is right now. Maybe that’ll change in the next couple of weeks! But I’m really happy that I started to incorporate other products into my routine, especially lactic acid. It has done wonders for my skin in combination with tret within a single week. I could even say it’s helping a lot more with my acne than tret at the moment. My skin looks clearer and smoother after a day of using it! I’m really happy with the results so far! I can’t wait to see how much my skin will transform after the 5th week! SO EXCITED!! 🥳

Coming up! Week 5! 😃

If you missed out on my new acne/tret experience…

My Acne Journey: 1 Week In…

My Acne Journey: 2 WEEKS!! 🙌🏻

My Acne Journey: 3 Weeks Results!