My current skin care regimen

I'm 29 years old and female. I have combination skin ever since puberty. However, I didn't get a lot of acne during my teenage years. It was like a few at a time and they would always heal somewhat quickly. After I went to college, that's when the bad acne first started. I had three separate episodes of bad breakouts from 20 to now. So, my bad skin has been with me for about nine years. During these years, I have changed my routine a few times. Now, my skin care regimen is perfect for my mature acne prone skin type.

I wash my face twice a day with the Neutrogena deep clean cream cleanser. Long time ago, I heard that for oily or combination skin, you should wash your face two times a day to remove all the dirt and oil build up. At one point, I was washing my face three or four times a day. That actually made me even more oily because the skin would compensate for lack of moisture by producing even more oil. I have been using Neutrogena deep cream cleanser for three years now and I really like it.

I use St. Ives apricot scrub about twice a week. This product seems to work better when I use it in the morning. Not only it deeply cleans my pores and exfoliates my skin, it also gives me a boost of energy to start the day. One of the main reasons that I use the St. Ives apricot scrub is that it clears up my blackheads temporarily.

In the morning, I use makeup to prep my skin for the entire day. It really helps me with my acne condition in addition to giving me confidence. I have been using the Bare Minerals brand skin care and makeup for three years. So, I have lots of confidence in this line and its compatibility with my skin. Here are the steps of my morning makeup routine if anyone is interested. I use the Bare Minerals eye cream around my eye area to keep this sensitive patch of skin hydrated and free of wrinkles. Follow up with combination / oily skin moisturizer all over my skin. This light moisturizer is ideal for my skin because it keeps me moist without leaving me feeling heavy. I now firmly believe that a moisturizer is essential for acne prone skin. I let the moisturizer soak into my skin before putting on the oily skin primer. This product helps absorb excess oil production and acts as a shield between my skin and the makeup that goes on top of it. I give it a minute or so for the primer to completely dry. My foundation color is called golden fair and the formula is matte. It is so important to get the matte foundation vs the original for oily skin. I have first hand bad experience with the original formula. After that I contour my face with my bronzer. I finish the look with mineral veil for its added SPF protection.

After I clean my face at night, I just want to let my skin rest for the night. However, I do use prescription medicine on active pimples that I might have at that moment. I use an antibiotic cream called Clindamycin to speed up the healing process. On top of that, I use Tretinoin gel to peal that part of the skin and help it heal faster. Whenever you use Tretinoin, you should always protect your skin against the sun because this medicine makes your skin more sensitive to UV damage. My morning makeup routine already has sufficient SPF protection.

I hope this routine gives you a good foundation to develop your own skin care regimen. Next blog entry, I will post pictures of what my skin looks like with and without makeup.

What to expect from Accutane, Roaccutane, Isotretinoin (deriviative of vitamin A, most effective prescription acne medicine)

If you suffered from severe acne that would almost disfigure your face, chances are that you have heard about the prescription medicine that is a derivative of vitamin A, Accutane or Roaccutane or Isotretinoin. I had suffered from moderate to severe acne all over my face at one point. And Accutane definitately "tamed" my acne for the most part. It didn't get rid of it completely, but made it much more managable.


You will have to suffer from moderate to severe acne before the dermatologist is willing to prescribe it for you. Most dermatologists here in the United States will only prescribe it to you when all other treatments and medicine failed So, it might take a while for you to get the medicine. If the doctor still refuses to prescribe this medicine to you, you should seek another doctor in your network that is willing to prescribe it to you.

Because the drug has some undesirable side affects, the dermatologist will verify with you about your medical history. If you are a woman, they would want to do a pap smear and check for pregnancy. No pregnant woman should take the medicine as Accutane causes severe birth defects. The doctor would also want to know about what other medicine you are currently taking. When everything checks out, they will most likely prescribe Accutane for six months.

Once you start taking the medicine, a lot of people experience side affects and clearing of the skin at the same time. You will notice that you face is a lot less oily and pores are visibly getting smaller. What I noticed with my course is that my blackheads all disappeared. This has never happened in my life before. Anyone suffering from oily skin usually cannot successfully get rid of their blackheads no matter what they use. But Accutane is extremely effective at controlling the amount of oil production on the face. Accutane dissolves in animal fat so you will have to eat some fatty foods for it to properly work. It worked almost instantly for me as I noticed less oil production and a decrease of the new pimples. By the time that I finished my course, people with really good skin commented on how nice my skin is.

Here are the side affects that you will experience over the course of accutane treatment. Everyone experiences very dry lips that cracks and bleeds. You will have to find a very good lip balm to keep your lips in okay condition (re-apply throughout the day). Some people experience joint pains due to the drug as well. While on the drug, the dermtologist would require you to do some blood work to test liver functions. It is important to stop drinking while on the drug because you don't want to add extra burden on the liver. There are very few people that suffers from severe side affects which include serious damage to the skin. You must carefully consider your situation and decide for yourself if accutane if worth a try.

I experienced almost instanteous results from taking accutane. My acne was so bad that it seems like nothing will ever work; so many pimples and redness made me desperate. Within a week of taking accutane, I noticed that there are no new pimples and my older ones are healing as well. By the end of my course, my skin was almost perfect and even my blackheads are gone. Ever since I finished the course of Accutane, I get very few pimples that disappear within a few days. Nowadays, I am older and my acne is pretty much a thing of the past with my acne skin care routine and products that I have been using. I am actually happy that I took the drug because I didn't have a lot of side affects other than very dry lips. My skin is near perfect and I am sure it would not be possible without Accutane.

Another Effective Acne Skin Care Routine

In my previous post, I talked about my own acne skin care routine which worked very well for my skin and kept constantly inflamed acne under control. But you will have to understand that my acne skin care routine does not work for everyone and every skin type. I am here to talk about another very effective acne skin care routine that worked very well for my co-worker and kept his skin acne free for many years. There is no one medicine that takes care of every problem; one will have to spend the time to try different products or combination to find one that will effectively keep their skin in good conditions.

Here are the products that he uses: Proactiv renewing cleanser, Proactiv revitalizing toner, Proactiv repairing treatment, Proactiv refining mask, and Proactiv green tea moisturizer. I believe he purchase all of these products in a package called Proactiv Plus Total Solution. This package is very effective with those with very oily skin. We all know that excessive oil production on the face causes lots of breakouts. He told me that this package from Proactiv controls the amount of oil on the face. Here is how he uses it: the renewing cleanser, revitalizing toner and repairing treatment is used twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. The refining mask is usually used once a week in the winter because he is not as oily in the winter. In the summer, the refining mask is used twice a week for deep cleaning. And the Proactiv green tea moisturizer is uesd once every three days or so.

Even with this acne skin care routine, he still gets one or two pimples every once in a while. But it is so much more manageable than before. Anyone that is affected by moderate to severe acne knows that big pimples are extremely red, painful and takes a week or longer for it to heal. Now he get small pimples once in a while that is much easier to take care of. I had told him that Neutrogena's benzoyl peroxide on the spot treatment and his acne disappears in a day or two. What a difference the Proactiv Plus Total Solution has made on his skin. This acne skin care routine works really well for those with extremely oily, oily or combination skin.

Suitable oily / combination skin care products and routines

People that have oily / combination skin type have a very hard time with the proper care of their skin.  Because of over active sebaceous glands that are producing excessive oil or sebum, your skin looks greasy and dirty soon after washing.  Another disadvantage associated with your skin type is that you are very prone to breakouts.  Bacteria love to feed on sebum; skin gets inflamed and you will develop big red pimples. 

Fortunately, with the proper beauty products and daily routine, you can improve the appearance of your skin.  The key to oily / combination skin care is good cleansing, gentle exfoliation, oil control and using suitable skin care products. 

A good cleanser is a must for oily / combination skin care.  Those that are using soap or harsh cleansers that are designed to strip away all facial oil can cause a lot of damage to the skin.  You will need a gentle foaming cleanser that is formulated for oily / combination skin type.  There are some on the market with the active ingredient salicylic acid which targets oily skin with active pimples.  Other cleanser such as Neutrogena’s Transparent Facial Bar for acne-prone skin has no active ingredient but is extremely effective at sebum or oil control.  There is no one cleanser that fits all people; you will have to try different cleansers to find the one that works the best on your skin. 

Here is the proper routine for washing your face: first wet your face with some lukewarm water.  Use your fingers to gently message the cleanser into the skin for a deep clean.  Rinse your face clean with lukewarm water several times to get rid of all traces of cleanser.  Use tissues to gently get rid of all water on face. 

A gentle moisturizer is also very beneficial for those with oily / combination skin types.  However, if you choose the wrong one, it can make those over active sebaceous glands produce even more sebum.  The moisturizer you choose need to be water based, light and non-comedigenic (something that specifically states that or similar to “won’t clog pores”).  In fact, anything you use on the face must state that it does not clog pores.  Apply only once a day.

 Additional exfoliation will be needed for a deeper clean in the summer time.  Oily / combination skin usually have a harder time in the heat where sebaceous glands produce more sebum.  When your sweat is mixed with sebum, you face can get itchy and dirt / oil accumulates more on your face.  A mask that is designed to deeply clean your pores is a good choice to get rid of anything in the pores that will cause breakouts. 

Contrary to popular beliefs that makeup is bad for oily skin, some make up base is specifically designed for oily / combination skin that is acne prone.  In addition to covering blemishes, these can be beneficial to some women in terms of oil control and acne skin.  There are some make up bases that can actually “cure” acne on the face.  My roommate in college uses a Japanese brand makeup that controlled the level of her acne to about one or two small pimples a month.  I think the brand is called Shiseido, which is a very popular make up brand in Asia and Asian communities overseas.    

Daily acne skin care routine for oily, combination skin

I have oily, sensitive skin ever since puberty. In my opinion, this is the hardest skin type to care for because it is highly sensitive and prone to acne at the same time. It all started with very mild teenage acne that is small and non-inflammatory. However, it developed into moderate to severe acne over the years. There are times in my life where I had many pimples covering the majority of my face. Over the years, I did a lot of research and tried several dozen skin care products. Here is my daily acne skin care routine that I use right now which works well for me.

Wash my face twice a day, once in the morning right after I wake up and once at night before going to bed. The cleanser listed below is used both times for washing my face. The blackhead eliminating scrub is great at getting rid of blackheads on the nose; this is used only occasionally. The eye contour cream is used around the eye area in the morning. Neutrogena’s on-the-spot acne treatment is used once in the morning and once at night on active pimples only. I also drink a cup of the home made medicine for oily skin / acne control and take 1 pill of the Kirkland brand daily mulit-vitamins & minerals.

Here are some more details about each product:

1. Neutrogena Cleansing Bar for Acne-Prone Skin
Active ingredient: none
More information: This is good for people with oily / combination and sensitive skin. It has no active ingredient because salicylic acid seems to irritate my skin. Many other acne cleansers contain salicylic acid for acne control causes lots of redness on my cheeks.

2. Neutrogena Blackhead Eliminating Daily Scrub
Active ingredient: 2% salicylic acid and small beads
More information: Don’t use this everyday if you are sensitive to salicylic acid treatments like me. It is very effective at getting rid of blackheads. I usually only use it on the nose occasionally.

3. Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Eye Contour Cream
Active ingredient: none
More information: Even for people with active acne or have acne prone skin, anti-aging products should be used too. The eye contour cream is anti-aging eye cream for younger people.

4. Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment
Active ingredient: 2.5% benzoyl peroxide
More information: This is one of my most favorite products of all time. It is so effective at healing acne and preventing acne scars. Benzoyl peroxide will kill bacteria which is part of inflammatory acne. Instead of the acne popping, it will gradually go down. This will decrease the trauma on the skin which usually leaves you with no visible scars. This product is highly recommended on my list because it is super effective. However, it will cause the skin to dry out so make sure you only use it on the active acne itself.

5. Natural home remedy for acne, will explain this in a future post in more details

6. Kirkland brand daily multi-vitamins & minerals
More information: contains lots of essential vitamins and minerals. I think it might help with some biochemical process in our body by getting rid of toxic things. It is also highly recommended because it seems to make me less prone to acne with everyday use. You can get it at your local Costco.