Last year, I was just kind of minding my own business and living my life when my face was plagued with a bunch of a little bumps all over it. They were little whiteheads that had no opening, so sitting there trying to pop them (which is what I did) was not only useless, but also made my skin red and inflamed for days.
I remember googling my predicament and finding all kinds of different remedies for hormonal acne, whiteheads, blackheads and adult acne. I tried everything in the books, but my forehead still had this horrible texture to it from the bumps that formed there AND new comedones seemed to appear on my face weekly. I then realized that these remedies were for acne with an “opening” (ie. whiteheads, blackheads) or as I like to call them- Instant gratification popping pimples. I needed a remedy for CLOSED comedones.
I’ll start by saying I do have combo skin and I did put together MANY skincare routines until I finally found what was working for me- so if these products don’t work for you, don’t be discouraged! Just continue to try different combinations of products that are similar to this (I’ll list some below), and always make sure to patch test to make sure your skin will react well to the products you’re using!
ALSO: I no longer cleanse my face in the morning- this made a big difference for me. All I do in the morning is rinse my face with just water to get rid of excess oils. All my cleansing happens in the PM.
Without further ado…
First up is moisturizer! I changed my moisturizer. I was previously using the Ultra Repair Facial Moisturizer in the tub, which was for VERY dry and parched skin. I later realized that this may be a good winter moisturizer, or a great spot treatment for dry patches, but it definitely was providing my skin with too much oil, and affecting my moisture barrier. This Non-comedogenic Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer is great because it’s light and airy, but also the perfect source of moisture for my combo skin. This moisturizer also works great as a primer underneath makeup- it doesn’t pill and it provides a great base for foundation and concealer.
These products are what made the biggest difference to my skin. Having “The Littles” kit with these two face products made me seriously want to splurge and buy the full size products- not even kidding. In my morning skincare routine, after my moisturizer, I’ve been applying about 2-3 pumps of the Virgin Marula oil especially focusing on spots of my skin that get dry ( my forehead, my cheeks right below my eyes. Basically my t-zone that goes from oily to dry real quick). I also use it at night, after cleansing and moisturizing and it makes my skin feel like a literal cloud. If this stuff wasn’t so expensive, I’d probably be drenching my face in it. It’s AMAZING.
The TLC Framboos is a glycol night serum which has a blend of AHA/BHA in it, with about 12% glycol acid. Basically what this means is that this product is a chemical exfoliator, meaning that it’s going to do an amazing job on your CC’s because it aids in refining and resurfacing your skin, pretty much gently removing that outer layer of skin that’s clogging your pores- thus causing your closed comedones. This is the product where I saw the most difference in my skin. This product is meant to be applied at night, after cleansing and prior to moisturizer. After I apply this product at night, I’ll wait about 20 minutes for it to really sink into my skin, then apply my First Aid Beauty moisturizer mentioned above, and about 3 pumps of Marula Oil to really make sure my skin is retaining that moisture. Since the TLC Framboos contains AHA/BHA, remember that sunscreen is super important when you’re outside (even in the winter! and even if you have a foundation with SPF!)
These pads have also been helpful in the battle with my comedones. I use them about once every other day at night (and never on the same day as I use the TLC Framboos). I’ll normally just take a pad and swipe it across my face (focusing on my forehead) after cleansing and wait 20 minutes to apply moisturizer and Marula oil. Since this contains glycolic acid, it’s also a form of chemical exfoliation! So in order to prevent over exfoliation, I’m careful to really space this out in my weekly routine. Since it only contains 5% glycol acid, it’s a lot less effective than the drunk elephant serum – noticeably. But this still helps for the days that I’m not trying to “over-serum” my face, and give it just a small kick of chemical exfoliation.
As soon as I started researching more on why my closed comedones didn’t have a head, and why they kept appearing all over my face, I started to see that CLAY MASKS were a great option for people trying to take the excess oil off their skin, to kind of clear the “cloginess” feeling that comes with CCs. I looked into lots of different clay masks, but my 2 favourites are the “Queen Helene Mint Julep clay mask”- This one is super inexpensive, can be bought at Shoppers Drug Mart (Canada) or Walgreens (U.S), and really gets rid of that grimy feeling. I also received a sample of the “Sand & Sky Pink Australian clay mask” in my tipsy bag in November and I love it! It makes my skin feel soft and it gets rid of any redness on my face almost instantly.
Not only do I love this mask because its pink ( I love baby pink, if you couldn’t already tell by visiting my blog.lol) But it doesn’t feel like my skin is being stripped of any essential oils, just of any excess oils and dirt that lay on top of my face.