Seriously, who TF has time for complicated skincare routines these days?
With so much time spent at school or the office and other things, more often than not, we neglect to care for our largest organ – our skin. Skin is also our most sensitive organ, because it’s exposed to bacteria and dirt all the time. Which is why a skincare routine is recommended. However, at times, we feel too lazy to maintain a good skincare regimen.
This is especially important when you’re struggling with acne. You become extra-lazy because no matter how many hours you spend caring for your skin and using oil-free products, you’ll only end up looking like a sweating pig with a few more zits. How frustrating!
So, if you’re too uninspired, exhausted, or stressed out to commit to any skincare routine that takes longer than three minutes or has more than three stages, we highly recommend that you try this 10/10 slack approach.
Daytime Routine
Step 1: Wash Your Face
Having acne means you should wash your face at least once a day, but you don’t actually need to use an acne-fighting facewash to do it. The truth is, a majority of acne cleansers are actually far too drying and harsh for the skin; and instead of treating your skin, they damage your skin’s barrier, making you more susceptible to outbreaks after each wash. Stick to a mild, sulfate-free cleanser instead; it will remove extra oil, debris, and bacteria without damaging your skin or aggravating it.
But what about exfoliating? Well, best to avoid using scrubs or harsh chemical exfoliants on acne prone skin, as they will cause further damage and irritation. Instead, you can gently exfoliate your skin while washing your face. Simply grab a silicon scrubber and squirt some face wash on it and gently rub your skin in a circular motion. Thanks to its rigid but soft silicon surface, a silicone facial cleanser deeply cleans pores to get rid of dirt, makeup, and extra oil.
Step 2: Moisturise
Before you moisturise, it’d be good if you dabbed some toner on your skin for extra moisture and removal of dirt, bacteria, and excessive sebum from your face. Go for a toner with tea tree oil since they aid acne skin better. Moisture is a must for skin that is oily and acne-prone. Without it, your oil glands overproduce sebum (oil) to make up for it, clogging pores and making your skin excessively glossy. Use a light, oil-free moisturiser that has moisturising components like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and/or ceramides to maintain the balance and hydration of your skin. Choose a lotion formula for dry or combination skin, and a gel formula for oily skin.
Step 3: SPF
Acne skin or not, SPF is a must!
Besides protecting your skin from UV rays, SPF also helps prevent acne marks and scars from getting worse. UV rays from the sun make pimples worse, which can also cause early ageing and skin cancer. So, for the love of all that is beautiful, apply sunscreen on your face every morning. Be sure the sunscreen you purchase has an SPF of 30 or above, which is the daily recommended minimum, offers broad-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays, which cause damage and cancer, and is noncomedogenic, which means it has been proven not to clog pores. Applying sunscreen the right way is also key for full coverage. Follow the two finger method. Apply two lines of sunscreen directly onto your index and middle fingers. Then, dab the sunscreen on your face, neck and ears before rubbing it in. This ensures you cover all areas of your face and neck.
Night Routine
Step 1: Wash Your Face
It doesn’t matter how late you come home from the office or a party – you better be sure to wash your face before bed. No sad little face wipe and makeup remover to get straight to the point, because this will simply trigger more outbreaks on skin that is prone to acne. To get rid of all the grime that gathered on your skin throughout the day, apply the same cleanser that you did in the morning. You can use a make-up remover, but you should still wash with a cleanser to get rid of any remaining dirt and makeup.
Step 2: Acne Treatment
Bedtime is the best time to treat your acne. Why? Because it’s when you rest your body and don’t have to step out of the house and expose your skin to pollutants. By acne treatment we mean any gel or serum with active ingredients to treat your acne. Here’s a tip: use benzoyl peroxide or niacinamide for inflammatory acne, and adapalene or salicylic acid for blackheads or whiteheads.
How often you treat your acne depends on what product you use. Salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and niacinamide can typically be used daily and, on skin that is not sensitive, occasionally twice daily. But start off by using them every other night and work your way up to daily as your tolerance increases. Dab only a pea-size of treatment to clean and dry skin. Then, allow the treatment to sit for at least 2 minutes before the next step.
Step 3: Moisturise
Of course, even if you’ve done your acne treatment, moisturising your skin is still a must. Once your acne treatment has settled into your skin, apply a layer of the same moisturiser you used for your daytime routine.
The Results?
Not to burst your bubble, but even the most complicated routine with all the expensive skincare products requires some time to actually work. Nothing works wonders overnight. So, you gotta be really patient. The key here is to be consistent. Before you see any noticeable improvements from the majority of acne treatments, you typically need to use them consistently for 4 to 12 weeks. We know it’ll take a while, but just keep going (unless you have a really terrible reaction) – you’ll be glad you did!
