Hey everyone!
So this post will be a little different from the usual. If you have checked out my ‘About me’ page, there is a poll, which asks what theme I should be covering in my blog. As of today, the majority sides with skincare and since the weather is cold nowadays, I felt, this is the perfect time to update you all with my skincare routine and also offer some tips which I learnt from my dermatologist.
CAUTION: I AM NOT A SKINCARE SPECIALIST SO PLEASE DO A PATCH TEST FOR ANY PRODUCT MENTIONED HERE. ALSO, LISTEN TO YOUR DERMATOLOGIST SINCE EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT THERAPY APPROACH.
With that being said, let’s jump right in. From the beginning I was always that person who favours skincare over makeup. You will find in my collection, more skincare items. This is my personal opinion that if you have a good base, the makeup sits right. 🙂 Also, I really don’t know how to put makeup even though I own good products. 😀 My Skin is combination skin, which becomes dry in winters, around the chin and cheek, whereas in the summers my T-zone becomes increasingly oily. During spring and autumn, my skin undergoes changes, around 15-20 days and then returns to normal. I have to use eczema friendly products in those days to calm my skin. I have a fixed skincare routing throughout the year, with occasional changes and I will go through it below. Most of the products mentioned here could only be found in Europe or Germany. 😦
- Cleanser- CIEN Gentle Cleansing Milk only in the shower or DR. GRANDEL Gentle Foam Cleanser for general use. Now here is the deal. My dermatologist told me to shower every 2 days. Before you start with your ‘eww’, she had her reasons. Germany is very cold in the winters and here it is normal to skip on showers if a person has dry skin. According to her, water strips the skin of moisture and oil, so she advised me to shower occasionally, however cleaning the lady bits is of utmost importance to me. 😀 So, when am in the shower, I use the cleansing milk like a face wash and then rinse it of. Other days, I wash my face with the foaming face wash after waking up and before sleeping with warm water and then the final rinse is with cold water. It is gentle on the skin and also cold water shrinks the pores.
- Toner- I don’t have any special toner but I do use Avene Thermal Spray. It calms my skin and provides hydration and a cooling effect. Once a week, ONLY AT NIGHT, I use Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution on a cotton swab and run it over my face. This one is strong acid and gives deep exfoliation. My recommendation would be to listen to your skin. If it tingles or burns, you could dilute with some skin mist or water or stop its usage entirely. For me the dilution trick worked and then I got my skin used to this acid on its own.
- Serum- If I am going out in the sun, then I skip on retinoid and acids. The serums I use are all from ‘The Ordinary”. I don’t use them all together in a single session. So if one day, I used Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, then the next day, I will use Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. The first one provides hydration and the next one gives you a smooth blemish free skin. The same approach I apply for the nighttime. One night it is Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane, then the other night it will be Lactic Acid 5% + HA. Both my night serums are good for people with sensitive skin. Retinoid is ofcourse, to target fine wrinkles and lines and lactic acid gives gentle exfoliation and clears the pores. I also use, Argireline Solution 10% either during the day or night. This one targets specially the folds around the eyes and forehead.
- Moisturiser- During the day, my moisturiser is my sunscreen. I use after the serums, my sunscreen Eucerin Sun Gel-Cream Oil Control SPF 50+. This is the only sunscreen which works for me 365 days. At night, I usually stop my skincare at the serum stage, since any moisturiser I used, made me oily at night. However, listen to your skin. If it needs moisture, use it.
So that is all I use in my skincare. Now here is the interesting part. THE TIPS! 😉 My dermatologist suggested this for people having eczema-prone, dry or sensitive skin.
- Cleanse your face only at night. In the morning wash your face with water. At night your skin rejuvenates, so cleansing is important at night. However, since your skin is already clean from the night before except the nightly oil secretions, water is enough to remove this.
- She supports the use of acids. Acids exfoliate your skin, making it smooth. It also reduces those nasty whiteheads. However, if the skin is cracked, DON’T USE ACIDS. It will sting and irritate you.
- Sunscreen is a must. If you use retinoids or acids in your skincare, sunscreen everyday should be your mantra.
I know that you might have heard of these tips or maybe not. But it surely made my skin brighter and smoother. Let me know if you can offer me some moisturiser suggestions. What works for your skin? I am happy to know it 😉 Till next time, take care and cya. :-*