I sleep like this, yes like a grease-ball. Hydrate and moisturize are super important steps at night. Now that most of us are still half masked almost every day, taking extra care of our skin is a must.
Thanks to my carefully self-curated fungal acne safe products, I haven’t been dealing with fungal acne ever again (and God forbids). But, new problems arrived: blackheads on nose, maskne and big pores.
Instead of attacking them with more active ingredients, I decided to keep it simple. Cleanse, tone and moisturize, plus sunscreen in the morning. I’m just going to let my skin heal by itself, because I know they can (you just have to trust the power of nature, really!)
If you’ve been following me, I used to apply retinol on the whole face every night. But these days, I only used it on my chin and below the nose where maskne usually appears.
Here are my currently used products, the simpler the better.
First skin update of the year. Here’s my skin condition these days.
After I did Face Toning & Growth Factor treatment at Jakarta Aesthetic Clinic (consecutively on December 21 and January 22), I haven’t been using Tretinoin for awhile now. You see, after both treatments, we’re not allowed to do any exfoliation for two weeks. But after two weeks had passed, I can see and feel that my skin became less oily and no hormonal acnes shown up. So, I skipped Tretinoin for almost two months already. I guess my age also catching up with me, so I can feel my skin is getting more dry (hello mature skin), and I’m super prone to redness on my cheeks.
Here are the products that I’ve been using for my night time skincare routine lately (no worries, they are all safe for Fungal Acne):
CLEANSER: I use Micellar Water as first cleanse and face cleanser as second cleanse.
TONER: I don’t use toner with cotton pad at night, but I do 7 skin method. I know how it was so 2017, but so far so good with my dry skin. While skin still damp, apply serum immediately.
SERUM: Some people might have problems with Hyaluronic Acid. Fortunately, my skin drink them up well. Make sure it absorb well first, then spray with Thermal Water to make it slightly damp, before applying moisturizer.
MOISTURIZER: Last year, I was so into gel moisturizer. But in my current skin state, I prefer light cream texture.
Got a few DM on my Instagram about Retinol, so I guess I’ll answer them here while also giving you update on my skin condition.
Disclaimer: I’m not a dermatologist, so these are totally based on my own personal experience.
WHEN I STARTED IN AUGUST 2020, AND CLEARED UP IN OCTOBER 2020
Q: If I successfully cleared up acne after using Retinol, shall I continue using it or stop? A: Based on my own experience, I tried to reduce the usage to once every night. So on non-Retinol night, I’ll use other actives serums like AHA or BHA (depends on my skin’s condition).
MY SKIN CONDITION (FEBRUARY 2021)
Q: Will the acne be back even after you manage to clear them out using Retinol? A: As long as I’m alive, I guess I’d still have acne hanging around. My mom used to tell me that after I passed my teenage years, my acne would clear up by themselves. Well, they didn’t. Hormonal acne on chin area are the worst for me, so they’d pop out uninvited, no matter how clean I cleansed or how diligent I am with my routine.
Q: What’s the correct order to apply Retinol on one’s skincare routine? A: First thing first, use it at your night time skincare routine. Mine would be: double cleanse, hydrating toner, Niacinamide serum (just because it works well with Retinol), moisturiser then Retinol. If you’ve been following me, you’d probably know that I use two types of Retinol, Adapalene as base and Retinoic Acid as spot treatment. Please don’t apply them on their own, at least you can do is to mix with your moisturiser after cleansing.
Q: How about the skincare routine for morning, after using Retinol? A: Best that you can do is to treat your skin gently in the morning. Cleanse with gentle cleanser, use hydrating toner, moisturiser and never forget your sunscreen (even if you are not out and about like me).
Q: What type of Retinol are you using now? A: Evalen Adapalene Cream 0.1% and Vitacid 0.05% Retinoic Acid Cream. Adapalene went first for the whole face, then Retinoic Acid as spot treatment (on acne and acne marks). Both are local products, so they’re affordable.
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