Current Skin Care Routine

 Saturday, July 19th, 2015

SALUTATIONS FELLOW BLOGGERS!

Hi all! I went to the dermatologist's this week, and she prescribed me intense acne medication (Cream) which caused me to change up my skin care routine, so I wanted to show you what I was using before and what I am now using! 

MORNING SKIN CARE ROUTINE:

In the morning, I generally don't wash my face because I don't want to overdry it and I want it to keep some of the oils that it had produced over night. So I  use this Simple Cleansing Micellar Water. It says it cleanses, removes makeup and hydrates, and I agree with those all. It's extremely gentle and has a very fresh and lovely scent. It has no harsh chemicals, and no artificial perfumes or dyes. I have very sensitive skin so this is a wonderful part of my morning. I take this and put it on a cotton round and then go on to rub it all around my face. It wakes me up in the mornings because I put it all around my eyes and thus I'm woken up by the cold and wet sensation!

 Typically I would follow the micellar water with this toner This Clean and Clear deep cleaning toner is made especially for sensitive skin and I love it (the blue one)! I also tried the orange one (on the right) however this one really irritated my skin and made it burn a little so I decided that it was too strong for me. The fact that it was an astringent and wasn't a toner, and wasn't made for sensitive skin is probably why it hurt so bad. Another more natural alternative is Witch Hazel. I used it instead of the blue toner for about 3 months but I didn't feel like it was really doing anything to help with my acne and I didn't really like the smell of it. If you have smooth and already acne free skin then the Witch Hazel might be a good option but if you have acne-prone skin that needs help, I like these from Clean and Clear. I love the scent of the blue one which is very refreshing and clean!

After the toner I would typically put on lotion and the one that I have been using is the Garnier Fructis Moisture Rescue. There are two kinds, one for Normal/Combo Skin and one for Dry Skin. I used up a whole jar of the green/blue one on the left and loved it. It sunk into my skin fast and left my skin feeling supple and moisturized but not oily or greasy. I decided to try the dry skin one, however I felt like that one didn't sink into my skin as fast and I felt like I had to work at it longer so that it would incorporate itself into my skin. Therefore, I went back to the blue/green one and am keeping the one for dry skin for the winter seasons when I probably will need it them most!

At night, I follow the same routine, except instead of the micellar water, I use the purity cleanser by philosophy. I'm not partial on the scent, but it's one of the most gentlest cleansers out there. I bought the mini size to try it out, and I think once I'm done with that I'm going to try the Cetaphil gentle cleanser also and see which I like better... I will get back to you guys about that!

So like I said, earlier in the week I went to the dermatologist and these are the two medications that she prescribed me. The first one, Epiduo, is what I'm using, the second one, Aczone, she told me to wait on and not use it just yet. I am instructed to put the Epiduo on my face 2 times a day (morning and night) and this is only to be done after I have applied my moisturizer. I can do it under makeup and it won't interfere with anything. I've noticed though that my skin has gotten more red and irritated, so I experimented, gave my skin a 36-hour break from the medicine and tried again. However, after only putting on the Garnier lotion, my skin already started to flare up and feel like it was burning, so I waited about 20 mins before applying the Epiduo. Worst decision ever. My face felt like it was on fire... and nothing could get rid of it. I ended up suffering the sensation for about 5 hours before I couldn't take it anymore and I washed it off with he micellar water. The feeling continued on, however, it was more like a muted burning sensation than a full on one. Looks like I'm going to have to go to the store and get a couple of different products so that I can deal with this medicine a little better and help my skin heal up.

Well, I'll talk with you all later! Hope you're having a wonderful day and write in the comments if you want to hear about something, or have any questions or suggestions for more blog posts! :)