The Main Types of Acne — And How to Treat Them

I’m not gonna lie, my combination skin makes it hard for me to find good face creams. My t-zone tends to be oily while my cheeks tend to be dry. Sometimes, my skin would even fluctuate between dry and oily, which is simply annoying. I’ve tried three different snail creams before, one of which I’m still using at the moment. This is my verdict for all three, as someone with combination skin. DEWYTREE - Ultra Vitalizing Snail Cream This cream was the very first product I tried from this Korean brand, actually. My boyfriend gifted it to me during one of his trips to Korea. It costs around $22 for 80ml. I actually didn’t like this cream a lot, mainly because of the smell. It’s hard to explain, but it doesn’t smell like something you’d want to put on your face. It’s moisturizing but it didn’t make me oily, which was good. I could even wear it under my makeup as long as I only used a little bit of it. Coreana Winage Snail Magic Cream This is one of my favorite creams in the whole world. Just like the last cream, this was also bought for me by my boyfriend. More specifically, it was his mom who recommended this cream for me since apparently it has a very good reputation among Koreans. It costs roughly $30 for 100ml, which isn’t a bad price at all. I found it quite perfect for my combination skin. It moisturized my skin just enough to avoid dryness but it got absorbed pretty quickly too so I never became oily while using this. I wanted to continue using this after I ran out, but it’s not available in my country and my boyfriend wasn’t able to buy one again during his last Korea trip. Dr. G Black Snail CreamDr.G - Black Snail Cream If you have dry skin, and I mean really dry skin, this cream is perfect for you. It’s quite thick so I use it only at night. At roughly $50 for 50ml, it’s the most expensive of the three, but it works so well that I’m actually already on my second tub. This was also recommended for me by my boyfriend’s mom because apparently it’s a popular cream in Korea. I still prefer Coreana over this though, mainly due to how thick this is. It’s really more suited towards dry skin people than normal or oily skin people. Of these three snail creams, I’d say you should check out Coreana if you’ve got normal or combination skin, and Dr. G if you have dry skin. Dewytree isn’t so bad for normal or combination skin too, but you’re honestly better off with these other options.

It makes perfect sense for @laneigeca Sleeping Mask to have lavender infused into the formula. Lavender is a calming ingredient, the essential oil has been known to help with stress and sleep when diffused in the air or sprayed in a room. Having it in a night cream to help calm and soothe the skin, but the light scent could also help with sleep as we use it before bed 🌙 The texture of this sleeping mask is a really light gel-like texture, with almost a watery flow. I use this once a week as a night cream and I’ve never felt so hydrated. Another lavender product I’m loving is @niu.body lavender toning mist which I spray on at night, and at to my custom masks for a soothing effect. The lavender scent doesnt slap you in the face, its actually nice and light and refreshing. . As always, you can save 20% off @niu.body with my code Leena20

For numerous reasons, I have been stressed lately which really shows on my skin. I already get the occasional breakout, around the time of the month, and sometimes from diet and eating food that probably isn’t GREAT for me. So with additional stress I eat more, crave more crappy food, maybe pick at my skin, etc. I also wear a face mask whenever I go out and with the heat and humidity of where I live, it just becomes a skin nightmare. I just made another post about how I’ve changed up my skincare routine. Here is my makeup routine for covering it up. Add warmth and color back into the face. COLOURPOP - Super Shock Blush in Count Me In NUDESTIX - Nudies All Over Face Color Bronze + Glow in Terracotta Tan I find that when I’m breaking out, my face can tend to look flat and pale. By adding some warmth and color back into the face, you look healthier and more radiant which will help a lot at disguising breakouts. The colourpop blush is a beautiful mousse-y texture that gives sheer color with a satin-finish. The cream bronzer is my holy grail! It’s super creamy, long-lasting and looks just. like. skin. Spot-conceal. MAKE UP FOR EVER - Full Cover Concealer Wearing a full-coverage long-wear foundation just isn’t the way to go for me. It ends up looking cakey and accentuating texture instead of disguising it. As the individual breakouts are the only areas I really want to cover, I don’t want to cover the areas of my skin that are actually smooth and break-out free! This concealer is super high coverage, a little goes a long way and very long lasting. I will sometimes use a pinpoint eyeliner brush or even just my ring finger to pat the product exactly where I need it! This TRULY gives the illusion of smoother, clearer skin. Lock it in. rms beauty - Un" Powder I love this powder because of its super fine and silky texture. It makes my skin look 100% poreless which is perfect for smoothing out texture on my skin! It also keeps my T-zone area shine-free all day without drying out my skin (as many mattifying powders do to me).

I struggled with hormonal pustule acne for a long time, as well as pustules and whiteheads from oil overproduction. It was moderate to severe, covering my left and right cheeks. Three specific products helped to reduce my breakouts in frequency, coverage, redness, and the level of pain associated with the inflammation. PAULA'S CHOICE - 10% Niacinamide Booster is amazing. Just 4% Niacinamide has been shown by a couple studies to be as effective at reducing moderate acne as clindamycin- a topical antibiotic! I can attest to its acne fighting prowess, as I saw distinct reduction in not only the amount of acne I had, but also how intense it was- it was less painful and not nearly as red a few hours after application. Niacinamide normalizes pore lining and controls oil production so I saw immense improvement in whiteheads and pustules when using twice daily. But this prevented my oil-caused acne more than my hormonal acne, though it eased both. DRUNK ELEPHANT - B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum was the first product I used that gave me relief. I hadn’t known it, but my oil overproduction was largely in part from dehydrated skin. Since I used no moisturizer or serum, my skin produced extra oil after I cleansed. Incorporating B-Hydra replenished my skin with water, glycerin, panthenol, sodium hyaluronate (a form of HA), and sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer. I saw quick reduction in the number of whiteheads I developed! Using it before applying an exfoliant helps prevent dryness associated with peels. PAULA'S CHOICE - 10% Azelaic Acid Booster should be in nearly ever acne arsenal. It is antimicrobial and anti inflammatory to help fight acne, plus it lightens dark spots dramatically in my experience. Applying this in the AM shrinks pustules by nighttime and makes the area around the blemish much less red. I find this gives the quickest acne-minimizing results of all the products I’ve used. When treating acne, always make sure to eliminate possible irritants such as fragrance and essential oils, as well as drying alcohol. Acne can be a sign of inflammation and using gentle products can ease the pain associated with (as well as the prevalence of) acne tremendously. As well, I always recommend salicylic acid for treating acne, but I wanted to highlight these specific products because they’re not mentioned as often and they played a huge role in my acne journey.

Collagen is a protein made up of amino acids, imparting bounce and firmness. But collagen can be broken down by free radicals (hello, oxidizing fragrance/volatile essential oil compounds), smoking, UV rays, and age. Age contributes to collagen loss also because your body makes less collagen peptides after some time in your 20s. Topical collagen-containing products don’t work, as collagen molecules are too big to pass through the epidermis. Instead, use peptides to help it act younger and make more collagen! Peptides (also made up of amino acids) are small enough to get to the dermis where collagen is made. In response, skin should start making more peptides to form more collagen. Copper peptides are considered particularly beneficial, though the main benefit over normal peptides is their wound healing capability, making them wonderful for those with acne, on top of their anti-aging benefit. DRUNK ELEPHANT - Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer contains 9 varieties of peptides, including copper peptides, as well as a variety of amino acids, fatty acids, and humectants. I love this gel-cream, it’s wonderful as a multifaceted moisturizer that is light enough for oily skin and helps fight signs of aging. PAULA'S CHOICE - Peptide Booster contains 8 peptides, amino acids, fatty acids, and a variety of humectants. No copper peptides, instead incorporating a variety of antioxidants, helping to contribute to the calmness of skin and prevent free radical-induced breakdown of collagen. An amazing anti-aging serum with a texture that sits between creamy and silky, sinking in quickly and giving my skin quite a bit of plumpness. This would be the best of the bunch for a multifaceted anti-aging peptide product. The Ordinary - "Buffet" + Copper Peptides 1% contains seven peptides -one of which is a copper peptide- plus a variety of amino acids and hyaluronic acid. It’s a simple yet effective serum that is a bit tacky and smells of metal, but the results are worth it. Applying it to a scab/large acne lesion nightly speeds along its healing noticeably- plus I see less hyperpigmentation develop afterwards. I can’t recommend this enough as a budget-friendly entry into peptide serums!