New year, fresh skin! Are you ready to #GlowIn6?
I woke up Friday morning and lazily tweeted this, thinking I wouldn’t get very many responses:
So, here we are on Saturday night putting a 6-week skin care challenge together. Or rather, here I am sharing some helpful skin care tips and guidance in the form of a challenge. Why six weeks? Because it usually takes about that long before you notice visible, positive changes in your skin when you’re being consistent with a regimen–especially if you aren’t getting any professional treatments done. Plus, if we start at the top of the year, we’ll all be looking our absolute best just in time for Valentine’s Day!
The #GlowIn6 Challenge is a 6-week skin care challenge for people looking to get their acne under control or correct their hyperpigmentation. It costs you zero monies to participate, but depending on where your routine is now there is a possibility that you may need to purchase some products. Later in this post I’ll detail some ingredient-specific products you should utilize throughout this challenge. However, there are some things you should have before we get started. I’m linking to Amazon because I’m a millennial with Amazon Prime and I’m assuming most of my readers have this as well. If you’re anti-Amazon, these items should be available at your local Target or Wal-Mart. If you’re anti these establishments as well, I am so sorry but I don’t know any other convenient alternatives. Ugh, capitalism!
Before You Start
It’s super annoying when you ask for help with your skin and someone says “just drink water” as if water is some super foreign substance that you have never heard of a day in your life… but, we’ll be drinking a lot of water during the #GlowIn6 challenge. Okay, maybe not a lot but we’ll be aiming to drink the appropriate amount of water each day. Experts say you should drink half your weight in ounces. For example: If you weigh 140 pounds then you should drink 70 ounces of water per day. If you get these 16oz glass water bottles ($16.95), then you’d need to drink 4.5 or fill one up at least 4.5 times throughout the day. This is something I’ve failed at for at least the last two years so I’m counting on you, dear reader, to hold me accountable here.
Next, there are some foods you’ll need to avoid if you’re going to be #TeamAcne in this challenge. So you may want to meal prep. These containers ($21.99) should help with that. There’s 5 of them.
Then, you may need pumps (4-pack for $6.99) and maybe those TSA bottles. The reason for the pumps is, well, not all products come with a pump and I personally believe they should. Sometimes you need a full pump of product! When products have no pumps, we’re all kinda just guesstimating and usually dispensing the wrong amounts. The TSA sized bottles are for breaking down the proper amount of some products to use over 6-weeks. For some very odd reason the TSA travel bottles on Amazon are about $5 more than what I typically pay at Target so… just head there (if you don’t already have them).
Lastly, everyone will need disposables. It’s very possible you already own these but just in case you don’t, you’ll need: q-tips and cotton rounds. These two items combined should be about $5 or less and you can get them anywhere. Once you have all of these items, you’re ready to #GlowIn6!
The Products You Need
While I’d absolutely love for you to use what you have, it is possible that your routine just might not be up to par and you may have to buy some new products to take the #GlowIn6 challenge. The products listed are just EXAMPLES of products that utilize the right ingredients. You do not have to get the product mentioned in the example. Just make sure whatever product you get has the ingredients mentioned.
Acne—New To This (and/or non-inflamed acne)
| CLEANSER 1 | Oil Cleanser (Use what you have or grape seed oil) |
| CLEANSER 2 | Salicylic Acid (2%) -OR- Mandelic Acid Gel/Foam Cleanser (oily/combo); Cream/Milk Cleanser (dry/dehydrated) |
| TONER | Salicylic/Mandelic (oily/combo); Glycolic/Lactic/CoQ10 (dry/dehydrated) |
| TREATMENT SERUM | Azealic Acid (all skin types)/Salicylic Acid/2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide (oily only) |
| MOISTURIZER | Gel moisturizer + Regular light moisturizer + Occlusive (night only) |
| PROTECTION | SPF 30-50 |
Pregnant people: Azealic Acid and Lactic Acid are safe to use. Glycolic acid is only safe in low amounts so it’s best to avoid. Everything else might not be for you but please consult your doctor.
A sample routine might be: Grape seed oil > CeraVe SA Facial Wash > Paula’s Choice 1% BHA Lotion > The Ordinary 10% Niacinamide + Zinc 1% + Boscia Clear Complexion Willow Bark Spot Treatment > Hyaluronic Acid + Bliss Pore Patrol > Elta MD AM/PM Facial Moisturizer > Supergoop Everyday SPF 50 (Daytime)/Aquaphor/CeraVe Healing Ointment/Vaseline (night)
Acne—True To This (or inflamed acne)
| CLEANSER 1 | Oil Cleanser (Use what you have or grape seed oil) |
| CLEANSER 2 | Benzoyl Peroxide (5%) Creamy Cleanser (all skin types) -OR- LHA/Mandelic Gel/Foam Cleanser (oily/combo) |
| TONER | Salicylic/Mandelic (oily/combo); Glycolic/Lactic/CoQ10 (dry/dehydrated) |
| TREATMENT SERUM | 2.5%-5% Benzoyl Peroxide -OR- 0.01% Adapalene Gel |
| MOISTURIZER | Gel moisturizer + Regular light moisturizer + Occlusive (night only) |
| PROTECTION | SPF 30-50 |
Pregnant people: Azealic Acid and Lactic Acid are safe to use. Glycolic acid is only safe in low amounts so it’s best to avoid. Everything else might not be for you but please consult your doctor.
A sample routine might be: Grape seed oil > PCA Skin BPO 5% > La Roche-Posay Effaclar Clarifying Solution > La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (Day)/CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol -OR- Differin (Night) > Hyaluronic Acid + Bliss Pore Patrol > Elta MD AM/PM Facial Moisturizer > Supergoop Everyday SPF 50 (Daytime)/Aquaphor/CeraVe Healing Ointment/Vaseline (night)
Hyperpigmentation—New To This
| CLEANSER 1 | Oil Cleanser (Use what you have or grape seed oil) |
| CLEANSER 2 | Lactic/Glycolic Acid Creamy Cleanser (all skin types) -OR- Glycolic/Mandelic Acid Gel/Foam Cleanser (oily/combo) |
| TONER | Glycolic/Mandelic (oily/combo); Glycolic/Lactic/CoQ10 (dry/dehydrated) |
| TREATMENT SERUM | Glycolic Acid/Arbutin (or Alpha Arbutin)/Kojic Acid/Hyaluronic Acid |
| MOISTURIZER | Gel moisturizer (oily)/Regular light moisturizer(dry/combo) + Occlusive (night only) |
| PROTECTION | SPF 30-50 |
Pregnant people: Please consult with your doctor before using products with any of the acids mentioned.
A sample routine might be: Grape seed oil > SkinScript RX Glycolic Cleanser > Pixi Glow Tonic 5% > Versed Brightening Serum > Hyaluronic Acid > Elta MD AM/PM Facial Moisturizer > Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30 (Daytime)/Aquaphor/CeraVe Healing Ointment/Vaseline (night)
Hyperpigmentation—True To This
| CLEANSER 1 | Oil Cleanser (Use what you have or grape seed oil) |
| CLEANSER 2 | Lactic/Glycolic Acid Creamy Cleanser (all skin types) -OR- Glycolic/Mandelic Acid Gel/Foam Cleanser (oily/combo) |
| TONER | Glycolic/Mandelic (oily/combo); Glycolic/Lactic/CoQ10 (dry/dehydrated) |
| TREATMENT SERUM | Glycolic Acid/Arbutin (or Alpha Arbutin)/Kojic Acid/Vitamin C/Retinol |
| MOISTURIZER | Gel moisturizer (oily)/Regular light moisturizer(dry/combo) + Occlusive (night only) |
| PROTECTION | SPF 30-50 |
Pregnant people: Please consult with your doctor before using products with any of the acids mentioned.
A sample routine might be: Grape seed oil > Vivant Skin Care 3-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser > Ole Henriksen Glow2Oh > Dermaquest SkinBrite (Day)/PCA Skin Intensive Brightening 0.5% Retinol > Hyaluronic Acid > Elta MD AM/PM Facial Moisturizer > Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30 (Daytime)/Aquaphor/CeraVe Healing Ointment/Vaseline (night)
What’s Next?
The #GlowIn6 Challenge starts on Sunday, January 5, 2020. I’ll be posting almost daily with more details, tips, feedback and answering your questions on Instagram and Twitter. I’m beyond excited for this and can’t wait to see how good you look!