Things that helped me with acne 🪵

COSRX - AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner is part of my PM routine. I have dark spots on forehead and cheeks, small bumps on my chin and cheek area. °this is an exfoliating toner with both AHA (glycolic acid) & BHA (salacylic acid). AHA exfoliates the top layer of the skin while the BHA works on a deeper level to clear gunk out of your pores. This toner has brightened up my skin, helped lighten dark spots, rid my face of any bumps and my pores do look smaller! °Always moisturize after using AHA's or BHA's !! # BEWARE!! This toner can be very irritating & drying. It might be too irritating for sensitive skin and should not be used on or to cure open acne sores. COSRX - AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Tonerwill be my go to PM toner! I also want to try their snail mucin toner. I really like this product line. How about you?

Here are my favorite products for acne all under $20! All of these can be found in Target and/or Ulta. Remember that you should not be using these products more that 3 times a week besides the spot treatments. Cleansers artnaturals - Cleansing Face Wash Great for oily/acne-prone skin. ACURE - Resurfacing Glycolic & Unicorn Root Clenser Great cleanser for mild exfoliation. PanOxyl - Acne Foaming Wash Benzoyl Peroxide 10% Maximum Strength I would only recommend this if you are sensitive to salicylic acid. Otherwise, use the other cleansers I recommend. Toners COSRX - AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner Gentle toner for acne with glycolic acid and willow bark. Serums/treatments The Ordinary - Mandelic Acid 10% + HA Really gentle + great for clogged pores and hair follicles DIFFERIN - DIFFERIN Acne Treatment Gel Strong acne retinoid. Spot treatments/patches cocokind - Turmeric Spot Treatment Really nice but can stain your pillow case or even face if you don’t wash it out well. SheaMoisture - African Black Soap & Bamboo Charcoal Drying Lotion Inexpensive dupe for the Mario Badescu one alba BOTANICA - Acne Pimple Patch Amazing/inexpensive patches HERO COSMETICS - Mighty Patch Original for Madewell Classic pimple patch peach slices - Acne Spot Dots Average pimple patches STARFACE - Hydro-Stars Cute + helps a lot with inflammation ⭐️ TRULY - Our Stars Prevent Scars Acne Patches They have glycolic acid to help with dead skin buildup and tea tree oil to help with inflammation ⭐️

Hi all, Around the first week of December 2020 I decided to start trying Differin Adapalene Gel to address my skin concerns. As some of my previous posts explain, I’ve struggled badly with oily skin, blackheads, extremely enlarged pores, and occasional acne, most of my teenage years and into my adult life (I’m 26 now). I have tried SO many products to try and help curb my issues (see previous posts for examples), and though they’ve helped a little, I’ve never been fully satisfied with the results... my skin is just stubborn! I decided to swap my retinol for Differin to see if it would target my issues a little bit better and JEEZ has this been a journey so far... So to be completely blunt, I’m discouraged. If you look at the attached photo, the picture with all the acne is me NOW. Yes, RIGHT NOW. The one WITHOUT explosive acne is my BEFORE Differin skin. Okay, now I’ll get into it... So it’s been about 9 weeks since I’ve started on Differin. In the beginning I noticed my skin was starting to feel really sensitive, which it never is. Any other product (Niacinamide, Hyaluronic Acid, etc.) felt like burning when I put it on, which is incredibly strange for me. My skin has been consistently pink ever since. I immediately stopped using any BHA, AHA or any harsh acid while using Differin and made sure to SLATHER on reparative moisturizer to help repair my skin barrier. Basically my skin routine needed to stripped to the bare minimum. Throughout the weeks, my skin flaked and peeled excessively, especially with makeup on. It looked SO dry and awful and felt stingy underneath (still does). Then about 3 weeks in, the purging started. It started off slow and erupted to where it’s at now on February 11, 2021. Purge pimples are so strange compared to my sporadic cystic acne bumps I’m used to getting. Purging shows up in a big breakout cluster of pimples, mostly small (not always), but definitely painful and brutal looking for me. Over the weeks it just got worse and worse. I’m getting pimples all in the same place for the most part — my lower cheek areas. It has been tumultuous and my skin has never looked this terrible in my whole life. I’ve done my research on Differin, and everyone says it is completely normal for your skin to get worse before it gets better (for me, A LOTTTTT worse). I’m hoping this is true because I really want to stick this out — I’ve already gone through the worst of it, might as well wait it out a bit longer. If you’re interested in Differin, just be prepared for what you’re getting into! I’m sure this will all be worth it but wanted to share my experience and help others with the SHOOKness that may or may not happen. I will definitely share updates in the future with hopefully better results! Anyone try Differin before? Was it this hard? Did your purging last this long? Words of encouragement? Thank you!! DIFFERIN - DIFFERIN Acne Treatment Gel

I truly don’t like doing before and afters especially when it looks like there’s barely any progress but I promise you my skin FEELS so much better than it looks and I’ve seen some amazing progress! I’ve tagged the products I feel have helped the most recently. It takes patience but little progress is still PROGRESS 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Disclaimer I am not a professional or influencer and anything but a 29 Year Old Bruhh Girl with a skincare addiction and battle with Sh***y skin for my entire life!!! I recently moved from NY to FL about 7 months ago and my skin did not agree with the change, or I have just entered into a new phase... I’m thinking Hormonal Acne but I have not been seen by any professionals... Since Aug 2020 I have been on the hunt like seriously I’ve been hunting down the elite skincare routine for my skin!!! Yes I spent way too much money on legit every TikTok trend my boyfriend every week would be like “let me guess TikTok made u buy it” but all in all he supports the chase since he knows how much it means to me to have that glowing smooth skin... Also I should add I’m an extreme picker like it’s terrible I hope you’ve enjoyed this rant... let me know if you’d like to see more products I’ve purchased ❤️ #Hero Cosmetics - Clear Collective Trio[products]#[FiveStars] This stuff is just pure magic, it’s affordable $35 for the set, a little goes a long way, packaging is beautiful, and just works so well. I’ve been using this set AM / PM for the last 7 days and I can already set see such a difference 😍 I finally feel like I have found a simple and affordable line of products that just do the job! The only thing I didn’t love at first was that all of the products have absolutely no scent, and the cream felt a little thick but you seriously only need a pea size for full face! HERO COSMETICS - Mighty Patch Original for Madewell These are life savers, and the 24 pack is only $8, like I’ve mentioned I’m a picker! I’ve been really forcing myself to remember to use these first signs of a pimple and whelp they never disappoint. Plus it’s kinda satisfying waking up seeing that they worked and peeling off the patch and no longer having a painful bump 🙌🏻🙌🏻 HERO COSMETICS - Lightening Wand I purchased the travel size of this product to give it a try, since I am a picker often my post pimple healing phase can last weeks of redness / scabs ... this has deff been helping with the redness and healing period but after some reading I think I will be giving the Rescue Balm a try. The lighting wand is easy to use but the travel is $10 and full size $20, and the Rescue Balm is $13, personally I feel like this may be more useful for post acne scars rather than healing process.

Let’s chat about exfoliation and how often you should when it comes to your face 🧖🏾‍♀️ • When in doubt 1 to 2 times a week is the best way to go, however it depends on the formulation of an exfoliating product 👏🏽 • In between those days of exfoliation my go to is keeping my skin hydrated, moisturized and can’t hurt to add in some calming/soothing ingredients 😈 • If you aren’t sure how often to use a product I’d definitely check out the instructions on the box of message the company 😊 • What product are you using to exfoliate with currently? And how often are you using it? 👀 • Would you like to see a winter body care routine chart and video? ❄️ • I’ve been using the HERO COSMETICS - Lightening Wand * to exfoliate with and #Paula’s Choice - 8% AHA + 2% Hydroquinone[products]#[FourStars] on my face 😏 • *this product was kindly gifted to me by Hero Cosmetics, all opinions are my own and I have an affiliate code in my bio if you’d like to use it

I'm brand new to retinol and decided to try this super gentle one. Today is day one and I am hoping to see a reduction in the hyperpigmentation on my jawline. Will follow up in a month. Have you used this? Do you like it? Any other suggestions for Retinol?CeraVe - Resurfacing Retinol Serum

When I first purchased this toner, I really loved it. Right off the bat, the milky texture felt hydrating and nourishing. But, as I have grown more familiar with the product, I have realized that is not quite the case. First, I have very sensitive and reactionary skin. Sometimes it feels like I’ll break out in a rash if the wind just happens to blow in the wrong direction. This likely explains the issue that I have but I am nevertheless disappointed. Due to my sensitivity level, I introduce actives VERY slowly and cautiously. It has taken me about a year and a half to work my way up to using the CeraVe - Resurfacing Retinol Serum every other day. It has also taken me about 6 months to work up to using the By Wishtrend - Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water once or twice a week (on nights that I don’t use the CeraVe). After emptying this product, I realize that this was part of the problem!! For weeks now, I have experienced a moderate to strong tingling sensation when applying the Wishtrend Mandelic Acid and even experienced a similar (but not as strong) sensation with THE inkey LIST - Polyhydroxy Acid (PHA) Gentle Exfoliating Toner which is apparently about as gentle as you can get with chemical exfoliants. I assumed that this was just part of the process for me as I was experimenting with chemical exfoliants for the first time. I hadn’t used either product independently of the FAB toner and since it says “safe for sensitive skin” I never once thought it could be prepping my skin for a stronger reaction. That, however, is what appears to have been happening. When I ran out of the toner, the reactions to the Wishtrend Mandelic acid immediately dissipated. While I still feel a slight tingle for a few seconds, it is only a fraction of the sensation I used to feel. I find this to be incredibly frustrating because I do enjoy other products from FAB (I love the cleanser). My issue is this, FAB’s entire brand seems focused on caring for the health of your skin. Hell, the name is FIRST AID Beauty!! If you are going to sell products that are marketed as “safe for sensitive skin” they should truly be safe for sensitive skin!! I realize that anyone can develop or have a reaction to anything so it is not entirely their fault. Everyone has to test every product for themselves. It is frustrating, though. Anyways, I’ll wrap up my rant now. Thanks for stopping by and congrats if you made it this far!!