Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Skin talk : morning routine

I am going to get close and personal with you guys about my skin
In this post, I am going to talk about my skin condition and also my skincare routine. What I do to take care of my skin.

My skintype is dry/combination.

I am gonna insert a HD picture of my skin over here. Taken with my Samsung Camera and also my Iphone 7 camera. No filter no edit.
My skin condition looks way worse on pictures. Thanks to the ultra UD Iphone 7 camera.

Definitely not perfect skin.
Occasional blackheads and breakout on my chin and cheeks (usually during the time of the month). Huge pores and lots of blackheads all over my nose and slightly extended towards the sides of my nose. Slight pigmentation here and there due to me popping the blackheads which I know I should not do. Also very very slight freckles.

Freckles/hyperpigmentation is something I am worried about because my mum has freckles, my skintone leans fair and I live in a tropical country where we are exposed to sun almost daily. Thanks to my skin advocating on me about sunscreen since I was a child I did not get visible freckles.

So my skincare routine has many steps. I use about atleast 8-10 products for my routine.
This might be too much for some people but this is what works for me, And, I have stuck to it ever since.

I used to have acne circa 2013 and since then I keep experimenting with products and changing up with skincare and I have stuck with a 10 step skincare and it drastically cleared up my acne.
I will link my acne post here.
I have changed some of the products I have used since. Have been adding and removing products in search for things that are more beneficial to my skin and works on my skin.

Morning routine.
1) First step involves cleansing. Currently I have two cleansers in the bathroom the A'pieu Milk Moist Foaming Cleanser and Eucerin Dermo Purifier Cleanser.
I am not too particular with cleansers, as long it doesn't strips my face off all the oils and making my face feel tight and dry afterwards. Cleansers are meant to be washed off, so I don't see fancy or expensive cleansers infused with so and so ingredients beneficial to the skin. You will wash it off before your skin has time to absorb any nutrients.

2) Toner.
 I have a lot of toners on my vanity but in the morning, I will reach for a milder toner that does not contain exfoliating agents or acids.
This step I use a cotton pad to apply, it is to clean off any excess dirt or debris and to soften my skin for the next step.
I am currently using the The Body Shop Vitamin E Toner, Secret Key Milk Brightening Toner and Eucerin Dermo Purifier Toner.
The Eucerin Dermo Purifier contains 2% Lactic acid which with that percentage, does not do much in exfoliating, so for me, it is okay to use it in the morning.
The reason I avoid using exfoliating agents or acids in the morning is because of photosensitivity. The thing with acid is that you are removing away or exfoliating away the top layer of your skin, your skin loses a protection barrier from the UV rays and if you are not careful, you might get hyperpigmentation. Which no one wants.
It is recommended to apply sunscreen after all the exfoliating agents and acids but I feel it is not enough to protect my skin. So I won't use them in the morning.

3) Lotion.
Lotion are technically also toners, hydrating toners to be exact. For me, this step is to replenish the moisture I have lost during the cleansing and toning process.
I will the use the Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion. Just pat pat pat.
I have been using the Hada Labo lotion eversince it is brought into Malaysia. My favourite lotion, so affordable and does its job well.

4) Then eyecream. I am not very particular about eyecream since I do not have bad dark eye circles or eye bags. I just need one to keep my undereye area hydrated so they won't develope too many fine lines. I am currently using the Superdrug Vitamin E eyecream.

5) Whitening fluid/water.
I usually apply my Sulwhasoo or History of Whoo whitening fluids or water during this step. It does not make a big difference but it does help slightly fasten the lightening of my hyperpigmentation and brightens my skintone. No product is a miracle product when it comes to whitening. All takes time.

6) Here comes the Essence/Serum. Currently I am using the COSRX BHA Pore Minimizing Serum in hopes of making the pores around my nose area smaller. So far, I have been through half a bottle and I do not see any difference.Not impressed with it. I will switch up to the BHA Skin Returning A-Sol after I am done with this.

7) This step I will be using my La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. This is my HG. I have been using it eversince I found out about it. It has really help in clearing up my skin when I had acne. I still use it till this very day to keep my skin under control and it does its job.
This is not available in Malaysia so before coming back, I did stock up a ton of it. When I run out I will switch to going to Thailand to stock up or maybe purchasing it online.

8) In this step, I will apply the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel. This product is made up of snail mucin, it promotes cell reparation, whitening and wrinkle care. I just threw this in my skincare step because I have bought a few of this gel and I wanna use it up. I do not know if this gel did anything but It did not hurt my skin adding this extra product in.

9) I will end my morning routine with a SPF containing moisturizer. Currently I am using the Kanebo Freshel UV Whitening Gel. I love how cooling and light this cream is and it contains SPF too. Just a SPF 20, definitely not enough if you are out but if you are going to spend your whole day indoors. It's sufficient.

Some of the products in my morning skincare routine. I did not have all products in this picture as some products were laying elsewhere and I was just too lazy to retrieve it.

Stay tune for my next post with my night time routine and more talk about my skin.

I have been trying and testing out more skincare products because I am searching for better products for my skin. As I get older, my skin changes and I start to find other products to cater my skin needs.
I will be posting a skincare haul with products I have recently picked up from the internet and in stores.

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