Last time I shared my skin care routine, it was 3 years ago. A lot has changed since then: both to my skin and my routine. My skin wasn't at its best during my pregnancy. I had breakouts here and there that usually lasted for weeks. And they weren't just simple zits BUT real big acne. To make things worse, they left me several annoying dark pimple marks too. Would have been easy to just use the most effective anti-pimple skin care products out there IF ONLY they were safe for pregnant women. Sadly, they weren't. So I had to look for something else that can help me with my zits without compromising the safety of the growing baby inside me. 

I did some research to make sure that the skin care products I was using won't harm me and my baby. I'm good on maximizing "google" for searching explanations BUT I'm no chemical expert. And girl I'm telling you, I was (and still am) having difficulty comprehending all those chemicals I see on every product's ingredients. So I decided to go natural "as much as possible" to make things easier for my pregnancy's sake. Fast forward to present, I already gave birth and no longer limited when it comes to the types of products I can use. But my current skincare routine has definitely changed. It's no longer the same routine I used to have before I got pregnant. I learned to quickly adjust my routine according to what my skin currently needs.

I have pretty much almost the same skincare routine for day & night. So I'm not gonna make a separate posts for each of them. I'll just explain everything here :) Before I start, I just have to disclose my DISCLAIMER:

**My skin is far from perfect but it is way better than it used to be when I started working graveyard shift. The products I'll mention below worked really well with me but it does not mean that it may do the same to you. It still all depends on several factors like frequency, application, body, hormones and skin type. Speaking of skin type, mine is oily to normal skin.**


 





FACIAL WASH

I always begin on cleaning my face and I'm currently using the CLEAN & CLEAR FOAMING FACIAL WASH. I'm not really too keen with this facial wash. Not that I don't like it. But I'm not crazy about it either. It does its job pretty well and that's probably all that I need for a facial wash. 

TIP: Experts suggest to use a new face towel everyday for drying up your face after washing. It's because bacteria can easily accumulate on towels and you don't really want to use something that could cause you pimples. But:

1. I don't have that much face towels.
2. ‎It's an extra work -- a busy Momma like me ain't got time for that.

So instead of using a new clean towel every time, I decided to just use tissues. YEP, tissues, because it's more convenient. Another tip is to PAT DRY your face instead of rubbing. Constantly rubbing and tugging your skin with face towels after every wash will cause you wrinkles and sagging of skin in the long run. 


CLEANSERS

I use different cleansers for Day & Night. During the day , I use ESKINOL FACIAL DEEP CLEANSER in blue variant because it has a very soothing cooling sensation that is good for minimizing the pores. When they're minimized, it will help me achieve a better looking makeup finish. At night time, I use Eskinol facial deep cleanser but instead of the blue one, I use the yellow variant formulated to help with oil control. If you have oily skin like me, you know how much oily our face can get in the morning after waking up. Our skin still do their work while we're asleep and this cleanser helps me lessen the oil that my skin produces during night time sleep. 

I barely go out for appointments so I don't really wear makeup that much. But when we do have appointments or church activities, I like to at least use a liquid foundation and waterproof mascaras to make me look presentable. During those days, I use my GARNIER MICELLAR WATER to remove first my make up before using my Eskinol deep cleansers. They come in 2 variants: the pink and blue one. The pink one is for sensitive skin type and the blue variant is specially formulated for those who have oily and acne prone skin. I got mine in blue :)

There are only very seldom "special occasions" that I have to wear eye makeup. On those days when I have to put on heavy eye makeup, I begin my night skincare routine with CLINIQUE RINSE-OFF EYE MAKEUP REMOVER instead of the Garnier MW. But instead of rinsing it with water, I just wipe it off using my baby's wet wipes - so much easier that way. 

TONERS

I learned that toners are very important to keep your skin at its natural pH balance. But when I was still pregnant with my daughter, I realized that there wasn't that much "pregnancy safe" facial toners available. That's when I started using a DIY APPLE CIDER VINEGAR FACIAL TONER. And I'm so happy with it because not only that it's natural, pregnant-friendly and easy to make, it's very effective too! (well at least to me). I used to apply this twice a day when I was still pregnant. But now, I use ACV facial toner only at night because it helps my skin get back to its normal pH level. When my skin is at its natural pH level, it doesn't have to work extra at night and saved me from waking up with greasy face. It is anti-bacterial too so it also helped me with my breakouts. It worked so well for me that I have actually been using this for more than a year already! 

For my daytime facial toner, I switched to PONDS ACNE CLEAR FACIAL TONER (which I just started using recently, I'm on my first bottle and so far I am liking it). It has pore conditioning properties so just like my facial cleanser, this will also help with minimizing my pores during the day. Again, this helps me achieve a better looking finish of my makeup look -- whether that's for glam, natural or No-Makeup makeup look. 







PIMPLE SOLUTIONS
 
This one is what I consider one of my skincare "holy grails": ERASE PIMPLE SOLUTION. Whenever I feel like a pimple is about to break out (like when they were just a small bump or redness) I put this product right away and it helps to stop them from turning into my "dreaded" zits. I swear it works like magic. Ever since I started using this pimple solution, I did not have to suffer with breakouts anymore. Its label claims that it helps in preventing pimples from coming back and minimize the blackheads. So I decided to add this up in my daily skin care routine even if I don't have pimples anymore. I guess I'm suppose to apply this in my whole face but I don't really do that. I only apply it on my chin and nose area (or where ever the pimple decided to occur) because when it comes to pimple problems, those are usually the parts of my face that needs most of the help. I also like how my skin can absorb this product quickly. I use this twice a day so that means this is included on both my day and night skin care routines. 

MOISTURIZER

DO NOT skip moisturizer even if your skin type is oily. JUST DON'T. Skipping your moisturizer will leave dry patches on your skin. Even if you are going for a matte finish makeup look, you still have to apply moisturizer because leaving your skin TOO DRY will actually lead to more oil production later of the day. Moisturizing your skin the right way will trick your skin that it already has enough moisture and won't need to oil up more than what your skin needs.

The moisturizer I use is a soothing aloe vera gel --- and no, it's not the overhyped Nature Republic's aloe vera gel. Mine is from LUXE ORGANIX which I have been loving. I wanted to try the one from Nature Republic but it is only available online. And in my opinion, it isn't worth to pay expensive provincial shipping fee for only one item. Luxe Organix on the other hand is available in Watsons so I decided to give it a try. It is also made in Korea, it's paraben free, mineral oil free, no artificial color added, suited for all types of skin AND it is 99.85% natural aloe vera gel. 😉 Aloe Vera gel could take a while to set, so I only apply a very thin layer of that on my skin. I use this both at day and night. This is actually the last step for my Night Skincare Routine but not yet for my Daytime Skincare Routine, so keep on reading! 


SUNSCREEN

Lastly, I won't ever forget to apply my sunscreen during the day because sun exposure is the biggest culprit of early skin aging. I used to have the Belo Intensive Whitening BB cream which has spf 50 pa++++. But then I learned that we don't actually get the SPFs added on beauty products because in order to take advantage of that added sun protection, you have to apply a certain amount of the product on your skin. Unfortunately, we don't really apply "that much" beauty product on our face, (not even those who are wearing HEAVY MAKEUP) because the specific amount required is just too much for a decent makeup look. Kaya wag umasa sa mga added SPF ng foundations, moisturizer or BB creams mo. You have to apply a separate sunscreen.

I'm using BELO SUN EXPERT sunscreen for face. It has SPF 40 pa+++.

TIP: when buying sunscreens, look for those that have "pa+" --- the more the "+", the better. It means you won't need to reapply sunscreen for the next 2 or 3 hours depending on how many plusses there are on your sunscreen. Without pa+ , you will need to reapply sunscreen every 30mins no matter how high the SPF amount. Therefore, SPF 50 pa++++ is actually better and more convenient than just SPF100 alone. 


OCCASIONAL SKINCARE PRODUCTS

The products I mentioned above are those that I use on a daily basis. However, there are also other important skincare products that I have to use occasionally:





EXFOLIATION

Exfoliation helps in removing old/dead skin cells. Imagine how much dead skin cells are there on your skin because you aren't exfoliating at all. The skin looks dull and old because your face has accumulated so much dead skin cells. Hmm, need I say more? 

There are two types of exfoliating products: natural and chemical. You are supposed to exfoliate twice a week so some say that you have to alternately use the natural and chemical exfoliators. But like I said earlier, I am trying to be as natural as possible. So I'm only using natural exfoliator which is the ST. IVES APRICOT SCRUB. Because it's natural, you can use this thrice in a week. I put this in our bathroom to be reminded of exfoliating every time I see it. And it works -- I am always reminded. But to be honest, LAZINESS prevails! So instead of doing it twice a week, I sometimes do it once a week or sometimes, once in 2 weeks. Oops! ✌That's probably why I always look tired even if I am rested. LOL. Gotta do better next time, I promise.

PS: DO NOT over scrub your face.


BLACKHEADS REMOVAL

Removing blackheads is probably the most satisfying part of my skincare regimen. But being the lazy girl that I am, I also fail to put on my nose strip at least once a week - just like exfoliation, I end up doing it just once every 2 weeks. Nope, not a good idea so don't follow suit. I'm currently using WATSON'S CHARCOAL NOSE STRIP w/ HAZEL EXTRACT. This is so far the best nose strip out of all that I have tried before. It has a very refreshing and calming scent that I like. However, I'm still on the look out for a new blackhead removal product that I might like better. 

TIPS:

1. Before removing your blackheads, open up your pores by steaming your face over a bowl of hot water. This will loosen up the white and blackheads clogging your pores and will make it easier to remove them. After removing the blackheads, wash your face with cold water to close your pores and prevent the dirt from getting in.

2. The best way to remove blackheads is by peeling the nose strip from bottom to top. I have tried and tested this. 👍
 
ERASE SOLUTION

I rarely have pimples nowadays. But when I do have a breakout, it leaves a pimple mark that will take weeks before they lighten up and months before they're completely gone. To help me brighten up these dark spots faster than they usually do, I apply Erase Solution twice a day. It comes in a mini roll-on tube which makes application easy and convenient. This solution claims that it can also help with scars, wrinkles, freckles and darkness --- but nope. It did not work out with me. But I'm keeping it because so far, it is effective when it comes to my pimple marks. I just wish it can take care of my freckles too. 


And that's it for my Day and Night Skincare routine. Wew, that was quite long! But to my defense, I tackled both Day & Night Skincare Routine so that should justify it. Haha! Not everyone likes to wear make up. And if you are not the Make up type of girl, you definitely should focus more on your skincare routines because a beautiful healthy looking skin will save you from wearing too much make up. Besides, nobody has ever found the fountain of youth yet... or the Koreans probably have it. I should go ask Sandara, LOL.



'Til then, See yah!