Skin Care Questions! Cleanse, moisturize,tone, exfoliate, etc? Huh?!?

I have normal to combination skin type. It's pretty normal but can get a little oily and it can get dry around the nose, especially during the winter. I have a bit of acne, not severe but I have some. I have blackheads on my nose and whiteheads[I think that's what they're called] on my chin, when I suck my lips in and tighten my skin you can see a bunch of little white pimples. I want to know what I should do to achieve healthy, even, clear, clean, and glowing skin!


I've watched lots of videos on Youtube about skin care but i'm confused! There's so many things you have to do and I don't understand what these things even do. What do I do?


What do I use daily?


What stops the acne?


What makes your skin even?


What makes your skin soft?


What does each do?


What's all the things I need to do for my face?


Cleanse. moisturize, tone, exfoliate, what else?!





Also, I have St Ives Swiss Formula Apricot Scrub Blemish %26amp; Blackhead control, I heard it's an exfoliater.....what does it do for my skin? is this a daily thing?


Also I have Biore pore strips, know how to use those, but when do I use it during my skin care routine?


I just need to know what I need to do in order to have good skin.


What should my routine be?Skin Care Questions! Cleanse, moisturize,tone, exfoliate, etc? Huh?!?
All of those questions: There is no answer.


What works for me will not work for you, because your skin's chemistry is different than mine, as well as the way my body reacts to ingredients is different than yours. There are so many other factors that play a role in how well products will work that you cannot just simply ask what will work and what won't.


In the morning, you cleanse with a gentle cleanser, moisturize with a moisturizer with SPF in it, and at night, you cleanse and moisturize. Toners are not needed.


Exfoliators are used to remove the dead skin cells and dirt/oil/bacteria from your skin, which can help reduce blackheads and whiteheads. Use it as many times a week as your skin can handle; For some that is once a week, for others it is 5 days a week.


Throw out the Biore strips, unless you are looking to cause unnecessary damage to your skin. It rips off the layer of skin, leaving the area raw, and will only pick up the shallow blackheads. Anything deep will remain.


What stops acne? Who knows. Whatever works for your skin is what will stop it. Some people use products like Proactive, while others simply use very gentle products and change their diets and get results. Same goes for making your skin soft and evening it out.Skin Care Questions! Cleanse, moisturize,tone, exfoliate, etc? Huh?!?
Okay, I have the exact same thing! It can get really confusing, but not if you know what is what and how to use them.


I'll give you my routine, because we are a lot a like, so see if it works for you.


Daily- I wash my face morning (like in the shower) and night (like when you would brush your teeth) with Philosophy Purity Made Simple (department stores). Apply a quarter-sized amount using small, circular motions. Leave it on for approx. 30 seconds, and wipe off completely with a warm, damp washcloth. Next, I wipe my face with Dickinson's Witch Hazel Pore Perfecting Toner (drugstores) using a cotton ball. Witch hazel is very well known for considerably reducing the appearance of pores. Immediately after, I apply Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel (department stores) to my entire face. In the morning, I apply sunscreen right after and wait only a minute or so to dry, then apply my foundation.


Every Couple Days- At night, when I normally wash my face, I simply add a couple pinches of plain white sugar (grocery stores) to my normal face wash to use as an exfoliate. This is what keeps your skin so soft. You can also use this trick everyday or whenever you feel like it, because it also helps your makeup go on better. Also, whenever I feel it needs to be done, I'll use Biore Pores Strips (drugstores, but you have them) as directed on box (immediately after washing face, before toner and moisturizer).


For Acne- I tend to break out on my chin, and on my nose. I use any spot treatment with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide (I use Equate [WalMart's generic] Acne Spot Treatment) and apply it to my breakout every night after my daily routine until it clears up.


It might sound confusing, but it's really not. This is what works for me, and it's really kind of simple. Hope it will work for you!


Best of luck! :)
daily - I use an expensive face wash (sorry, but it is really that awesome that's why I buy it and can't really recommend a cheaper one.) I use the Philosophy Purity facial cleanser which you can purchase at Sephora.





Stop acne


You should exfoliate once or twice every week. Exfoliate and use a mask every once, twice or half week! Exfoliate means to rid of that layer of excess dead skin which can clog pores and cause more breakouts/acne. Mask is something used to suck up the dirt and bad stuff in your pores, although so many masks never do what they claim.


- Since you are using St. Ives, I recommend only using once a week, St. Ives' s Apricot scrub is so harsh! (believe me i've tried it)


- Mask - Aspirin mask gave me clearer skin but only use it every week. It may irritate your skin if you have really sensitive, rosacea or easily allergic skin. I have sensitive/highly allergic skin, and when I first found out about it I went crazy and did it everyday for two weeks AND also used it with another product(which did nothing but irritate, stay with the aspirin only don't use it with other stuff) I got a really Really bad allergic reaction and had to go to the doctor. Now I only use the aspirin mask once a week and definitely without that random mask that I bought at the store.


- What is it? the aspirin mask is a mixture of a few pills of aspirin crushed with a few drops of water.





WORKS WONDERS!





Biore pore strips- I'm sorry but I don't recommend these. Although people say that work, they also permanently enlarge your pores like crazy! it happened to my friend =[





toner - to balance the pH of your skin and kind of clears a bit


toner usually makes my skin dry but I tried Clinique's mile toner - the green one, and it is not drying for me. and I have really dry skin!





moisturize - gotta moisturize especially if you have dry skin like me!


I just use Cetaphil's cream that is not specially formulated for face (they do have face stuff too but I just use this because I'm allergic to so much stuff!) it is very moisturizing but not greasy =) another one that's good but not very well priced is Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. - it's very well known and definitely good, but so expensive! =/





for pimples, I use lemon juice! It works pretty well, but nothing wondrous because well pretty much everything else in the market just gives me flaky skin- this does not. Squeeze a lemon into a container into a clean container and refrigerate it(it feels better =)) You can even thin it out with some water since pure lemon may be too acidic. (I'm not sure about that one) Then after you wash your face, get one of those cotton pads or cotton, and then put some on the cotton pad and rub it on your face.





Tip: natural stuff is sometimes better than all the chemicals =)





There, I hope I helped! You can email me if you have more questions! I can give you more expensive answers it's just really hard to explain since your question was so ambiguous! =D
You Cleanse, Tone %26amp; Moisturize (in that order) in the morning when you wake up %26amp; before you go to bed at night.





1. A Oil-Free Cleanser with Salicylic Acid will get rid of whiteheads %26amp; blackheads if used as directed. Wet your face with water %26amp; squeeze a small amount of cleanser onto your clean hand %26amp; rub in circular motions all over your face for about a minute, then splash off with Cold water %26amp; pat your face dry with a clean towel.. Face cleanser cleans your face %26amp; keeps it smooth %26amp; healthy. Try brands like Dove, Nivea, Garnier, Neutrogena, The Body Shop, L'Occitane... etc (Get one made for your skin type)





2. Use a Alcohol-Free Toner on a cotton pad after you have Cleansed your face in the same way you cleansed your face (circular motions on you face, nose etc.. Avoid too close to eyes or lips cause it may dry up your skin) Witch Hazel has a good one.. or you can try brands like Dove, Garnier, Neutrogena, Nivea, L'Occitane... Get one made for your skin type.. Using Toners regularly after cleansing your face closes the pores %26amp; gets rid of dirt, makeup %26amp; oil that your cleanser missed. The proof is on the cotton pad.





3. Moisturizing is the most important step. Moisturizing your face on a daily basis will help promote hydration, skin cell regeneration, healing, %26amp; prevent damaging effects from external forces %26amp; weather conditions that lead to premature wrinkles, fine lines %26amp; in extreme cases, skin cancer. As a general rule, you should try to avoid facial creams that contain mineral oils, which are petroleum-based, because they might leave a greasy film on your skin %26amp; clog your pores as a result. Also, try to avoid products that contain SD alcohol %26amp; formaldehyde because they will dry up your skin instead of moisturizing it.


Get one made for your skin type.


Apply dabs of cream onto your forehead, cheekbones, chin %26amp; neck %26amp; gently smooth it over the skin in a circular motion, working from the outside of your face toward the centre. Make sure not to leave any residue %26amp; that it gets fully absorbed into your skin. Ideally, you should moisturize your skin morning %26amp; night. But realistically speaking, applying moisturizing to your face once a day -- preferably when you come out of the shower -- should be enough to keep your face looking healthy. It might also be a good idea to use a facial cream that contains some sort of UV protection. For example, a good moisturizer with SPF 15 will provide sufficient protection against dangerous UV rays, which can cause your skin to wrinkle prematurely -- even in the winter months %26amp; on cloudy days.





Finally, remember to maintain a balanced diet %26amp; drink plenty of water on a daily basis, as these are both important factors in maintaining nice %26amp; healthy skin.





4. To help with the acne %26amp; pimples use a Benzoyl Peroxide product such as 'Benzac AC Acne Gel' after you cleanse... then put your moisturizer on over the 'Benzac AC Acne Gel' as it dries your skin %26amp; makes it peel. If you put moisturiser on afterwards it keeps it from getting all flaky %26amp; dry.





5. I would recommend you use the St Ives Swiss Apricot Scrub no more than once per week.. Those little exfoliating beads are too rough on your skin. Even though they leave you feeling clean %26amp; satisfied. They scratch the surface of your skin. It gets rid of dead skin cells to make your skin look healthier, glow %26amp; even skin tone. Instead of a scrub maybe use an exfoliator as it's not as harsh on your skin. But only use it once a week.





Use the Biore pore strips after you get out of the shower because your pores will have opened up. Don't use them more times than directed on the pack because it can 'tear' your skin. Make sure you haven't applied any product to your face before you use these. I wouldn't recommend using these.





You don't have to use the same brand of Cleanser, Toner, Moisturizer %26amp; Scrub/ Exfoliator.





Also use a clay mask once a week to absorb excess oil off your face. Tenosix have one that works really well.





Good Luck
I don't have acne, but I do occasionaly break out. I use to clean my skin day and night. But then, I stopped. And you know what happened? My skin was less sensitive, less oily, and my pimples were not irritated or bright red. Stop buying all those products, they just take away the skins natural oils and make the skin dry, and when you apply lotion it clogs your pores and gives you acne. If I get pimples, I use Clean and Clear Acne Spot Treatment it gets rid of the pimple in a couple days. Hope I helped. (: