Skincare Routine for Acne Prone Skin

My skin care routine has been a long time in the making. For one my skin has dramatically changed in the past few months, in a positive way. Simply because breakouts aren’t such a frequent occurrence as they used to be. Mainly because I’ve been taking a hormonal balancing supplement that I spoke about here. The main two ‘areas’ which I focus on now in my routine is scarring and preventing breakouts. So let’s move onto my skincare routine for acne prone skin.

Face wash wise I tend to switch between either CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin or Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser. To be honest I love both. They both equally take off my makeup and any left over product extremely well. I also haven’t suffered from any adverse reactions to either. They don’t disrupt the top layer of my skin, like a lot of ‘acne’ targeted cleansers do and they’re both under £10. In the morning I will cleanse once, using one of the aforementioned face cleansers. Then in the evening I will cleanse twice, as I wear SPF 50 on my face daily, and then take off an residue around the eyes etc with micellar water.

Once I have got a ‘clean’ base I will go in with a bunch of different acids and toners. In the AM I will start off with using The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% , and begin massaging it into my skin using my jade facial roller. This product is a staple of mine and does help keep my breakouts at bay. I then use The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% along my jaw/chin area – where I breakout. Using this in conjunction with Niacinamide has helped improve my overall skin texture significantly.

As a gal who loves a ‘glow’ I will use a few drops of St Moriz Radiant Glow Tanning Drops over my face. Then finish with a SPF 50, as I know full well that acids + the sun aren’t a good combo. SPF wise I love this La Roche-Posay one.

In the PM I switch up my routine ever so slightly. After cleansing my skin I will go in and apply The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. Firstly I cannot fault the price point. At less than £7 for this strength it really is a bargain. I’ve paid £15 for a similar one that wasn’t this strong. This product has also helped reduce my scarring and pigmentation and is an integral part of my routine. Since it is an acid- use with caution, personally I wouldn’t use this during the day. As with a lot of acid’s they make your skin more sensitive to the sun.

I also have started using Core Clinicals Vitamin C + Retinol. I picked this up in TK Maxx as I was specifically on the lookout for a product with a high Vitamin C concentration. Vitamin C helps with pigmentation and collagen renewal, which is why I use this product specially for scarring and any ‘pitting’ which I’ve suffered from.

Despite using a bunch of different acids on my skin *touch wood* I haven’t suffered from any extreme dryness, sun damage or irritation. But I would definitely use them with caution if your skin is on the sensitive side.

If my skin has suffered from a breakout then I reach for 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Gel, annoyingly I have to bulk buy this whenever I’m fortunate enough to be in the US, as it’s not available in the UK. There are alternatives but you typically need a prescription for them. But this stuff is only $3.48, which is crazy how cheap and readily available it is. A little goes a long way with this gel though, as I will only pin point apply it to the ‘spot’.

Not necessarily a ‘product’ and something which I have briefly touched upon, is the Jade Facial Roller. I picked this up from my local crystal shop and use it twice daily. I find it helps with product application and also relives facial muscle tension. It’s my favourite part of my am/pm routine, the Jade is cooling and is amazing as a morning skin pick me up.