Updated Skin Care Routine! Only 4 Products!!

My new routine…

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

I’ve thought about switching face washes since forever. But I’m still using the same face wash. I haven’t had any issues with it yet. I guess I’m going to stick with it. It’s a gel-type, foamy, non-drying face wash that gently removes excess sebum from my skin. It doesn’t strip my skin. It’s also affordable. I love that it has a fragrance-free version.

Skin Treatments: Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment & Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid

Benzoyl peroxide is still a part of my skin care routine. It’s an awesome acne treatment. If it weren’t for benzoyl peroxide, my skin would be a mess right now. I think it’s a huge part of my skin care routine. Helped tremendously with my acnegenic skin. I use it as much as I need to, especially to keep my oily skin at bay to prevent new breakouts or diminishing existing breakouts at a faster pace. The best over the counter benzoyl peroxide I have used so far! It absorbs into the skin quick for mornings!

Another acne product I started using is Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid. When I started using this product again, my skin broke out a bit in my blemish-prone areas. After breaking out, my skin cleared up. It didn’t take too long for my skin to adjust since my acne issues were very few. I like using this salicylic acid product to decrease sebum and clear up difficult to treat areas of my skin. Just like benzoyl peroxide, I use it as often as I need it. Sometimes, I even use it at the same time as benzoyl peroxide. I haven’t had any issues with dry skin. My skin is tolerating both pretty well.

Sunscreen: Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30

I have purged chemical-based sunscreens from my routine. I stopped using Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 for a while. I started using it again and actually finished a bottle of this stuff recently. It seems to work when I use benzoyl peroxide underneath it. I haven’t experienced major breakouts compared to my experience before. Maybe it might work. I know it’s only SPF 30, but I’m using whatever SPF that works on my skin for the time being. With this sunscreen, I also noticed that it feels moisturizing on the skin, but it doesn’t truly moisturize the skin compared to what I was using before (La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100). La Roche Posay SPF 100 moisturized my skin upon application and afterwards. My skin was left feeling soft. With Vanicream Mineral SPF 30, my skin doesn’t feel moisturized whatsoever. The product is shiny on my skin, but it’s terrible at keeping my skin feeling nice, soft, and moisturized. But I’ll keep using it since I can’t find another mineral sunscreen that is suitable for my skin at the moment. This is it for now, haha. We’ll see how it goes.

That’s all I’m using to maintain healthy acne-free skin. 🙂 I’m keeping my skin care routine to a minimum. My skin prefers a minimalistic approach.

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!

My Acne Journey: 4 Months + 1 Week Results.

It’s been 4 months & 1 week on this acne journey… 😌 This is what happened this week. 😊

I tried some products again… 😬

I tried some products again that I stopped using this week. Since my skin is more maintained now, I thought I would give a few antioxidants a try again. I picked The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3% and vitamin c powder. The first night of using The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3% and vitamin c powder (mixed together) went well. I only used 2 drops of the serum and a pinch of vitamin c powder, so it wasn’t a lot of product. I mixed it in with my moisturizer. Both antioxidants mixed well with my moisturizer. The next morning, I woke up with a slightly more moisturized skin. My skin looked nice but nothing amazing. It was only one night of using it. That same morning, I tried the same method. By night, my skin felt so greasy and very dry at the same time. I noticed some parts of my face was clogged too. I noticed some blackheads, and my face looked darker/orange. Hmmm, is the serum clogging my pores and vitamin c drying my skin out and oxidizing on my face?! At first the mixture made my skin feel more moisturized. All of a sudden, my skin just dried out and looked darker/orange. So, it looks like these products didn’t work out for me once again. I had a little hope that it might work out this time, but it didn’t. I think I’m going to let my skin revert back to what it was and stick to what works on my skin for now. I tried. My skin didn’t like any of them. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My results after 4 months & 1 Week!

I’ve been using benzoyl peroxide for about 2 weeks now, and my skin is soooooo clear!! 🙌🏻 This is only after 2 weeks of using benzoyl peroxide once a week! I went through a short initial breakout, but it cleared up pretty fast. I currently don’t have any new blemishes. I’m not sure if there’s going to be any in the next few weeks (still purging??), but benzoyl peroxide has done wonders for my skin. I would say my overall skin texture has improved too. It’s clearer, cleaner, and smoother. My skin looks softer and more youthful. 😍 And all of this happened just by adding benzoyl peroxide?? Wow, I’m so happy with the results so far! I’m kicking myself for not trying it out again! Benzoyl peroxide has always been the to-go-to product for my acne. Once again, it is! Hopefully it continues to improve my complexion! Also, along with benzoyl peroxide, I’m still using tret but only once a week. It’s been a so-so product for my acne. I’ll just keep it in my routine and see what happens. It doesn’t hurt to keep using it. It fits in my routine perfectly well. Sometimes my skin gets a little oily. Tret helps to decrease the sebum in my skin. Hey, better than nothing.

I also switched facial cleansers once again. I was using Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Facial Cleanser. Trader Joe’s was too harsh on my skin. My skin would dry out every time I used it. It made my skin feel really tight and itchy. It’s a good facial cleanser for hot, humid weather, but it’s too drying for the fall, winter weather, especially when I’m using drying actives. The cleanser I’m using now is Olay Regenerist Hyaluronic + Peptide 24 Revitalizing Facial Cleanser. It’s moisturizing, soothing, and doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry. It makes my skin feel and look better afterwards. I’m liking the results from this face wash. I purchased it out of the blue but turns out that it’s pretty good and works very well on my skin. This facial cleanser made it a little easier to use actives in my routine since it’s so gentle and moisturizing on the skin. I can’t get over how gentle it is and how cleansing it is all at once. So! That brings me to my next product that I introduced this week! It’s the Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid. I don’t use this product every day. Only a few times a week. I have the product, so why not just use it. It was just sitting there in the dust. 😂

That’s my 4 months + 1 week update. See everyone next week! 😊

The rest of my acne journey is right here!!

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: 5 WEEKS IN!

My Acne Journey: 6 Weeks Results…

My Acne Journey: 7 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 2 MONTHS!! 

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 1 Week Results!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 2 Weeks!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 3 MONTHS!! 😃

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 1 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 2 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 3 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 4 MONTHS!!

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 3 Weeks Results

It’s a new week! 🙂 My results!!

1 Week Update on Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid

It’s been 1 week using Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid. I started off using it in the morning only. Since I noticed a difference in my skin after a day of use, I started using it twice a day. Fortunately, without any issues. My skin didn’t dry out or become irritated. So after a single day of using the BHA, clogged pores were unclogging. Blemishes I didn’t know existed moved up to the surface. I had clogged pores this whole time? Who knew! Also, sebaceous filaments decreased, especially on my nose. That was my main problematic area for sebaceous filaments. By the end of the week, my skin looked clearer and smoother. I was incredibly shocked because I’ve been battling closed comedones, blackheads, and acne in general for so long. Adding the BHA Liquid was a good move. And it worked! But too bad Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid is pretty costly. It used to be affordable and just plain amazing (price and size), so I’m not sure if I’m going to stick to it if the price is this high. I might have to find another BHA product to use. But we’ll see what happens. My skin is looking pretty clear after adding BHA to my routine. I’m happy with the results so far!

Note: I’m only using this product a few times a week now. 🙂

Trying AHA & Niacinamide…

I tried using an AHA product this week. It’s the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum. It’s been a while since I’ve used this serum or an AHA skin care product. With this serum, I only used it at night. Only once this week. This is a glycolic acid serum (14%). It contains Glycerin, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Green Tea Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, and a few other ingredients. My experience using this serum didn’t go well the first time I tried it again. It didn’t really do anything for my skin. It’s a 14% glycolic acid product, but my skin doesn’t seem to care for it at all. I didn’t see any changes in my skin. Even though I used it only once this week, I remembered why I stopped using it in the first place. It feels like I’m applying water to my skin, and I never noticed any results using this serum in the past. It could just be this AHA product that doesn’t work on my skin. I’m not going to bother finding another one any time soon. I’ll stick to the BHA for now. It seems to be working so much better.

I also tried a product that contains niacinamide. It’s the SOME BY MI Niacin 30 Days Miracle Brightening Sleeping Mask. This product contains 5% niacinamide. I’m not big on niacinamide, but my skin has been very oily lately. It’s been a while since I’ve revisited this product, lol. The last time I used this sleeping mask it helped to control oil on my face (a little too drying from what I remember) and helped to brighten my complexion. The sleeping mask contains Niacinamide (as mentioned), Citrus Junos Fruit Extract (70.5%), Panthenol, Arbutin, and it even has Ascorbic Acid, ha! After a single day of using the sleeping mask, I noticed a brighter, more glowy complexion. But, after the third day, my skin started to get really dry. I mean so dry that my whole faced looked chapped. My face was cracking. I immediately stopped using it since I didn’t have a good moisturizer to use. I stopped using Vanicream around this time too thinking that SOME BY MI would be moisturizing. 😂 I was so wrong. It’s extremely drying!!! Like it was before, haha. I wouldn’t recommend this sleeping mask if you have naturally dry skin. For me to continue to use this product, I would have to pair it with a good moisturizer to make it work.

What happened this week?

I’m still trying to figure out what works for my skin. I’ve removed a bunch of products too. I’m glad I did. I didn’t need that many products. I started to look back at the times when my skin was at its best. It was when I had a minimal skin care routine. Removing these skin care products was just a test to see how my skin would react. So far, it’s been going well. I really think it’s just a skin care addiction. LOL. For a few days I felt like I was missing something in my routine. Now, I know that I don’t actually need it, hahaha. So if you missed out on the skin care products I removed from my routine recently, check them out below!

Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream

The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3%

Benton Fermentation Essence

The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA

Melano CC Vitamin C Essence

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum – I started using this serum again but stopped using it again this week. It’s a nice serum that soothes the skin, but it provides absolutely no long-lasting moisture. The product that was moisturizing my skin the whole time was Vanicream. I tried using the Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum as a lightweight hydrator/moisturizing product, but it just didn’t work. My skin became so dry after I applied it to my skin. I think this serum is only effective when paired with a moisturizer that actually moisturizes.

Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence – I stopped using Cosrx Snail Essence for the same reason as Purito. It didn’t provide my skin that much hydration as I thought it did. It didn’t help protect or strengthen my skin either. My skin still felt dry while using it. Maybe I’ll add it back in the future. But I think I’m done with it for now. Hopefully this time, lol.

What I’m doing now. 🧴

My face skin care routine has been simplified. I’m only using a cleanser (looking for a more moisturizing one for the winter), acne products (tret, bha), moisturizer, and sunscreen. That’s basically it. I’m thinking about adding benzoyl peroxide too since I had good results with it before. I’ve been using it as a spot treatment, but I’m thinking about an all-over treatment again. What I used to do. It worked too. My skin looks really good without an excess amount of products. Hopefully a minimal routine like this works because I am so sick and tired of getting breakouts. Let’s hope for the best and move on to another new week! Hello 4 MONTHS!! 😲😮‍💨

My Acne Journey is right here if you missed out!

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: 5 WEEKS IN!

My Acne Journey: 6 Weeks Results…

My Acne Journey: 7 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 2 MONTHS!! 

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 1 Week Results!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 2 Weeks!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 3 MONTHS!! 😃

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 1 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 2 Weeks Results

Getting Rid Of My Blackheads With Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant!

I know I’ve talked about Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant so many times. I’ve used it on and off, since I have full bottles of it, and I don’t know what to do with them anymore. haha. So I decided to pick up on using it again after quitting it just recently. These blackheads on my nose are getting annoying. I must do something about it! It seems like nothing works long term. I’m also using The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA, but it stopped working on my blackheads. I like it, but it’s just not working anymore. I’ll talk more about The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA another time. Now let’s focus on Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant! Read on! 🙂

I’ve tried using Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant two ways. I used it with a cotton pad and dispensing some product into my palm and gentle patting it into my skin. Both of these methods are good. I didn’t have any breakouts or irritation from any of these methods. But it seems like the latter isn’t up to par. I’m not getting results from it like I did before. It’s like my skin gets better then I see no improvements as weeks go on. I feel like I’m wasting my time when something doesn’t work as intended. SO! I decided to switch over and use it with a cotton pad. This is my experience using it with a cotton pad instead…

What I did was dispense a little bit of product onto a cotton pad and swipe my face with the cotton pad. You know, I used to use Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant with a cotton pad back then when this 2% BHA Liquid was my facial toner. I’m not sure if it did anything for my skin, but my skin was in really good shape. Hopefully, I can get the same results again. Maybe it was doing something for my skin that I didn’t know of. But after swiping my face, I noticed debris on the cotton pad. Uh oh, looks like I have leftover dirt and debris on my skin! Possibly more excess sebum that I can never get rid of even after using 10000x exfoliants and oil-controlling products, lol. But, my skin definitely looked and felt much cleaner afterwards. It left my skin prepped for the next skin care products in my routine. My skin felt happy! 😀

I followed this method for a few days in the morning and at night. Knowing how oily my skin is, I know it can take drying skin care products like this. My skin hasn’t dried out from using Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant (yet) and other chemical exfoliants I’m using by much. All is going well. And it seems like the cotton pad method is the way to go to remove excess dirt, sebum, and debris from the skin if you have oily, acne-prone skin like mine. As for acne, I really can’t tell if the 2% BHA Liquid is doing anything yet. I’ll just have to wait and see. It’s only been under a week to see any improvements. But I like the way my skin looks and feels after using the 2% BHA Liquid with a cotton pad — oh so smooth and clean! I’m crossing my fingers that it’ll help decrease blackheads and acne in general over time. We’ll see! A new update coming up soon! Stay tuned!

For more posts on Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant:

Review: Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid

My Experience with Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid