Acne is a cruel and mystifying mistress. A few years ago I went through an almost 3 year battle (in every sense) with a bad bout of hormonal breakouts, which at the time, I attributed to coming off the pill. This resulted in an ongoing obsession with banishing my acne and a good ol’ knock to my self-esteem for good measure.
Then one day, as quickly as it appeared, it all just stopped. My skin wasn’t perfect, but I could wake up in the mornings and not make my first stop the mirror to see which new enemies had cropped up overnight. It felt freeing more than anything, one less thing to stress about.
I clearly got too big for my boots, as a few months back I started to notice more regular and angry breakouts starting to creep back in again, alongside redness and reactivity. Anyone who has struggled with acne in the past knows just how triggering this is, and while it wasn’t as bad as the dreaded *last time*, there was no escaping I was unwillingly back in a breakout era.
What’s so frustrating about my experience with acne is I’m never really sure what induces it. It’s kind of like dealing with a crying baby who can’t verbalise why they’re unhappy, so they just get angry and screams the place down.
If I gave my best bet, I think early this year I was playing a bit too free and loose with active ingredients and overloading my skin, damaging my barrier in the process and triggering a new wave of breakouts. Oh, and I’m a stress head by nature, so that’s probably helped things along nicely.
In response I’ve been really stripping down my routine, focusing on soothing, hydrating and cutting out unnecessary actives. My skin is still up and down, but I feel like I’m getting somewhere keeping these following products in a dedicated rotation.
Squalane Cleanser | The Ordinary
Ok, so off the bat, she is absolutely the girl that everyone says she is. How it took me this long to give this cleanser a whirl is beyond me. Formulated with squalene, (aka a hydrating ingredient found naturally in the skin) reviews rave about how kind this is to sensitive and acne-prone faces.
It has a unique texture that feels like it won’t break down properly into an oil cleanser, until it does - give it a good old warm-up in your hands first. Having used this for a few weeks I can give it a firm seal of approval, it hasn’t irritated my skin in the slightest, and for its price, you can’t go wrong.
Serozinc face mist | La Roche-Posay
I’ve loved Serozinc for years, and I’ve started reaching for this mist again lately for its soothing properties. Every morning and evening, I’ll give my bare face a generous spritz of this stuff to zap away any redness or irritation.
Retinol eye serum | Beauty of Joseon
I hinted in my last post about a certain retinol eye serum that I was so obsessed with, it needed its own post. This isn’t it, but rather a little taster. In this post, this serum is being doubled up for another use.
After spending some time letting my face chill, I wanted to start integrating retinol, hoping its miracle powers would be the saviour of my acne woes. I knew I needed to start gently, otherwise, risk pissing off my skin even more. Having loved the effects of this low percentage retinal (0.02% to be exact) on my eye area, I decided to give it a whirl on the rest of my face, because why not?
A few days of retinol uglies behind me, and my skin seems to be acclimatising nicely, with, fingers crossed, a reel back on breakouts and hyperpigmentation. If you’re looking for a starter, all-bases-covered retinol serum, then my first impressions of this are pretty great.
Calm cream | Cultured Biomecare
One of the more innovative products I’ve trialled this year. I’ve never tried anything quite like this cream - there is currently nothing I would reach for quicker if I sense my skin starting to go into SOS mode. Its soothing, anti-inflammation properties have really helped stop my breakouts in their tracks (or make them far more manageable).
Anyone with sensitive/acne-prone skin needs this moisturiser in their daily arsenal - thank me later. It’s on the pricey side, but a little goes a long way. I’ll use it all over on particularly stressed skin days or as a spot/redness treatment.
Honey Halo Moisturiser | Farmacy
Before I get started, yes this smells exactly like honey, and I love that. Formulated with ceramide-boosting ingredients, this moisturizer is just what a skin barrier in distress/post-retinoid face needs to keep it happy.
It’s definitely thick and rich, but doesn’t worsen my breakouts, which again, makes me think they could be in part dehydration-related. It’s another pricey one, but as with the calm cream above, you don’t need much to give your thirsty skin a comforting drink.
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