It’s a compliment when I’m approached and someone tells me my skin looks amazing! It feels good because it wasn’t to long ago that my skin was causing me to feel insecure.

I had a two year streak where my skin was constantly breaking out, leaving scars, and drying out causing flaky foundation. Super sexy right? I thought I was never going to be able to have calm skin. 

After going through this journey I realized that there is no such thing as normal skin and there’s no reason to feel insecure. If you’re in this point now in your life don’t panic. I want to share three things that improved my skin allowing me to have days where I don’t have to cover up to feel comfortable. 

Lets jump right in, I’m excited to share with you! 

Skincare -Alcohol= Happy Skin !

I thought using alcohol on my breakouts would stop the spread of bacteria on my face leading to a decreased amount of breakouts. When I first tried this the short term benefits were amazing, my face was smooth and it controlled the oil. 

BUT, that’s exactly what you shouldn’t do. Those short term benefits ended up with negative long term consequences for me. 

Alcohol actually increased the oiliness in my skin, so the immediate de-greasing effect eventually counteracted, causing my oily skin to look even more shiny.

Talk about the definition of insanity!

Why Alcohol is bad for the skin

Alcohol can have an extremely drying effect on skin, since it absorbs so quickly once applied. While it’s true that it can help dissolve oils on the skin (hence why most anti-blemish products contain it) the benefits are not worth the long term consequences.

Over time, alcohol can harm the skin’s protective outer layer, removing the healthy fats that lock in moisture and protect against harmful agents, leading to dehydrating and ageing your skin which is exactly what we don’t want.

Surprisingly, it can trick your skin into producing more blemish-causing oils in the long run, causing your skin to work overtime.

Once I stopped using the harsh acne banishing products my face finally started to calm down.

Instead grab a gentle cleanser to help clean your face. 

Double Wash

This I started to do more recently, and I can’t believe it took me so long. When I wear makeup, I wear me some makeup and when I wash my face I don’t always get it all off. SO I would go to bed with a portion of my face clean and that lead to painful break outs. 

What is Double washing

This method is twice as nice 🙂 Basically you’ll start off with a oil based cleanser, wiping it off. Second part of this process is using your normal go to face wash to help get more out of your pores. 

Heres how it works 

1. Grab an oil-based cleanser or micellar water to wipe off makeup and oil buildup. Micellar water, which can be used as a oil-based cleanser, will gently remove the makeup and oils and gently wipe them off leaving the natural hydrating oils behind. 
2. After the first step has removed makeup and impurities, step two involves a lathering cleanser and water. I switch this often since I like to try new things. One that is always use is Cetaphil, its super gentle and won’t cause stripping the oils in your skin. 

Why Double washing is Important 

Double cleansing with a micellar water can be very helpful to remove the heavy layer of makeup allowing the cleanser truly clean your skin. 

This allows for the serums and creams you apply afterwards to penetrate deeper, making them more effective. Clean skin will allow active ingredients to penetrate better and work more effectively. 

Added Serums to the Routine 

Serum is a must have for me now. I apply serums to my skin after cleansing but before moisturizing. I love using serums because they penetrate deeper into the skin and deliver a very high concentration of active ingredients that are bomb for the face. 

Before serums I would wash my face and jump right to moisturizer and I noticed my skin was still dull. I purchased a gift set of serums and fell in love. 

Since I have acne-prone skin I look for serums with: 

1. Vitamin C-  This increases collagen production, enhances skin’s repair process, and reduces inflammation.
2. Retinol- antioxidant, reduces inflammation
3. Zinc- Soothes irritation, regulates oil production
4. Salicylic acid – unclogs pores

These have been the three things that have changed my skin for the better. I encourage you to try at least one of these if you haven’t already done so. The one that has been more beneficial for my skin was cutting out products with Alcohol in it.