Resolutions! Resolutions! I promised myself that I would *TRY* and take care of my skin starting this year. I’m not getting any younger, in fact, I’m just a couple of months shy from my birthday. I’m the typical lazy girl but I’m also lucky enough to be blessed with mediocre / not bad skin, lol. I don’t always breakout, it’s usually when I’m stressed or it’s that time of the month. I have normal-combination skin with the T-zone tending to be oily. The biggest problem that I really have is clogged pores around my nose and forehead and that’s something I’ve been trying to combat since forever. Diamond peels and nose strips won’t be enough if without a good routine. So I decided to go on a two-day research hunt as to what a good skin care routine is.
Skin Type
First and foremost, figure out what your skin type is. There are times when people review a particular product even though it’s not targeted at them. There is the dry skin type, normal, normal – combination tending to be oily, normal – combination tending to be dry, oily, and sensitive.
Target Problems
Second, if you really want things to work, start with what you’re supposed to take care and to get rid of. Blackheads are the bane of my existence (particularly, my nose’s). You see, I thought that scrubbing my face everyday would get rid of them. I was, apparently, making it worse! Scrubbing my face removes all the facial oils I have making my face not oily at all after. However, a few hours later, my T-zone would produce oil like crazy and that’s because I’ve stripped my face with its essential oils as well that it’ll tend to overproduce oil.
Knowledge is Power
Third, research, research, research. Research your skin type, research your skin problems, research the possible solutions, research the product and its ingredients, research and read all the reviews!
The Asian Way
Korean beauty routines have been on the rise for quite some time now and there’s no surprise to that at all. Have you seen any Korean show / singer / group / K-Pop artist? Even the men have prettier skin than mine (not that they should have worse)! I went to that route instead of the westernized version. It’s also good to use Asian products because they would be apt for our climate and skin type.
It is recommended to follow the 10-step skin care routine but I had to simplify as we (mostly, I) don’t want to get overwhelmed and spend money on something we don’t really understand. Here’s my take on the skin care routine:
Step 1a: Cleansing / Removing Make Up
Step 1b: Second Cleansing
Step 2: Exfoliator / Scrub*
Step 3: Toner
Step 4: Serum / Essence / Ampoule
Step 5: Sheet Mask**
Step 6: Emulsion / Moisturizer
*once a week
**twice a week
Step 1a: Cleansing / Removing Make Up
The person who started all these believes in double cleansing. The first cleansing is usually oil based to help get rid of make up easily, including waterproof ones. I have a Clarins Makeup Remover and although it works quite well, it has a strong smell that can be quite offensive in large amounts, especially when you’re trying to remove nose make up. I decided to give a non-liquid makeup remover a try and chose Clean It Zero since it has lots of good reviews. Note that I am making this step optional, and to use it only when I wear make up which is quite rare.
Try: The Face Shop Rice Water Cleansing Oil, Banila Co. Clean It Zero, Skinfood Black Sugar Cleansing Oil, Hada Labo Gokujyun Water-Based Makeup Remover
Banila Co. Clean It Zero
Step 1b: Second Cleansing
After we do our first cleansing, our face could still be oily or has make up residue. We will now move on to a water based or a foaming cleanser. Skin Food Aloe Vera Foaming Cleanser was recommended by one of the blogs I’ve read, as well as reddit users, so I gave it a go. This is the only product that I’ve been using religiously so far and I’m actually loving it.
Try: Hada Labo Tokyo Hydrating Facial Cleanser, Skin Food Aloe Vera Foaming Cleanser, TonyMoly Fermented Snail Foam Cleanser
Skin Food Aloe Vera Foaming Cleanser
Step 2: Exfoliator / Scrub
This step is only done once or twice a week. As I’ve mentioned earlier, scrubbing your face daily will strip all of the oils including the essential ones which will then lead to overproducing oil. I used to use Garnier’s facial scrub but I just found out about the dangers of microbeads, so I stopped it altogether and found this amazing scrub from Skin Food.
Try: Skin Food Black Sugar Mask Wash Off, Black Sugar Strawberry Scrub, St. Ives Exfoliating Pads
Skin Food Black Sugar Strawberry Scrub
Step 3: Toner
After all the cleansing and occasional scrubbing, toning also helps strip off the dirt residue that hasn’t begone. However, while it does strip off the very last make up in your face, most, if not all, are designed to add moisture to the skin that might’ve been stripped off during scrubbing / cleansing. Toners help level the skin’s Ph balance. Searching for the right toner is quite hard and I’ve observed that most of the products included in Asian skin care routines aren’t as harsh as the western versions or what we call astringents.
Try: Innisfree Olive Real Skin, Etude House Wonderpore Freshner, MUJI Light Toning Water for Sensitive Skin (High Moisture)
Muji Light Toning Water
Step 4: Serum / Essence / Ampoule
Korean’s have an essence which I haven’t fully delved into but if I’ve understood correctly, this step is where your face gets additional care. Brightening, getting rid of fine lines, and any extra care you’d like to add. For me, I tend to have an oily T-zone so I picked up a serum that will target that.
Try: Innisfree Green Tea Serum, Skin Food Peach Sake Pore Serum, Missha The First Treatment Essence, Missha Time Revolution Night Repair New Science Activator Ampoule
Skin Food Peach Sake Pore Serum
Step 5: Sheet Masks
Just like exfoliators, sheet masks are done once or twice in a week. Much like serums, sheet masks can also cater to your extra needs. There are various sheet masks in almost all skin care shops so choosing one per week would be very fun. Vitamin E this week, collagen next!
Try: The Face Shop Sheet Masks (Aloe), Etude House Collagen Sheet Masks
ETUDE House Sheet Masks in Pearl (for Bright Complexion), Coenzyme Q10 (for Tightening & Firming), Aloe (for Soothing Relief), Vita Complex (for Radiating Skin)
Step 6: Emulsion / Moisturizer
Moisturizing is something we are all familiar with. Depending on your skin type, moisturizers can help you prevent your face from becoming too dry or too oily. There are also variations that help aging and sensitive skin.
Try: Mizon Black All-in-one Snail Cream, Etude House Moistfull Collagen Emulsion, Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion, Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Nourishing Moisturiser
Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Nourishing Moisturiser
I have two moisturizers that I decided to try. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Nourishing Moisturiser has been a recommendation by multiple make up artists that I follow, it is apparently the best moisturizer you can use before putting on make up.
The second one is a Mizon Black All-in-one Snail Cream because of its high reviews! Snails and starfishes are all the raves in the Asian Beauty department.
Mizon Black All-in-one Snail Cream
Now, will I be able to do this religiously? I hope so! I’ll be back in a few months or so to review each product and see which worked for me and which hasn’t. Hopefully, I haven’t burned my entire face by then, haha!
Go forth and be beautiful!
Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty, https://intothegloss.com/2014/04/korean-beauty-skincare/
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