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My Experience After 1 Week Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + Other Skin Care Updates

January 5, 2023

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My Experience Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution:

I’m mainly going to talk about my experience with The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. I used tret a few times this week. I’m debating if I should keep using it or just move on to this glycolic acid product. My results with the glycolic acid toner has been pretty good. I used it every day at night. The instructions of this product says ~ Use ideally in the PM, no more frequently than once per day. After cleaning, saturate a cotton pad with the formula and sweep across face and neck. That’s what I did. I prefer using a cotton pad too. It helps to remove whatever is left on my skin. Sometimes I can see stuff on the cotton pad. It’s another nice treatment + cleansing step (even if it’s not a cleansing product).

When using this product, there’s a stinging sensation that fades away. I didn’t experience any other irritation other than that. It’s pretty normal for a glycolic acid product to sting upon application unless it persists. After applying the toner, I move on to my other skin care products, and I always end my routine with my moisturizers. I’m currently using La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Face Moisturizer for Oily Skin and Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence. Both are lightweight moisturizers. One being a hydrating product and the other moisturizing. I apply the Cosrx Snail Mucin Essence first then follow up with La Roche Posay Double Repair Matte Face Moisturizer. This combination has worked for me so far. I wake up the next morning with no redness, itchy skin, or any other signs of irritation. I tried other moisturizing products this week too. Read more about them here.

After 1 week of using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution, my skin improved. It’s working. Something is finally working to unclog those closed comedones that I’ve been suffering with for so long! I had closed comedones on my forehead, upper lip area (ouch!), chin, and jawline area. I noticed these closed comedones unclogging within the first few days. It was my forehead and chin area where I noticed improvements first. Now it’s the rest of my face by the end of this week. It’s only been 1 week, and I’ve already seen tons of improvements in my skin. It’s freaking amazing. I haven’t experienced any major irritation either. No dryness, itchy skin, redness, or burning. Just soft, smooth, clearer skin. And this was done all by glycolic acid. It made me question if I should keep using tret. 🤔 I’m loving the results with this glycolic acid toner!

Products I Stopped Using:

I stopped using Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid again. From months to years of using this product, it’s not working on my skin anymore. It helps a little bit with sebaceous filaments and blackheads, but it hasn’t done anything for my closed comedones. I’ve been using it to unclog my pores to no avail. The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution has done a better job at unclogging closed comedones and getting rid of whiteheads and blackheads. Along with all of that acne, it has also decreased sebaceous filaments, especially on my nose. I’ve been having issues with that for a long time. Finally, something that works! I guess if a product just doesn’t work, it just doesn’t work. So what to do with it now? I have a few bottles left. 😭 I couldn’t even finish what I was using, lol. Salicylic acid doesn’t seem to work on my skin as I thought. But I kept on trying, haha.

Moisturizers I Tried This Week:

I tried hydrating/moisturizing skin care products this week. I needed to add at least a hydrating serum or essence. I ended up picking Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence. It’s the only one that didn’t break me out. Well, I hope it doesn’t. Let’s get into the other products I tried. I honestly can’t believe I gave them a try again. First up! Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum…

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum:

This serum contains 49% centella asiatica extract, niacinamide, arginine, panthenol, green tea leaf extract, adenosine, ceramide np, asiatic acid, peptides, and so much more! I thought I would give it a try again. After 2 days of using it, I noticed blackheads and more breakouts. My pores were clogged once in again. Once I eliminated this product, the breakouts diminished. Now, it makes me wonder if this serum has been clogging my skin the WHOLE TIME! Wow! I’ve been using it for so long and have gone through bottles of it!

Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin:

I tried the Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin for a few days but ended up weaning off of it. It felt moisturizing and helps to protect my skin, but I couldn’t continue to use it due to my past experience with it. It seals in too much moisture. I know I will end up with a clogged up nose if I keep using it. If my skin barrier ever gets impaired, this is a good moisturizer to go to even though it burns upon application, lol! I wish they would make it without squalane. My skin doesn’t like squalane.

Check out my thoughts on CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser:

I Finally Tried CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser! Here’s My 1 Week Experience!

2 Weeks Experience with CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser!

My Acne Journey: 5 MONTHS!!

October 27, 2022

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Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30

My 5 months experience! 🙂

Some thoughts that crossed my mind ~

Should I stop using moisturizer? Is Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin clogging my pores? Should I take a break from benzoyl peroxide?? Hmmm! So many questions!

So! I didn’t stop using a moisturizer this week. But, I’m going to try to stop using a moisturizer (Vanicream) next week. Why? I feel like it’s slowing down my progress. Possibly clogging my pores. I noticed some sections of my face that keeps on getting re-clogged even after using tret, benzoyl peroxide, and bha. Vanicream feels a little bit sticky and heavy on the skin too. I love the ingredients in the moisturizer and how it helps to heal and protect my skin, but it could be setting me back when it comes to acne. I never used a moisturizer before in the past. It’s not because I don’t like them. It’s because all of them (the ones I have tried, tons!!) ended up breaking me out. I think Vanicream may be one of them. As for benzoyl peroxide, I don’t want to use something as drying as benzoyl peroxide in my routine right now while my skin is without a moisturizer. I’ll have to wait until my skin adjusts to this new routine first before adding it back in. That’s if I need to. I’m still using tret and bha. Both of these products are drying enough for my skin. I’m also going to use both of them without a moisturizer. Let’s see what happens!

I tried some old or previous products too, haha! Oops.

I tried The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3%, The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%, and The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG again. The Resveratrol & Ferulic Acid serum and Ascrobic Acid & Arbutin serum was a mistake, lol. I haven’t used any The Ordinary serums on my face for a while. I was in for a surprise. Well, kinda. I should’ve known. Both of these serums felt extremely greasy on the face. It didn’t sink in my skin at all and left my skin feeling and looking sticky, heavy, and greasy. I woke up the next morning with red, irritated skin and clogged pores. It messed up my skin so quick. Lesson learned once again. I thought I would try it out again and this happens. Now I know once again that these serums simply do not work on my face. Another product I tried again from The Ordinary is the Caffeine Solution & EGCG. This one worked better. I kind of missed it, so I started using it again, lol. I’m only using it at night since it has a drying, tightening effect on the skin around the eyes. Also, it takes time for the serum to absorb into the skin. So far, nothing bad has happened.

My thoughts on some of my sunscreens…

Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30:

I’m almost done with this sunscreen. It’s a thicker and heavier sunscreen, and it does has the tendency to sit on top of my skin. Ahhh, I love the ceramides in this product. It helps to moisturize, heal, and protect my skin. I haven’t noticed any breakouts from using it daily either or from reapplying. I can reapply this sunscreen without the product pilling. It works great as a moisturizer and contains ingredients that I like. I use it when I’m indoors or when I need my skin to heal from exfoliants or actives. I think it’s much more moisturizing compared to Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin too. The Vanicream Mineral SPF 30 is making me have second thoughts about Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin. Hmmmm! So I’m still on the fence about this product. It just feels a bit too rich for my skin type. But it could work. I’ll finish the rest of the product and think about it.

Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++ (Clear):

I tried to use this sunscreen up on my face. I really tried. It’s just too drying on the skin, and I couldn’t stand the dryness any longer. It ruined the moisture levels in my skin. My skin looked cracked, felt super tight, and painful. I tried using it with a heavier product underneath too, and it still didn’t work. I guess I could just use it on my body. I won’t repurchase again. I know I’ve said this many times, but I hate this product. 👎🏻

CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Face Sheer Tint:

A product I grew to love this week is the CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Face Sheer Tint! It’s a tinted mineral sunscreen (SPF 30) that contains niacinamide. I was really shocked and am still shocked that it brightened my skin. I noticed a clearer and brighter complexion after rinsing it off for the day. I’m really, really liking this product. I’m using it as my face makeup product (foundation) too. It doesn’t provide any coverage, but it’s best for my skin to not have anything thick and heavy on it. Also, too many products just causes more acne issues. My skin just looks better after rinsing it off at the end of the day. I’m really enjoying applying this product to my face too. It blends into the skin without leaving a white cast behind. Perfect for sunscreen reapplication.

5 months in and now on to a new week!!

My whole acne journey is right here! Enjoy! 🙂

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!