Ah, a good old AHA. If you’re just starting on AHA, you might want to try this first.
There are different types of AHA, but this one contains Malic Acid (because it derived from apples). For those who have tried different and stronger types of AHA like Glycolic Acid or Lactic Acid, this one by itself might be not enough.
Personally I use this in between my Retinol night, because Retinol alone might not help at removing dead skin cell build-up, especially on the surface. Yes, AHA works on the top layers of skin and it does increase our skin’s sensitivity to the sun (it also might trigger PIH-Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation), so it’s recommended for night time use.
Although it’s categorised as ampoule, the texture is very liquid. And it slightly smells like apple (well, it does contain 79% of apple extract). Good thing about this ampoule, it’s very light, you won’t feel any tingling or burning sensation (it only contains a low dose of AHA-1%).
Treat this as a serum, to be use after toning at night. If you are new to this AHA thing, start using 3 times a week then gradually increase the usage. It’s safe to use daily, if your skin can handle it. And yes, this is safe for Fungal Acne.
Unlike 2in1 products that I don’t trust (like shampoo and conditioner in one), I do believe in double-function face and body care. Especially when they’re fungal acne safe.
Here are some of them that I’ve tried:
VELY VELY PINK CALMING GEL It’s perfect to use after our skin are heated by UV for its’ soothing and cooling purposes. It also contains pink colored microbeads from Calamine powder, that soothes tired & damaged skin. So, the microbeads are mixed with clear gel and will burst once applied onto skin. Not only great for cooling, soothing and moisturizing, this is also good for strengthening skin barrier (thanks to allantoin as one of their ingredients too).
DERMA 365 GENTLE CLEANSER I’m happy that this brand from Australia is now available in my local drugstore. As it is a gentle cleanser for all skin types, it’s mildly soothing and helps to prevent dehydration. For those who are prone to clogged pores like me, no fret, this is non-comedogenic and free from stuffs like soap, colourant, fragrance, paraben, lanolin, mineral oil, SLS and SLES. If you’re having maskne problem, I recommend this gentle cleanser to avoid any irritation on skin. Good luck of finding this on your local Indonesian drugstores, kind of hard to get here.
CETAPHIL MOISTURIZING LOTION Another non-comedogenic moisturizer, lightweight and easy to absorb. It contains six moisturizers, plus vitamin E and B5, for long lasting hydration. Because it comes in a lotion texture, of course it’s heavier than Vely Vely ones. Dryer skin will enjoy this more, and I’m enjoying this as my daily body lotion as I hate fragranced body lotion (especially the ones that smells like fruits) and it contains Macadamia Nut Oil which might not be that great for acne.
I know lots of people love sheet mask, but personally I’m not sure if I like any mask. But, I’m curious about this so-called best selling Modeling Mask, so I decided to give it a go.
Modeling Mask (or Rubber Mask to some) is one of the peel-off mask type that we need to mix ourselves. Sort of like a DIY mask, start out in powder form, mixed with water and the texture is thicker and more gooey like rubber. Usually it was done professionally at beauty clinics, but with this brand, LINDSAY from South Korea, now we can do this conveniently and safely at home. They have many varieties for different skin types, but this time I chose the COOL ones, which is recommended for oily skin type. And yes, this is safe for Fungal Acne.
Why use Modeling Mask? Well, it supposedly help our skin to absorb other products better without stripping them from our own natural moisture. Yes, this type of mask will create a tight layer on our skin and allow deeper penetration of active ingredients (that’s why it’s recommended to use after serum).
PRICE: IDR 15K (I bought it on 50% off!)
WHERE TO BUY: I purchased it online from one of the market place.
PACKAGING: It reminds me of ice cream cup, honestly. It was filled halfway and came with a petite spatula to mix and apply. One cup is more than enough for one usage, so don’t be stingy with yourself.
WHAT’S IN IT: Tea Tree Leaf to hydrate and nourish skin while providing protection and prevention from roughness & dryness. It contains real leaves, so you might find shreds of leaves inside.
CLAIM: Restores softness & elasticity while cooling & hydrating to relieve stress and maintain healthy & refreshed skin.
HOW DOES IT FIT INTO ONE’S SKINCARE ROUTINE: Double Cleanse (Oil Cleanse & Foam Cleanse) Toner (Exfoliating with cotton pad) Serum Hydrating Toner (pat/spray) MODELING MASK Hydrating Toner Moisturizer
MY THOUGHTS: – I guess I failed on mixing the right amount of water, so it was kind of liquidy rather than rubbery – Waiting time to dry is 20 minutes more, and I’m not the type to sit and wait for mask to dry, so this is not for me – Seriously, just leave it for the professional to apply this type of mask – On me, it was dripping heavily and the peeling part was not a walk in the park – Don’t get it near hairline, or else it’s going to get messier and hard to clean
If you love to try bunch of skincare products, there’d be times when you fell in love with it from the first use.
Here are (some of) mine:
VANICREAM GENTLE FACIAL CLEANSER So far, it’s my go-to cleanser, especially on those days when maskne attack and you just need a gentle cleanser to cleanse. Fragrance-free, easily rinse and didn’t leave any after-feel, it’s easy to fall in love with this cleanser.
KRAVE BEAUTY OAT SO SIMPLE WATER CREAM Minimal ingredients always get me and having oatmeal extract as the main ones is awesome. Natural oatmeal always safe my skin whenever they’re angry or over exfoliated. And finding a light and simple moisturiser for fungal-acne prone skin like mine is no joke, people!
FOREO LUNA 3 FOR SENSITIVE SKIN I guess it’s my best skinvestment so far. I use this every morning for deeper yet gentler cleanse after all the retinol that I applied on my skin at night.
SULWHASOO GENTLE CLEANSING OIL It had me at the first whiff. It smells so good for a cleansing oil, which is kind of rare. It glides so luxuriously on skin, emulsified perfectly and it didn’t leave any weird after-feel. Yes, it is expensive but worth every pump.
KANEBO SUISAI BEAUTY CLEAR POWDER WASH Similar result of physical exfoliation without the harshness. If you have everlasting clogged pores like mine, you’d want to try this. It has no fragrance and it’ll foam up to cleanse perfectly.
Not feeling like trying lots of new products this year (but that might change). I just want to stick to what worked for me in 2020, but some stuffs looked too interesting to pass.
But I do have my own personal rule for this year: I will not purchase anything over IDR600K. Why, if you might ask. Well, nowadays as a freelancer, I wouldn’t risk my life over skincare. I hope that answered your question, LOL.
I only purchased two things on the first month of January 2021, what an achievement for me personally!
ABSOLUTE NIACINAMIDE If you’ve been following me, you’d know that I love Glossier Super Pure Serum. But it is super expensive, considering that I repeatedly purchase from online sis on market place. So I’ve been looking for Niacinamide serum with similar ingredients. And I found this serum made in Malaysia. I looked it up on incidecoder.com and both have 5 of the same ingredients! With the same amount (30ml) this costs IDR159K while Glossier costs IDR475K.
LA ROCHE POSAY TOLERIANE PURIFYING FOAMING CLEANSER Learnings from last year, even though I stayed at home most of the days, but I still wash my face twice a day (don’t be lazy to clean your face guys, really). So, yes I ran out of face cleanser as quick as pre-pandemic. This costs a lot more here in Indonesia (priced at IDR525K for 400ml), because we don’t have this brand in local drugstores. It does remind me of Vanicream Gentle Cleanser, for its’ texture and after-feel, but with added Niacinamide in it. It’s also safe for Fungal Acne, but still contains PEG.
Tough year for all, and lots of us wish for 2020 to end soon. But, does the end of 2020 means the end of the pandemic? Oh well ….
You will see a new list (different from 2018 and 2019 ones). However, there are some categories being left out (like makeup remover, essence, mask and spot treatment), just because I didn’t use them this year to cut cost and skincare steps. I also include some new local favourites, to support local Indonesian brands and economy as well.
Other cool website to check out and analyse your skincare ingredients is cosmily.com. Please note that some of the products below might still have triggers for comedones and not entirely allergen-free. So please check the ingredients that will suit your skin best.
For detailed review of some products mentioned below, please refer to my Instagram @skinetijen.
Let’s start! (Based on Alphabetical Order, * means local product from Indonesia)
FACIAL WASH
BIYU OIL CONTROL CLEANSER *
DERMA365 GENTLE CLEANSER
ERHA2 FACIAL WASH FOR OILY SKIN *
PETER THOMAS ROTH IRISH MOOR MUD PURIFYING CLEANSER
SEBAMED CLEAR FACE ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANSING FOAM
VANICREAM GENTLE FACIAL CLEANSER
TONER
ABILL FIRST STARTING TONER
DEAR KLAIRS DAILY SKIN SOFTENING WATER
HERBIVORE JASMINE WATER BALANCING TONER
MAMONDE CHAMOMILE PURE TONER
TRILOGY HYDRATING MIST TONER
SERUM/AMPOULE
ALPHA-H VITAMIN B WITH COPPER TRIPEPTIDE
COS DE BAHA SALICYLIC ACID 2% LIQUID
DUVADERM CLARIFYING SERUM *
ME+ NIACINAMIDE BOOSTER
PAPA RECIPE EGGPLANT CLEARING AMPOULE
ROVECTIN CLEAN LHA BLEMISH AMPOULE
YVES ROCHER CONCENTRATED LIFT SERUM
MOISTURIZER
JOYLAB SKIN’O’TIC MOISTURE GEL *
KRAVE BEAUTY OAT SO SIMPLE WATER CREAM
SEBAMED CLEAR FACE CARE GEL
TATCHA THE WATER CREAM
SUNSCREEN
ERTO’S SUNSCREEN GEL *
NIVEA SUN PROTECT & WHITE INSTANT AURA SERUM SPF 50+ PA+++
Apologies for such long hiatus. Writer’s block, LOL.
In this post, I’ll share you what I currently use for morning skincare routine after using Adapalene & Retinoic Acid at night.
FYI, Adapalene & Retinoic Acid are two prescription-strength creams that will definitely open our pores, but they won’t exfoliate them. We still need help from exfoliating actives like AHA or BHA, in the morning. You can choose only one active in one product (like toner only or serum only), but if your skin can stand it, go all the way from toner to serum.
CLEANSER/MORNING MASK: SEBAMED CLEAR FACE ANTI BACTERIAL CLEANSING FOAM Contains Montaline C40 that will zap acne bacterias and Panthenol.
SERUM: DUVADERM CLARIFYING SERUM This contains 0,5% Molecular BHA
MOISTURIZER: SEBAMED CLEAR FACE CARE GEL & KRAVE OAT SO SIMPLE WATER CREAM As you know I’m on my 3 Step Moisture Method, that’s why I’m using double moisturizer after natural moisturizer which is water. Steer clear of any actives in the moisturizers’ ingredients lists.
SUNSCREEN: SKIN AQUA UV SUPER MOISTURE GEL SPF 50+ PA++++ It has been my HG because it didn’t trigger my Fungal Acne & Comedo.
If you’ve been reading my blog posts and follow me on IG, you’ll notice one thing missing from my skincare regime. It’s Vitamin C.
First, I don’t enjoy Vitamin C serums turn brown due to oxidation. To think about my hard-earned money, and it turned bad easily, I don’t think so. And that oxidation process is obviously a destructive process, so if you put that on your skin, it will cause further skin damage. Ouch!
Second, Vitamin C is a great anti-oxidant, but it’s possible to become a pro-oxidant when in contact with metal/iron. Unfortunately nowadays, iron is a significant pollutant in the air and water (according to the FDA), and that means our skin comes in contact with iron every day. So, if we apply Vitamin C and our skin comes in contact with the air, it was like inviting problems to occur.
Last but not least, Vitamin C is one tough cookie to be mixed with others in the skincare ingredients list. It should never mix with AHA, BHA, Retinol, and Benzoyl Peroxide. If you’re a fan of layering skincare like me, better watch out and read ingredients list very carefully.
Moral of this post, my skin can’t take a topical Vitamin C, especially in concentrated serum format. It broke me out, caused redness and it tingled badly. So I did some research online, and I did find some interesting facts. Apparently, antioxidants in skincare are BAD when they are in concentrated form and disrupt the body’s natural ability to fight off bacteria.
TIPS & TRICKS:
Use Vitamin C in other format than serum for lighter percentage. Personally I use GOOD MOLECULES NIACINAMIDE BRIGHTENING TONER. It contains 2-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid (number 6 on the ingredients’ list), a quite stable form of Vitamin C
Try the serum as a dark spot treatment only. Resist the temptation to apply it all over the face. I had great success with GOODAL GREEN TANGERINE VITA C DARK SPOT SERUM, that helps to reduce the appearance of dark spots.
This is going to be a simple review, just because this moisturizer is that simple.
Simple ingredients’ list, simple packaging, and simple intended customers. Basically, those who want to simply moisturize without worrying that it’ll break you out or irritate you further. And the best part, it is safe for Fungal Acne! (Finally, a Krave Beauty product that’s safe for FA).
It fits right in to my current 3 Steps Moisture Method craze (thanks to Olena Beley who commented to my IG video earlier this month). Read here if you missed my post about Olena’s tips.
I use this as the final step of my hydrating steps, because it does contain Capric Triglyceride and Squalane, the perfect emollients to seal all in. And being on Adapalene journey, my skin also needs soothing moisturizer, so this just completes me, by having Oatmeal Extract as one of the ingredient. Yes, I also mix this with EVALEN Adapalene Krim 0.1% to reduce the concentration and lessen the risk of Adapalene’s side effects. And this moisturizer helped me a lot during my Adapalene’s nights (so far I’m only at week 1, but I’ll write about the journey soon).
Look at its’ luscious white and milky texture. It has no scent, and it just glides softly when applied. It also mix wonderfully with almost everything that I applied before it (actives, hydrating toner, humectant). It melts right away in contact with the skin, and absorb really well without leaving any film or dewy look.
It’s silicone free, gluten free, fragrance free and essentials oil free. For me personally, there are only two misses for this moisturizer, it still contains Butylene Glycol which has comedogenic rating (luckily it didn’t trigger mine). And the jar packaging. Being a practical girl, I don’t really dig plastic jar. It took a while for me to finally close the lid properly. I wish it comes in pump packaging instead.
Been to Seoul, South Korea and what I saw there was really eye-opener. If you see the K-Drama and all the actors & actresses have flawless, poreless and unblemished skin, trust me, those who sold street-food as a living in Seoul, have exactly the same skin. They are fortunate to have such a blessed skin, it’s in their genes.
ME IN SEOUL (CAN YOU GUESS WHERE I WAS?)
However, I do have to admit that their K-beauty skincare products are the best and highly-effective for toners, essences, hydration and sunscreens. They are also great at super fast innovation (new ingredients) and good-looking packaging. As for actives, personally I’d prefer the western brands, (again) based on my experiments.
So, here’s my round up for K-beauty skincare products that are safe for Fungal Acne prone skin.
ESSENCE: AMORE PACIFIC VINTAGE SINGLE EXTRACT ESSENCE, I’M FROM MUGWORT ESSENCE
TONER: SOMEBYMI AHA BHA PHA 30 DAYS MIRACLE TONER, DEAR KLAIRS SUPPLE PREPARATION UNSCENTED TONER
CLEANSER: HEIMISH ALL CLEAN GREEN FOAM, PYUNKANG YUL ACNE FACIAL CLEANSER
AMPOULE: CNP LABORATORY MUGENER AMPOULE, LEEGEEHAAM GROW VITA PROPOLIS AMPOULE (RENAME TO DR CEURACLE ROYAL VITA PROPOLIS 33 AMPOULE)
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