When I originally wrote this skincare content I first was going to share a list of where I started and every product I’ve tried in succession and what I thought of it. I will eventually share that list, because some of those products were fine for a time and as my needs shifted so did the products.  

But I am now so happy with the products I am using now that I decided to share these first. 

I have recently over the last two months really shifted my process from a lot of strong active ingredients to soothing barrier supporting products. Its improving skin brightness, texture and most of all feel. My skin finally doesn’t hurt.  Most of what I use is from Korean skincare. 

Favorite Products: 

Skin 1004 Centella Light Cleansing Oil: This is the best oil cleanser I have found. It is great for acne safe skin and is good for oil pulling sebum and sebaceous filaments out of the skin. Also good for getting sunscreen or makeup off. This is always my first step. 

Water based cleansers:

I bounce between three water based cleansers but I will only share two in the context of this post because once the third one is done, I won’t be buying it again. I am not a fan. Its not bad, but its also nothing special. 

Panoxyl 10 percent benzoyl peroxide wash: I use as directed, applying to wet skin and allowing to sit for a few minutes.  If I am really breaking out, I use this. Be careful of clothing or towels though, it does bleach things. 

Skin1004 Ampoule Foam Cleanser: I love the texture of it and its gentle and soothing, good for getting the skin clean and is not harsh or drying to the skin.  I use this most days.

Toner: 

Probio-Cica Essence Toner:  With fermented Centella, ceramides, 5 hylauranic acids, this is super soothing. Makes my skin feel so happy. I use this in morning and at night. 

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid: Once every week or two I use this on my face, but usually I only use on my back and chest. Or in armpits, cause its good at killing bacteria that causes body odor. 

Serums and Ampoules:

Skin 1004 Centella Ampoule: I use this directly after toner before other serums or ampoules. Its super soothing. 

Skin 1004 Poremizing Fresh Ampoule: I’ve got fairly oily skin with somewhat large pores but since using this the sebum on my face is way less and a lot of blackheads are just melting away. Uses centella asiatica, which is a theme in all these products from skin1004 but also mineral salts and aloe extract. 

Skin1004 Tone Brightening Capsule Ampoule:  Its cool looking but also effective. Gets rid of those bright red marks in a fraction of the time. Also apparently good for sun spots ect but I dont deal with those. Centella Asiatica Extract, Niacinamide, Tranexamic Acid, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Madecassoside are what make it work, and it does. Absolutely worth the hype. 

I actually currently layer all three of these in the order listed at night. And during the day I use the first two. I have experimented with a few other serums ect from them but these are what I will be buying again. 

The Ordinary Azaleic Acid: This is not a serum but is applied after serums for me as a spot treatment. It is another thing that evens tone but also brings down inflammation in healing spots.  I love it, have been using it for over a year. 

Moisturizers: 

Skin1004 Poremizing Gel Cream: I have pretty oily skin as previously mentioned and I tried this and it hydrates while not being sticky or greasy.  I adore this moisturizer.  I like to use this in the morning mostly. 

Skin1004 Tone Brighening Capsule Gel Cream: It has a lot of the same ingredients as the ampoule in a bouncy, yes I said bouncy gel cream.  It also doesn’t make my skin greasy or sticky and I use it primarily at night unless I have a lot of redness. 

I shared in the last post how I actually do the process, linked here. But these products are also listed in the order by which I would use them. Always oil cleanser first, then on the wet skin a water based cleanser. Toner. Serums and ampoules, then moisturizers.

And if I intend to spend a significant amount of time in the sun, sunscreen although I don’t have a favorite yet to share. I intend to try to much hyped skin1004 options when what I am using runs out. Don’t judge me for that, I am a ginger in Mexico trying to avoid pain. Also I notice my red marks stick around twice as long when I go out in the sun bare skinned. 

So there it is, next post I’ll share all the products I tried to get me to where I’m at now. And then its on to the hair processes.  If it seems like a lot that’s because it is. I have years of inflammation and damage to heal and while I could do it without these products, with them it goes much faster and its fun. I like layering them, the way they feel on my skin and more.