Wow! I can’t believe there is just one week left in this challenge. I’m excited for this to finally be over with so I can get back to writing other skin care content and focusing on sharing more of my work on Instagram and figuring out how to make that platform work for the business. This week, we’re scaling back a bit and trying to focus on *just* the problem areas. I’m typing everything out because a reader reached out and said their screen reader couldn’t read the images. Sorry about that! Routines are below.
Acne I & II
Morning:
-Masque (once per week, optional)
-Double Cleanse (1st cleanse w/oil, 2nd cleanse w/acne cleanser)
-Hydrate (toner)
-Treat (no retinoids during the day)
-Moisturize
-Protect
Night:
-Double Cleanse (1st cleanse w/oil, 2nd cleanse w/acne cleanser)
-Hydrate (5 days/week, Acne I; 4 days/week Acne II)/Exfoliate (up to 2 days/week Acne I; up to 3 days/week Acne II)
-Treat (no retinoids during the day)
-Moisturize
-Occlude (optional)
Tips:
- When double cleansing, apply your oil about a minute or two before getting out of the shower. The steam from the shower helps dislodge congestion. Rinse cleanly once out of the shower. I don’t advise washing your face in the shower.
- Be honest about how your skin is feeling using the acne cleanser you’ve chosen. Are you still feeling irritated/stinging/tingling after use? Five weeks into product usage shouldn’t still give that feeling. It might be time to switch, or limit to once daily use (preferably at night).
- When applying your hydrating toner, do so liberally. Your face shouldn’t be soaking wet after application but should be damp.
- When applying your treatment product(s), press and pat into the skin (if it is a water-based serum). If the treatment product is more cream-like, use a q-tip for precision application over the acne lesion. Press the product over the lesion and then rub in until there is no visible product left on the skin. You may need a wait a minute or two for these products to fully absorb before moving on to the next step. You don’t want to use heavy or pure retinoids during the day as they are photosensitive.
- Always layer your moisturizers, don’t mix the two together. Apply your gel moisturizer first, then your cream moisturizer. Actually massage your product into the skin. It should be fully absorbed and you shouldn’t be able to see any trace of product before applying your sunscreen (day) or occlusive (night).
- How did your skin feel using retinoids? If irritation lasted for more than 10 minutes, don’t apply an occlusive over the retinoid. Also, if your skin doesn’t feel tight or dry, don’t apply an occlusive as your skin type can do without it. If it was summer time and we were doing this challenge, I definitely would not advise you to use an occlusive at all.
- Note that you can exfoliate up to twice per week if Acne I or up to three times per week if Acne II. If your skin is feeling irritated and you’ve only exfoliated once, you don’t have to keep exfoliating throughout the week.
- You can use an acne treatment masque (or your spot treatment as a masque) no more than once per week. Never leave the masque on for more than 10 minutes.
Hyperpigmentation I & II
Morning:
-Masque (once per week, optional)
-Cleanse
-Hydrate (toner)
-Treat (no retinoids during the day)
-Moisturize
-Protect
Night:
-Cleanse (double cleanse if removing makeup)
-Hydrate (5 days/week, Hyperpigmentation I; 4 days/week Hyperpigmentation II)/Exfoliate (up to 2 days/week Hyperpigmentation I; up to 3 days/week Hyperpigmentation II)
-Treat (no retinoids during the day)
-Hydrate again (use a spray, do not wipe over the treatment products you just applied)
-Moisturize
-Occlude (optional)
Tips:
- You can utilize a masque for hyperpigmentation once per week, if you’d like. Don’t use anything in your kitchen and never leave it on for more than 10 minutes. Also, don’t go buy one. This step is here for you so you can use whatever old products you had lying around unused.
- Is your cleanser irritating you? If so, it might be time to switch or at least switch to once daily use at nighttime only.
- When applying your hydrating toner, do so liberally. Your face shouldn’t be soaking wet after application but should be damp.
- Once you get the hang of these products (and once they run out), look for a treatment product that contains all of the necessary ingredients to limit the time it takes to complete your routine. I recommended the Bliss Glow & Hydrate because it combined the main ingredients I was going to recommend. You won’t find a Vitamin C-Niacinamide mix though because it is thought that they can render each other ineffective if formulated together (though those thoughts are based on really old research). It is perfectly fine, however, to layer the two. If you’re more sensitive, apply the HA+Niacinamide before the Vitamin C. If your skin is more resilient, apply the Vitamin C then the HA+Niacinamide. If you’re using a hyperpigmentation serum, look for one with kojic acid, vitamin c, hyaluronic acid, azealic/glycolic/lactic acid, etc. all in one. Niacinamide is something I recommend more for combination-oily skin types. If that’s not your skin type, you don’t have to have that ingredient in your routine.
- When applying your treatment product(s), press and pat into the skin (if it is a water-based serum). If the treatment product is more cream-like, use a q-tip for precision application over the acne lesion. Press the product over the lesion and then rub in until there is no visible product left on the skin. You may need a wait a minute or two for these products to fully absorb before moving on to the next step. You don’t want to use heavy or pure retinoids during the day as they are photosensitive.
- Hydrate the skin again once the treatment has been applied and absorbed. This step is especially important at night as you may be using a stronger treatment product that exfoliates.
- Actually massage your moisturizer into the skin. It should be fully absorbed and you shouldn’t be able to see any trace of product before applying your sunscreen (day) or occlusive (night).
- How did your skin feel using retinoids? If irritation lasted for more than 10 minutes, don’t apply an occlusive over the retinoid. Also, if your skin doesn’t feel tight or dry, don’t apply an occlusive as your skin type can do without it. If it was summer time and we were doing this challenge, I definitely would not advise you to use an occlusive at all.
- Note that you can exfoliate up to twice per week if Hyperpigmentation I or up to three times per week if Hyperpigmentation II. If your skin is feeling irritated and you’ve only exfoliated once, you don’t have to keep exfoliating throughout the week.
Okay, that’s it for this week. I’ll be taking questions over on Instagram!