Down the Horizon

You have tried everything there is out there, but still experience uneven skin texture with lots of pustules and papules, even nodular acne around the jawline that you already checked is not hormonal? Don’t worry, I’ve been on that road for a while, and finally found a solution that is actually simple.

Youtube “experts”, doctors, and aesthetic clinics from all around the world with their “amazing” innovative approaches to skin issues, showed that making sales and earning a lot of money is all that matters. Therefore every single day we face a bunch of new cosmetic procedures with fancy names scrolling down on social media that cost a fortune, and products in fancy-looking packages with “magical” formulations advertised by celebrities, detaching us from reality and from what we really need in order to have a healthy looking skin.

So here we will emphasize the word “healthy”, not fancy, beautiful, popular, and so on. To really understand what you need in order to achieve healthy skin, you need to understand a bit about product ingredients, your skin type, and your diet.

Most of us deal with combination skin type, meaning your T zone is at least somewhat oily. Dry skin is common in cold areas and oily skin in warm, tropical ones. Makes sense. But usually, oily skin is a sign of a damaged skin barrier. That’s why we will keep a focus on this type of skin.

How does the damaged skin barrier feel and look? First, you can see that just after a couple of hours you feel your skin oily, but also dry and rough in some parts, dehydrated, flakey, sensitive, dull, irritated, and itchy. Some can develop dermatitis in areas like around the eyes, and lips. Acne is the most common sign of a damaged and dehydrated lipid barrier. Some people can develop even Malassezia folliculitis, also called fungal acne.

Before buying a product read the chemical composition and learn about the major “no-no-s”.
This website will help you a lot in it: https://www.skincarisma.com/ingredient-analyzer
It will show you if the product you want to check and analyze is free from Parabens, Sulfate (SLS), Alcohol (Cetearyl), Silicones, Allergens, and if the product is (Non) Comedogenic (Acne-causing, clogging your pores) and also if it has ingredients that trigger Fungal Acne (Malassezia). If you want to know more about fungal acne, you can read here- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24341-fungal-acne

ESTABLISHING SKINCARE ROUTINE THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

It’s all about the right routine. Setting up a healthy skincare routine will guide you to a skin barrier restoration, or glowing and smooth skin texture. To set up a healthy routine you will need to choose the right cleanser, moisturizer, exfoliator, SPF and retinoid.

Now let’s talk about cleansers, moisturizers, exfoliators, SPF and retinoid.

CLEANSER

Never forget that by over-cleansing your combination/oily skin to remove excess oil will result in barrier damage. Using a mild cleanser 2 times a day (morning and evening) that is fragrance-free and has no active ingredients will help you in restoring your microbiome. It is very important NOT to willingly make your skin sensitive by using “all there is advertised” on social media like AHA, BHA acids, chemical peels, retinol, exfoliators, and “marvelous”, “all problems solving” facials that aesthetic clinics promote. Ending up having a chemical peel, or facial using products of some expensive brands can cost you a damaged skin barrier. You can experience skin purging just one day after, as a sign that your skin has suffered.

Cleansers that are safe and mild to use are light, hydrating and don’t strip your natural protective skin oils. After you clean your skin you should feel it soft, not squeeky clean. I use Cera Ve Hydrating cleanser but also, every 3-4 days I would use just a small amount of a cleanser that has salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is kind of mandatory if you have oily skin with blackheads (clogged pores) and it can reduce the overall skin texture but only if you are not overusing it. With the usage of any active ingredients such a salicylic acid, you need to have a balance and established routine, otherwise you can overdry your barrier and experience purging. Don’t use products that have a mix-up of different acids and other active ingrdients together. If you have a lot of black and white heads, and large pores, I suggest using Alba botanica 2% salicylic gel wash every 3d or 4th morning. Remember- healthy skin routine should be simple and as much minimal as it can be. Don’t “scare” your skin by experimenting with other acids. Take it easy, step by step, especially if you already have experimented with many different active ingredients and you want to start fresh.


MOISTURIZER

Creams are fine, but not always! For your oily/combination type creams can be thick and concentrated with butters, oils, vitamins. Better option is to use lotions. Highly concentrated moisturizers are suitable for very dry flaky skin.  If you have a combination of both, use such creams in those areas only (I use pathenol with vitamin E on dry areas that I have around lips).
Still, don’t completely avoid concentrated creams even with oily type. We still need nutrients and vitamins even though they can be comedogenic and clogging. That’s why you can apply a moisturizing, rich cream every 3d night. This way you are not going to clog your pores, but rather “feed” your skin with all goodies.

So, creams are preferred for night application occasionally, and lotions are preferred for regular basis skincare. The lotion I use is Hada Labo lotion, super hydrator, which contains hydrating hyaluronic acid, more water and has no oil content. This has been shown as the best option for me so far. It’s good for any skin type. Lotions absorb into the skin easily but since it’s not rich in ingredients and texture, it’s good to use a cream once in a while (every 3d night). The cream I use is Night repair cream from Andalou.

Lotions are very much preferred by people with acne-prone skin and can serve as a good break time from the active ingredients, facials, peels, oils, vitamins, butters that might have caused clogging of your pores and made a mess.


EXFOLIATORS

If you experience bumpy, rough skin, it means that you have dry (dead) epitel that should be gently removed from the surface in order to bring back the glow. You can naturally exfoliate with a baking soda. You can mix it with rose water to make a natural face scrub. You can use baking soda even for teeth whitening (but do not overuse it-it can damage your enamel). I like to use gentle smoothing oatmeal scrub from St Ives once or twice a week. Remember that if you are going to exfoliate your skin don’t use any active ingredient after that. If I will be washing my face in the morning with a product that contains salicylic acid that means that I’m doing mild chemical exfoliation, too.




SPF

I know that many won’t agree, but sun protection is not really my thing. Although sunscreens have great advantages that we all know of, they also have ingredients that are not healthy and even cause irritations and purging. I did regret many times not using a good SPF, especially when I fell asleep on the beach and woke up completely red (you know that feeling for sure), but I’m not using it every single day. With the rapid climate change, we do need to use protection from ultraviolet radiation but also we need to have in mind the ingredients sunscreens contain such as  oxybenzone, homosalate and octocrylene. You can read more about it here- https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/

So, before buying the sunscreen check the ingredients. The ingredient list can be found “hidden” on the product itself on the second page that you can flip down.

Keep in mind that short sun exposure can be so beneficial for our physical and mental health. Sun is life. It can help with skin conditions like eczema, and can clean your skin from acne. It also boosts you with vitamin D that protects your bones. Like in everything, finding the right balance is the key.

RETINOID

I’m not talking about retinol but a retinoid. The best one to use is the most proven one and that is Differin gel which contains 0.1% of adapalene (dermatologist-recommended retinoid). This product plays crucial role in the treatment of acne and wrinkles by regulating skin cell turnover and you can get it without a prescription. There are also other retinoid products from different brands containing 0.1% of adapalene. It’s in the form of a gel and helps the skin get cleared from blackheads, whiteheads, and generally clogged pores, even acne scars while preventing new ones from forming.
Use retinoid only at night and not frequently. Personally, I use it every 3 nights. First I would wash my face with the hydrating cleanser and then apply a small amount all over my face (avoiding sensitive areas such as the eyes and area around lips and nose), wait for 5 to 10 min and generously apply the hydrating lotion. Retinoids are drying out the skin, due to a cell turnover effect it has. For oil regulation, when you are not using retinoid or any other active ingredient, you can help yourself by applying niacinamide serum once a week. As a serum Niacinamide moisturizers the skin and therefore helps in restoring a lipid/ceramide barrier. It’s good for all skin types even for those with eczema. I like to use this serum from the brand Balea.

When I was younger, I used to have BHA, AHA, tea tree, in my skincare routine and get short term results after which I would get skin purging. I used to wash my face frequently with salicylic acid, then put niacinamid serum just after that (!?) I used glycolic acid every night....Don't do that. 

Skincare routine should not be harsh to your skin's microbiome. Don't believe and follow everything that you see on your social feed. All you need is patience and a minimal skincare routine.