What Makes Your Skin Glow?

I have normal to dry skin. During my teens and 20s I always got complements that my skin was like porcelain. I never had acne problems, and all I did was wash with Cetaphil and moisturize with Oil of Olay Total Effects + SPF. In my 30s I got lazy and was not as great about washing my face in the evenings, and I started getting milia, dark spots, and more wrinkles. My skin also dried out. This past year, I got back into the skin game. My routine feels more complicated than it ever was, but I’ve found that the time to prep my skin has actually been pampering and relaxing. And the results I’ve seen (I have porcelain skin again!) have motivated me to continue. Here’s what I’ve been doing for the past few months:

MORNINGS:
Cleansing – I don’t cleanse with a cleanser in the mornings. I simply rinse my face with water. Occasionally I will use Cerave’s Hydrating cleanser if I really need to (it’s very gentle), but my night time routine usually preps my skin so well, I don’t want to strip away the natural moisture barrier.

Vitamin C – Skinceutical’s Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid. After two weeks of using this, but skin started really glowing. Not sure if it’s actually doing anything deep, but on the surface, the difference is real.

Hyaluronic Acid – SkinMedica’s HA Serum plumps my skin with moisture and peptides before I seal with a moisturizer.

Moisturizer – Clinique’s Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturizer. There’s nothing wrong with using this night time moisturizer during the day as long as it’s accompanied by SPF.

SPF – SkinMedica’s Total Defense SPF 50 – I love this SPF. It doubles as a moisturizer on days when I don’t need as much TLC, and it packs a lot of antioxidants and niacinimides.

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Cleansing – This was always my problem area. I work many long hours and often, when I come home, all I want to do is crawl into bed, so I used to skip mt night time skincare routine. Now I am obsessed with double cleansing. I use Burt’s Bees Cleansing Oil followed by Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser. The oil removes all my makeup and the foaming cleanser washes everything away. And both are super gentle and non-drying on my skin. No more sleeping with makeup on. For cleansers, I’ve always relied on drugstore brands. It gets washed off anyway, so all I wanted was something that could perform the mechanical job of removing oils, sebums, and dirt while being gentle on my skin. There seem to be many drugstore brands that deliver on this. On days when I do feel too lazy to wash and rinse my face, I make sure to keep micellar water on hand so I can sweep away my makeup with a cotton round. Some cleansing is better than no cleansing.

Exfoliate – I alternate each evening between (1) Paula’s Choice Advanced Smoothing Treatment with 10% AHA (2) SkinMedica’s Retinol Complex, and (3) Skinceutical’s Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid. The latter is not an exfoliant, but I do like to give my skin a rest from exfoliating every day, and using Vitamin C at night allows me to use it up within 3 months before it destabilizes.

Hyaluronic Acid – SkinMedica’s HA Serum plumps my skin with moisture before I seal with a moisturizer. This Serum is expensive, and while I love it, I might experiment with leaving it out and depending solely on a standalone moisturizer. I’ve read that HA really just sits on the surface of your skin and is simply another moisturizer. No better than other humectants.

Moisturizer – Clinique’s Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturizer.

In winter, I love this face cream made by a Canadian company called Green Beaver. Their Boreal Face Cream is soothing and hydrating without being oily. I have eczema on my face and it’s one of the only creams that helps my skin without irritating it.

I used to think that cleaning my face is a chore and would just do the minimal to at least keep my face clean and moisturised. However ever since I started giving the Korean 10-step beauty routine a go, I was completely sold! My skin improved tremendously, so much so that people wondered whether I did ‘something extra’ to my face. 10 steps are tedious but when I put myself in the winding down mode, cleansing and treating my skin with proper care are actually very very enjoyable.

At 38, my skin became the same odd mix of random acne, crow’s feet, sun spots, bleh….dietary changes made a big difference, with overall health & energy as well, but cutting out gluten of the USA (it’s a thing) and most dairy (can’t live without some goat cheese) made a big difference in my skin. And drinking plenty of water (a must in Colorado) with chlorophyl added in some days is required (great for adjusting to the altitude if you come to visit!). Fish oil capsules every other day as well. Topically though, I’ve noticed a big difference with using products that contain glycolic acid. My favorite is Mario Badescu’s Glycolic line.

Has anyone visited the Reddit forum about Skincare Addiction, or the one on Korean Skincare products? Those two forms have been my game changers. I never knew so many options or approaches to working toward good skin existed!

I’ve tried everything reasonably priced for my acne and nothing ever worked for me. My aunt works for Rodan + Fields and gave me an Unblemish kit 3 years ago, which totally changed my life. Ugh! It’s so expensive (for me) but SO worth it! Sometimes I cringe telling people what I use, because their marketing turns a lot of people off from trying it I think– too many cheesy Facebook posts. And yet, it is worth every penny and I will never use anything else. Changed the game for me.

My secret to glow-y skin is:
Vit A Serum at night
Vit C Serum in the morning. Then mineral based Sunscreen everyday.

Totally changed my skin!

Hyaluronic acid is great for a plump, hydrated completion.

Jojoba oil is wonderful and moisturising. I get mine from thejojobacompany.com

Clay masks once a week tightens my pores and prevents any pimples.

Those are my secrets.

This has been a fun thread to read through!

I used to be awful about my skin care. I wasn’t good at consistently cleansing my face and would constantly wake up with raccoon eyes from not properly removing my mascara each night. I don’t know what changed (maybe just getting older?) but I began to get really into skincare products. I currently have a routine I really love:
1. I start each morning using a micellar water cleanser to start my morning fresh faced. I like this because it’s such an all encompassing product. It cleanses, removes suborn makeup, and leaves my face really soft feeling.
2. I now ALWAYS use sunscreen as well as Pixi’s Rose Flash Balm as a moisturizer/primer. I was a little hesitant to purchase because it’s a bit pricey, but I love the way my skin looks and feels after.
3. I’ve stopped wearing as much makeup throughout the day! My morning routine used to be really involved and took me 20+ min. Now I’m out the door in about 5+ min.
4. Finally, I end my night with washing my face twice with the Yes to Carrots gentle cleanser. It’s nothing fancy but I like how soft it leaves my skin after. Then I apply an eye cream, serum, and night cream. I’m currently in search of a new eye cream and serum because I’m not loving mine, but I was BLOWN AWAY by the Burt’s Bees royal jelly night cream. I wake up in the morning and my skin STILL feels so moisturized and soft.

I haven’t tried this yet, but based on this article I’m hoping a highlighter will change my life http://www.manrepeller.com/2017/08/highlighter-makeup.html

Or at least make me look less tired

I have extremely dry sensitive skin and hyaluronic acid has been a game changer for me. I put it on after a serum, I rotate between Kiehl’s Powerful Line Reducing Concentrate and Sunday Riley’s Good Genes, and it locks in the moisture. My face has never been more dewy.

Ehh… I’ve discovered through trial and error that “products” which invariably contain questionable manmade ingredients wreck my skin no matter how fancy and expensive the product is, or how effective the ad campaign is. If it NEEDS an ad campaign it’s probably not good for my skin.

Plain old castile soap with a washcloth or konjac sponge for mild exfoliation, organic vitamin c serum of some sort (brand doesn’t really matter as long as ALL the ingredients follow the “comes from a plant, not made in a plant” rule) and castor oil for a moisturizer. My skin looks and feels so much better using basic stuff that comes from plants than it ever did using gimmicky products that are made in a plant. The latter category really just exists to separate you from your money. :P

I feel the prettiest when I drink my green smoothies! My skin always glows a few hours later.

Go-to properly clean and face hero.

THE BEST!

Australian brand, it just works. My skin has never looked better.

I do also dig Dr Dennis…

http://www.gotoskincare.com

I love using green clay mixed with apple cider vinegar — http://amzn.to/2v5IcbO
If I have time I’ll use a Dr. Jart mask http://amzn.to/2vztb5k
But really lately I’ve just been cleansing my skin with argan oil — http://amzn.to/2hu4p0f and then using it as a moisturizer, and I think it’s looking pretty good. I have really sensitive skin and suffered through years of acne (I did Accutane twice! Once in high school and once in college — I’m 36 now). I think the 90s were all about no fat, no oil and those of us with sensitive skin suffered! My skin has never been happier than when I’m using oil to cleanse. I did put in an order for Everyday Oil though, because I’m curious to try it after hearing all the good things. They’ve been getting so much press it takes two weeks to ship out now, so I hope all the reviews are true!

I was inspired to try Drunk Elephant products after reading Jean’s Beauty Unifrom on Cup of Jo last year and have been obsessed ever since. I started with the vitamin C serum she mentioned and have bought every product since. The only itme they make that I am not crazy about is the sunscreen but I love the rest, especially the soaps, TLC Framboos, and the baby facial. My skin is clear, glowing, and soft!