Let's talk about skin care routines!

Love it or not it's a necessary task. A great skincare regimen can improve all sorts of skin ailments such as aging, texture, appearance, and acne. It can have great prolonged benefits and create some self-care discipline.(Personally its created something for me to look forward to...Almost like a shower meditation). It can become a lengthy process but the pros will outweigh the cons I promise you.

Your usual steps are face wash, exfoliation and masks whether its hydrating or charcoal based. But those "necessities" are needed but for what reason? Here's some reasons as to why simple isn't the way to go in order to truly improve your skincare needs. Your skin is the the largest organ of the body and different washes serve many purposes. Your primary face wash removes debris, exfoliants serve to minimize pores and remove dead skin but you'd need your mask and serum to piece it all together. All these steps cater to different levels and skin concerns; I know why isn't there a cure for all but then they'd be out of business. Now here's how to learn your customized regimen.

How can you find what will work?

1.Best ways is through trial and error. Sephora has some skincare quizzes that'll provide a page filled with content once the results are in. You can always go back and make some adjustments if you're not too into the results and check off some ingredients or brands you'd like help from. Be honest with yourself and keep track of what doesn't work sometimes certain products don't work well together but can still help out. Make sure to space product application days out.

2. You can go on youtube and see who's dropping some gems on some products you're curious about. I definitely recommend checking out vloggers who have a skin type most similar to yours (don't limit it to skin tone resembling yours). There's a bigger ocean of people to scout out when you look for women or men that share your skin issues. I'd recommend, JackieAina, beautybyrosita, tymetheinfamous they're entertaining and informative with the products they use.

3. Edit your beauty storage space and find out what you're missing. Sometimes we don't realize what we have until we go through it. Tunnel vision is a bitch and can impair our focus. Checkout what supplies is expired, didn't work or replenishment. Then I'd recommend shopping for what's remaining. By doing this you can pay more attention to what's needed also you get a reminder on what you already own.

4. This one happens to be my favorite -Ulta skin analysis. It's so cool super modern and kind of glitchy so I'd recommend to screenshot but you answer a mini quiz then take a photo of your face. Once your photo is approved you get a score on your problem areas and a recommended number of products for day and night. You'll get a list of high-end and budget friendly recommendations so you choose how you'd like to spend your dollars. Also, you get a chance to read up on whatever product sparked your curiosity (I like to find out what's inside the bottles and why it works) and if you're a big reader this is when I'd say to screenshot your list. It does this weird thing where you can shop the list but it gets added to a cart that goes somewhere else. The product breakdown made everything so much easier for me and I must say the products suggested for me have slayed my whole life.

My experience with creating a skincare regimen

I've done three out of the four to create the perfect regimen for my skin. First was Sephora and that's when I found the Josie Maran pineapple enzyme pore clearing cleanser. This daily face wash is super amazing because it cleans and brightens my completion. It's a foaming cleanser that is a two -in one because it exfoliates as well. The pineapple enzymes gently exfoliates and clears out and disruptions in the skin while removing dullness as well. It contains marshmallow root which plumps the skin and balances out your levels . Plus, some Argan oil is added (Josie Maran of course) to keep me looking hydrated and youthful. Usually cleansers don't give me any results but this face wash clears out debris and helps minimize pores. I definitely recommend this product for oily skin because it can exfoliate and wash so it maybe rougher on sensitive skin types.

Then I checked out my beauty pantry and realized what I needed, expired and what needed to be replaced. My answers were toner, mask, exfoliant ,serum and night time cream. To find out what worked best for my skin, I tried out the Ulta Skin analysis on the Ulta app. I pretty much purchased all the suggestions that were offered except for the Neutrogena face washes because it normally doesn't work for me. Below I've attached the remaining products that I purchased in the order of use.

Carbon theory was a brand that I've never heard of but I was so excited to use it. If you're acne prone these products are so excellent. The Charcoal and tree oil I use as an exfoliant and use it 3 days out of the week this removes all the blackheads, texture and cleans out my pores. Then the Charcoal, Tree oil and mineral mask I keep on my skin for 15 minutes and that truly targets any of the upcoming acne. The charcoal pulls out any of the bacteria and the tree oil soothes the inflammation so I won't have giant red spots on my face after use.

The Thayers Facial toner with lavender is used especially after the carbon theory combos. it further does the job of minimizing pores while soothing my skin. I've mentioned quite a bit about exfoliants used on my skin and this ensures that my skin doesn't dry out. Toner helps to purify the skin and helps prepare it to absorb the serum that I place right after.

Last step of mine is the Naturally G4U Beauty has no age retinol anti wrinkle serum with built in Vitamin C, A meadowfoam seed oil. It brightens skin exfoliates the dead skin and promotes skin elasticity. Right now, I have minuscule signs of aging (THANK GOD) and its the perfect time to reverse any aging. I honestly would've purchased anything with retinol in it because once you hit 25 your production of collagen drastically reduces and wrinkles can appear. Thus so, retinol helps stop that nonsense from continuing and ensures that your skin stays tight and right.

I end this long post here and if you read the whole post I thank you for staying committed (that is the first step to crafting your own routine). Keep in mind that it'll take time getting familiar with your skin but it'll be so worth it because great skin can last for ages.