So I’m going to start this off by saying my skin hasnt always been this clear. Before I talk about products with my new skin layer i really wanted to talk about my journey and skincare products that helped to keep my skin at bay for a while until I started breaking out severely and started accutane. I didnt want to bypass that part of my life because hunnie I paid the price spent so much on skin care throughout the years. So my recommendation below are great for people to go through acne and are maybe on a topical such as tretenoin along with a oral treatment like monocycline or doxycylcine. Before I went on accutane i was on both and my skin was in great shape but once i moved out of NYC for a bit my skin freaked out ( Say what you want about dirty NYC is but that sink water is filtered sooo good! My skin loved it!
So lets get started!
Using a Paulas Choice BHA everyday and Paulas Choice AHA 2x a week along with some vitamin C, also Paula’s Choice ( No im not sponsored lol) was when I first noticed a difference in my skin. I Started using BHA by Paulas Choice when i got to college because I had a crazy forehead breakout my senior year of Highschool. I remember the customer service rep telling me the BHA is great for my pores and the AHA is great for the surface of my skin to help with dark spots. I later added the vitamin c to help get my skin tone even, radiant and fade dark spots. This concoction worked! I remember my friends saying wow your skin really cleared up. I finally felt like myself again!
I think a bit after this, it became a bit too expensive to keep up with and i started breaking out again. At this time, i did some research and purchased “The Regimen” from Acne.org. This contained a mild facial wash, a Benzoyl Peroxide Treatment & a moisturizer. I later added their AHA lotion into the mix and it was amazing!! I was a fan because it was cheap and efficient. I think I continued using this for about a year and half or so.
I think I stopped using the regimen when i started working at Dillards. When i worked at Dillards i was a fragrance specialist and what was the fragrance section next to, SKIN CARE. I was in my happy place for sure. I was sampling it up and trying so many serums, face washes & toners. Something that i loved that i feel like made a difference for a little was my clarisonic. I think at this time i broke out but not a ton. I remember using Clarins toner and loved the clarity of my skin. Meanwhile, i also used clinique a lot too. I used their dramatically different moisturizer and then moved on to the moisture surge moisturizer. For this era i cant remember what treatment i used for my acne but i do remember masking a lot. But Key players were Clarins Toner, Clinque moisture surge moisturizer and eye cream.
After I left Dillards, i went back to NYC and my skin cleared up!! ( It was that damn florida water). At this point I dont remember my cleanser but i used Paulas Choice Weightless Advanced toner and the Belif moisturizer! I was also using Peter Thromas Roth Irish Moor Mud! At this time I was using the Paula’s Choice BHA and that helped to keep my skin clear and at bay.
Once I graduated College and started working, I started to break out again. I tried to keep it at Bay myself at first but things werent working fast enough for me. So I saw a dermatologist in NY and he was Fab! He put me on Monocyclin and trenoin and I started seeing results. In addition to this I started getting monthly facials at silver mirror and started using Skin Fix! I used the foaming face wash, the triple lipid cream and the youth for the people dream eye cream. My skin was plump, bouncy and clear.