3.21.2017

Hormonal Acne Routine Part 5: Weekly Schedule

This post is the final installment of my Hormonal Acne Series:

Click to Read > Part 1: Philosophies
Click to Read > Part 2: First Line of Defense
Click to Read > Part 3: The Surge
Click to Read > Part 4: The Cleanup Crew

I have discovered the following about my own skin from years of trial and error and plenty of research. If you do not have the basics of skincare covered yet, then you have no business moving on to targeted acne solutions, especially not exfoliating actives. Please use great caution when introducing a new acne-fighting product. My routine is the result of many years of slow introduction and cautious experimentation. It should not be used as a shopping list for a newbie. Please read Part 1 for a summary of my acne troubles and my philosophies!

My Week in Acne (Calm Week)


Some weeks, my skin is groovin. It looks fabulous, feels fabulous, and the only acne on my face is of the healing variety. That is, no emerging active acne, no aggravated clogs, and no intense redness. For these weeks, I maintain my schedule but I take advantage of the calm and enjoy my moisturizing, luxurious routines. I will usually keep up my actives routine but skip clay masking and spot treating with zinc. Since I'm not soothing active inflammation, I just need to keep my moisture barrier happy and avoid causing new clogs.

My Week in Acne (Crazy Week)


On the other hand, I get these weeks- the ones where my skin is going nuts and exploding in every possible way. I've got weeping open acne, emerging cysts which stubbornly refuse to show a head, and bumpy texture indicating widespread clogging.

The most important thing is to not panic when this happens. I used to panic because I had no backup plan- well now I have multiple strategies to attack all these issues, which means I don't have to pick and scratch and freak out. This contributes overall to the health of my skin, as "disruptive" weeks have minimal long-term impact.

The following routines are "excerpts" and only include the acne-focused parts of my routine. I moisturize heavily each night and also use plenty of hydrating products every morning. All treatments are used at night only, unless specified in parentheses:





Putting It All Together


Pictured here is a sample full morning routine of mine and a sample full evening routine with the acne-targeting products circled in red to show how outnumbered they are by the ones which have nothing to do with acne!


Sample Morning Routine with acne treatments circled


Sample Evening Routine with acne treatments circled

Those of you with sharp eyes who are used to perusing ingredients lists on CosDNA will see my non-acne treatments do contain anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredients like aloe, panthenol, centella, snail, and bee venom. In fact, I do orient my whole routine toward countering irritation and inflammation, however I do not compromise my moisturizing products by expecting them to serve two purposes. No "servant" can serve two masters- in this analogy all your products exist purely to serve your skin's individual needs. You should expect a moisturizer to moisturize and not to do a ton of things. Part of why my routine is so extensive is that I want each of my products to only serve singular purposes. By layering and combining them I can serve all my skin's needs- without demanding too much from any one product.

If you are new to skincare, and this looks overwhelming, I'm not surprised! This is not a routine that a newbie should start right off the bat. If it took me years to perfect my current stable routine, that should tell you something. There's no secret sauce- I have no magic knowledge (and if I did, I would tell you.)

The "secret" is taking months and years to listen to your skin and let it guide you. You have to observe how it responds to each ingredient you introduce. I know from experience some things are a waste of my time, so I don't bother incorporating them. I also see how well my acne responds to some treatments that other people hate. Customizing a multi-faceted routine for your specific types and behavior of acne is something that takes a long time, and if you are patient, you will develop a similarly robust routine that works for you!

8 comments:

  1. Interesting, and also very helpful. How do you use the tea tree oil? Is it tea tree essential oil?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jenn, sorry it took me so long to reply. I do use tea tree essential oil, diluted to 2%, as max safe percentage consensus is between 1% and 5%. I do 2% and have never had issues. It can't be used neat or eyeballed- so I'd use a kitchen scale and measure it exactly by weight diluted into a bland carrier oil such as mineral oil, tsubaki oil (that's what I use), squalane, jojoba, argan, etc.

      Delete
  2. I'd love your honey mask recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://faceonomics.blogspot.com/2017/02/quick-fix-for-messy-diy-honey-mask.html here you go!

      Delete
  3. Hi! I'm curious; what do you put on over the scabs left after picking acne? For faster healing, I mean. Cause I'm having trouble with the ones on my cheeks after a horrible cystic breakout. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hydrocolloid bandages, alternate with Vaseline/Cerave Healing Ointment. Do not pick the scabs!

      Delete
  4. Wow! I love love love your blog! SO glad I found it. I do have a question though in your morning routine with the first red circled acne treatment what is that? Is that a toner you put together yourself? Would love to know the ingredients.

    Also is your evening routine setup in the picture as the order you would use it? Would you use the stridex pads before you used your face wash?

    Also and last question what are you using for makeup remover?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now day, everything is going to find a new but well settled and successful stream for their career. When I came to this blog, I really impressed by all the knowledge points mentioned here. Thank you for this assistance.
    This blog is really helpful regarding all educational knowledge I earned. It covered a great area of subject which can assist a lot of needy people. Everything mentioned here is clear and very useful.
    This is really nice to read content of this blog. A is very extensive and vast knowledgeable platform has been given by this blog. I really appreciate this blog to has such kind of educational knowledge.
    I am thankful to this blog for assisting me. I added some specified clues which are really important for me to use them in my writing skill. Really helpful stuff made by this blog.
    I am thankful for this blog to gave me much knowledge regarding my area of work. I also want to make some addition on this platform which must be in knowledge of people who really in need. Thanks.
    Graceful written content on this blog is really useful for everyone same as I got to know. Difficult to locate relevant and useful informative blog as I found this one to get more knowledge but this is really a nice one.
    Professionally written blogs are rare to find, however I appreciate all the points mentioned here. I also want to include some other writing skills which everyone must aware of.
    Enthusiastic words written in this blog helped me to enhance my skills as well as helped me to know how I can help myself on my own. I am really glad to come at this platform.
    Mesmerized article written on this blog with other relevant information. It is straight to the point that how we can improve our skills as well as how we can be represented to a new stream of professionalism.
    Sometime few educational blogs become very helpful while getting relevant and new information related to your targeted area. As I found this blog and appreciate the information delivered to my database.
    I found this blog after a long time which is really helpful to let understand different approaches. I am going to adopt these new point to my career and thankful for this help.
    Most of the blogs pretend themselves as most usable and updated blogs with new information but sometime truth might different. I want to share some facts related to this subject which will help people to enhance their skills.
    I welcome all the suggestion mentioned in this blog related to new learning skills. It is definitely going to help me to adopt new exited way of learning. I think, others will also feel helpful this blog for their needs.
    I came to this blog and it helped me to add few new points to my knowledge. Actually, I am trying to learn new thing wherever I find. Impressive written blog and valuable information shared here.

    texas holdem poker

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.