I don’t know about you, but when it comes to my face and my skin, I want to look and feel my absolute best. I struggled with breakouts since day one of puberty. Right before that time of the month, I’d get pimples all over my forehead. Then, like a freakin maniac, I would pick at my face which caused even more problems. It took me some time to get my shit together and finally invest in my skin and start taking real care of my face. Today, I’m sharing with you my favorite skincare and beauty products that I use every day.
Skincare Routine
Morning – Unblemish Regimen
For the past two months I’ve been using Rodan + Fields to wash and exfoliate my skin – and I LOVE it. I went through adult acne and tried so many different products. I’ve tried every product at the skincare aisle at Walgreens. You name it – I’ve tried it all. After getting so frustrated and going through product after product, I finally tried something new. I head about Rodan + Fields before but was always so scared to try it. It’s always hard to try something new, but I’m so glad I did.
I currently use 2 regimens on my face – Unblemish and Redefine.
The Unblemish regimen is for acne, blemishes and breakouts. I needed something that would prevent new blemishes from forming and control the acne that I already had. I use this regimen in the morning. Here’s what each Step of the regimen is used for:
Step 1 – Acne Treatment Sulfur Wash – this face wash clears your skin and reduces visible redness/scars caused by acne. I wet my face with warm water and lather about a dime-sized amount of face wash into my face. This smells so good and it feels super light on my skin.
Step 2 – Clarifying Toner – Right after I wash my face, I use my toner to unclog my pores and exfoliate away dead skin. Inside this bottle of heaven are mild alpha hydroxy acids with green tea extracts. These helps calm your complexion, while aloe vera extract helps soothe skin. I use a cotton ball and dab about two drops and apply all over my face. It feels SO good on my face. Some toners can be harsh and easily irritate the skin, but this feels so light. You can feel a slight tingle on your blemish marks and acne scars, but it’s not overwhelming at all.
Step 3 – Dual Intensive Acne Treatment – This product is designed to give you the maximum efficacy of benzoyl peroxide – an ingredient that helps prevent the development of new acne blemishes. If you are allergic to BP, then you can use a substitute for this product found in the Soothe regimen. After I cleanse and tone my skin, I apply this product thoroughly all over my face. I squeeze 1-2 pumps from each chamber, blend, and apply evenly over my entire face. Be sure to avoid the eye area and don’t rinse off. Your face will feel so free after using this. (Some days I use Step 3am from the Redefine regimen – see below)
Step 4 – Oil Control Lotion – If you have oily skin like mine, then this was is a MUST. This product helps protect acne-prone skin against UV rays. You only put this on in the morning, as it contains SPF 20. So its never a good idea to sleep in sun screen!
Now, here is my nighttime routine:
Night – Redefine Regimen
Step 1 – Daily Cleansing Mask – I love me a good face mask and this one smells so good! This creamy kaolin clay-based cleansing mask dries quickly, drawing impurities from your pores without robbing your skin of essential moisture. This environmentally safe, finely granulated exfoliator also gently smooths out the skin and releases a skin conditioner for younger-looking skin. And who doesn’t want to look and feel younger? I leave this on for about 2-3 minutes and rinse off with Luke-warm water. I feel like a new person by the time I’m done with this.
Step 2 – Pore Minimizing Toner – This toner gently exfoliates and minimizes the appearance of enlarged pores. All of the yes to this because my skin has so many pores. Just like the toner in my Unblemish regimen, I dab a few drops on a cotton ball and wipe all over my face.
Step 3 – Overnight Restorative Cream – I use this instead of the Triple Defense Treatment cream (3am) just because this has no SPF – and again remember, we never want to sleep in SPF. This overnight cream is perfect for moisturizing my skin after its been cleansed and exfoliated. You do not need to rinse off – just apply over your face and neck area (I clean my neck too), and sleep like a princess. This is perfect for my beauty sleep!
Also, I want to leave you wish some helpful skincare tips. I’ve made so many of these mistakes….
WASHING YOUR FACE 101
Here are the 6 most common mistakes people make when washing their face:
🔹1. Not washing your hands first. If your hands are dirty when you wash your face, you end up rubbing MORE oil and bacteria into your skin.
🔹2. Exfoliating too much. Doing it every day dries out your skin, so you should really only be doing it once or twice a week.
🔹3. Scrubbing too hard. You’re supposed to use a gentle circular motion. If you’re too aggressive, it can actually cause more wrinkles, irritation or worsen acne.
🔹4. Using cold water. Warm water helps open your pores, and cold water closes them up again. So you should wash your face with warm water, and then rinse with cold.
🔹5. Not using a toner. Toners help to restore the pH balance in your skin after you cleanse, it hydrates your skin which is essential to maintaining elasticity, it removes the oily residue and dead skin cells on the surface of your skin thus reducing breakouts, it tightens and shrinks pores and the list goes on.
If you invest in good skincare, it will be worth it in the long run. My dermatologist recommended so many products that never worked, and I kept wasting money. I finally found something that is worth every penny. Rodan and Fields has truly changed my skin, and I feel more and more confident.
If you have questions about these products or would like to try some for yourself, send me a message or comment below! I’ve got a special gift waiting for you….
And before I go, I’ll leave you with a few before and after photos. The results speak for themselves! Thanks for reading loves, and see ya in the next one…xoxo
