Since it’s a snow day in NYC, I can finally crank out a long over due post!
About 2 weeks ago, my brother asked me for help. Skincare help. He knows how much time, effort, and money I’ve put into my skincare routine and into trying new products. And he also knows how many samples I’ve acquired over the months. So I was happy to oblige! Especially since it meant he could use some products I haven’t gotten around to because my skin was dealing with some flare-ups as well.. I’ve had to cut back on trying new products and went to the “basics” just to calm my skin a bit.
So I went through my stash and figured out some products that would tackle my brother’s skincare concerns, that would work with my brother’s face AND his willingness to put products on his face.
But first, a quick profile on my brother’s skin:
Skin type: combination skin (dry on some parts, oily on others) with big pores, very acne-prone
Skin issues/concerns: deep, cystic acne in T-zone
Because my brother’s absolutely new to this, I gave him a quick bare-bones routine: cleansers, BHA, an essence or two, and acne patches. I know, I know, you must be wondering why there’s not even a toner. Or moisturizer! That was intentional. I was throwing these products onto my brother’s face without any test period. I didn’t want to overwhelm his already problematic skin so I left out the more moisturizing parts of the routine. Not conventional at all, but my brother was already confused why he would have to spend more than 5 minutes dealing with his face. I figured once the results roll in (and his skin accepts the new products- I only made him do this during nighttime to lessen the skin shock), he’ll be more receptive and willing to try a more hydrating routine.
Oil cleanser: Manyo Factory Herb Green Cleansing Oil
I received this from my ongoing 3B Box subscription. I personally wanted to try this one myself (even if I’m more biased for sherbet consistency oil cleansers) and will probably steal the full size I got him (purchased at the ever sweet MelodyCosme) to have my own two-cents about it. But I think this is a perfect beginner oil cleanser for acne-prone skin. Green tea has great properties that are gentle on skin. Plus it has tea tree which is great for trying to curb acne.
Foam cleanser: Hada Labo (old faithful)
I explained to my brother why one needs to double cleanse and handed him my Hada Labo. He’s been accustomed to drugstore cleansers which, as he said “didn’t do sh*t” so I needed to start him on something simple and with the right pH level that it won’t strip his skin.
BHA: CosRx Blackhead Power Liquid
I have him apply these on his problem spots only/just on his pimples.
Essence: Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Essence
I got this full size one from my travels to Asia last fall, thinking I got a deal but I found out I can find it in K-Town. I first tried it when it came in as a sample in a 3B Box and fell in love with it then. It has helped my skin whenever I had some irritation on my cheeks that would later become tiny zits. After using it for a week, it alleviated the bumps and my skin was smooth. To me, it’s honestly on par with the CosRx Snail Essence, most likely due to the healing propolis properties, so I like having both of them in my arsenal for days when my skin isn’t cooperating. I gave this for my brother to use to help his redness and to prevent breakouts from starting. He did notice his skin was smoother when I patch-tested one side of his face with it.
Spot treatments: CosRx Acne Pimple Master Patch and Skyn Iceland Blemish Dots
I’ve used both of these before and honestly, I prefer the Skyn ones over the CosRx- but it also depends on where my pimples are in terms of healing. Skyn ones helped those pimples that just started to surface: I would put one on at night then in the morning, it was as if it went back in and disappeared about 80% of the time. For the times when it ended up being a really stubborn one, I would apply a CosRx one and it would heal rather quickly. I tried alternating its use (CosRx on forming pimples, Skyn on “matured” ones) but I never got any results with it. So I’ve stuck to this method and it helps most of the time. (Some zits just are REALLY stubborn.)
I received the CosRx dots in the pic from 3B Box, but are readily accessible at places such as oo35mm, SoKo Glam, and even Amazon. The Skyn dots, also available on Amazon, first fell into my hands from one of Bianca Jade’s Quarterly boxes.. which I also highly recommend for the fellow fitness/wellness junkie (perhaps a review on it later).
I plan on introducing a witch hazel toner I got way back when from my 3B Box subscription. He wanted a quick fix so I wanted to experiment what the results would be if there was no toner. And he already was reluctant to the idea of staying in the bathroom just for his face so the quicker he got out of there, the better.
This experiment is still ongoing especially since he’s happy that his cystic spots have healed quicker than before. Though, much like my skin, on nights when he’s lazy and doesn’t stick to the routine, he gets a random breakout. As I continue to keep throwing things on his face, I will definitely add some updates to this post as they come!
Up to Snuff 