Skincare Routine

I've been excited to post this blog because I've been using this same system for a few months and my skin has been clearer it's ever been in my adult life. I've been getting less acne, my skin feels smoother, and my my complexion looks brighter. Actually, since my skin has gotten so much better, I've been rethinking my foundation routine since I don't have as much to cover up anymore. Anyway, here are the products I've been using and the way I use them...

Morning:

1) Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub: Long name, but great scrub! This is the best one I've ever used. I love that it's a foaming scrub, not just a scrub, so it's not as harsh on my skin, but still cleanses really well. I dig the smell of this too. It wakes me up in the morning in the shower. BTW: I do use a scrub everyday, but I have oily acne prone skin and my face can handle it. For a lot of people, using a scrub only a few times a week may be enough.

2) Biore Dual Fusion Moisturizer: Absolute best moisturizer ever! This is light weight which works great for my oily skin, it sinks right in, and it has spf 30 in it. I've been using this product for over a year now and as long as it works and I can find it, I'm going to keep using it.

Night:

1) Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes: These work pretty well. They get most of the makeup off my face, even Revlon Colorstay. They don't take 100% off because there have been times I've just used these and then toner (skipping face wash) and a bit of makeup comes off on the pad with toner on it, so I know these don't take everything off, but they're great for eye makeup because they're very gentle. They don't irritate my eyes. And this, plus my face wash, does remove all makeup, so as long as I wash my face after, there's no problem.

2) Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Redness Soothing Facial Cleanser: I picked this one out of the other Neutrogena Oil Free Acne washes because I do have redness in my cheeks. I don't think this has helped with it, but it is a very gentle wash so it doesn't irritate my skin and cause it to get redder.

3) Neutrogena Clear Pore toner: During the summer I use a toner 2x a day, but since my skin has been drier this winter, I've only been using it at night, and not every night. Maybe 5x a week. Really good toner though. Neutrogena makes good toners.

4) Clearasil Ultra Overnight Face Lotion: I think this product should get most of the credit to my nearly acne free skin. I saw a huge difference when I started using it. It has 2% salicylic acid in it and sinks into my pores overnight. One thing about it though is that it's not very moisturizing. This was fine when I started using it, but like I said, my skin is drier than usual, so this doesn't provide enough moisturizer at the moment. But I put it on, wait about 15 min, then on the areas that feel dry, I put a thin layer of my Biore moisturizer.

Extras:

1) Twice a week I use a face mask: Freeman facial clay mask one night and Freeman peel off mask another night. Both work well and help my skin stay clear and have improved my complexion.

2) When I do get a zit, I put a dot of the clay mask on it over night, but it's during the day, I dab on a bit of Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2 in 1 Fight and Fade Gel. I don't like this product. It does help with pimples, but it doesn't do anything for fading acne scaring, and if I spread it all over my face then put on moisturizer, my moisturizer balls up, no matter how long I wait. I've waited once for nearly half an hour, and same thing happened. I'm just waiting until I've used it all up so I can get a better spot treatment. Any suggestions?

I hope this was helpful. What are some face products you can't live without?

Cheers!