Let me start off this post by saying that I have terrible skin. I’ve had terrible skin since maybe the 9th grade. So, why should you listen to me about skincare? Bare with me.

Through my jr high years, I realized I had very oily, acne prone skin but so does everyone else at that age. It didn’t bother me too much then but as I got older, my acne began to get worse and worse and occasionally covering my entire face with RED, inflamed, deep pimples. I tried everything on the market, even accutane and nothing would clear up my skin. Accutane worked for me but only when I was taking the medication. After finishing the accutane process, my acne came right back. I’ve taken it twice.

As adults, we need to be taking care of our skin in different ways than we did when we were young. In your teenage and college years, you may not have even washed your face. I remember having friends who had flawless skin. They would never wash their face, sleep in their makeup, and wake up the next morning and put more makeup on. Flawless. I would spend 20 minutes in the bathroom removing my makeup, washing my face, using a special scrub my dermatologist had given me, and apply zit cream all over and then wake up in the morning with a bright new zit in the center of my forehead. (insert eye roll) Wether you never washed your face as a teen or spent so much time catering to your skin in the bathroom each night, you should NOT be using the same regimen that you used in those teen/ college years. In our early adulthood, our skin’s oil production was different than it is now and wrinkles were a myth. It’s time to move out of the Clearasil aisle and into the department store…or the Olay aisle. Whatever fits your budget. ;)

Like I said earlier, I do have terrible skin. Don’t try to sugar coat it, it’s just a fact. I love myself and am fine with my skin as it is so don’t feel like you need to lift my spirits. Trust me, I’m good. I may have pock mark type scarring on my face from previous acne but I think I’m pretty and am comfortable in my skin. Anyway, I can’t do much to change my skin now because the past has taken it’s toll. Some of the scarring is permanent and I continue to get acne, despite the fact that I’m 30 years old. What I can do though is protect the skin that I have now. I want to use products that give my oily skin a deep cleaning, hydrate my skin, keep new wrinkles from forming, and exfoliate to keep this skin looking as youthful as it can for as long as it can.

Here’s my personal night time skincare regimen.

Remove makeup

Every evening I remove my makeup by wetting a microfiber face cloth with warm water. These babies remove makeup better than makeup removing wipes and are reusable! You simply wash and reuse! These wash clothes that I have linked are the exact ones I have. I bought two of the 6 packs to have 12 on hand for morning and night face cleaning. Have you ever used a microfiber mop to clean your floors? All you need is water and the microfiber sucks up all the dirt right off the floor. Microfiber works the same when used on your skin. Love.

Cleanse

Now this next product might surprise you but hang with me. I have a good reason for it. To wash my face I use good ole Cetaphil. Like I already told you, my skin is very oily and it’s hard to find a cleanser that really deep cleans my face. Cetaphil leaves my face feeling really clean and gives me a little bit of acne fighting ingredients. I do not recommend Cetaphil to people with normal or dry skin because it is very drying. I wash the cleanser off with the clean side of the microfiber cloth that I used to remove my makeup. I’m telling you, microfiber face cloths are amazing.

Tone

Next I use a skin balancing toner. This is my secret ingredient. This amazing toner helps reduce redness and inflammation as well as balancing your skins ph. It is this MILK toner by Maskcara Beauty. The vitamins in this toner help keep your skin smooth, hydrated, and even. It is alcohol free which is fantastic because alcohol is really not good for your skin. It dries your skin out too much which makes normal to dry skin too dry and oily skin even more oily because your skin will produce more oil trying to overcompensate for the moisture loss. Why use a toner you ask? Toners close the pores (or should be closing your pores) and calm your skin down after cleansing. They prep your face to be ready to absorb your moisturizer, and yes, everybody needs moisturizer. Take it from the grease ball. I have never met anyone who’s skin is as oily as mine and I moisturize almost every night. This toner helps to keep my skin balanced despite the fact that the cetaphil cleanser is so drying. If I use Cetaphil and don’t apply my toner and moisturizer, my face gets an itchy burny sensation and that is not ok with me.

Moisturize

The final step in my nightly skin routine is this MILK creme. (my moisturizer) This creme contains 16% natural milk components and can moisturize the driest of skin. With it’s lactic acid and vitamins A and E, it helps promote skin cell turnover and reduces fine lines and wrinkles. I use this all over my face and neck as well as around my eyes rather than using an eye cream. With it being winter, my skin feels so dry after cleansing but smoothing this milky creme over my skin instantly replenishes that moisture and feels like giving my skin a nice big drink.

That is what I do every night for my skin. if nothing else, at least remove your makeup every night. When you remove your makeup, you’re letting you skin breath and giving it a light exfoliation. Exfoliating is important for aging skin because it helps the skin shed old skin cells and create new skin cells. As we get older, our new skin cell production slows down, thus, wrinkles. Exfoliating keeps the skin thinking it’s young and keeps it creating new skin cells.

I personally prefer a good, deep exfoliation so I give myself microdermabrasion once a week using the PMD Microdermabrasion tool. Microderm is the process of using tiny crystals to exfoliate the skin and then draws out dead skin and impurities by using suction. It’s basically like sanding you face down with a table sander and then sucking it clean with a shop vac. Ha! This results is fresh, rejuvenated, healthy skin. I love that I can do this at home and do it so often. To have this done weekly at the spa would cost you $300 a month minimum! Below is the PMD Microderm tool that I have.

I’d love to hear what you use on your skin and why! Do you have any secret ingredients or amazing products that you will never part with? Tell me about them in the comments! Have a great weekend, my friends!

love,

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