Skincare Life Lessons for Acne

Hey guys, I know I've been very absent, but I was going through a bout of skin depression so I decided to just abstain. I don't know how many people have gone through a phase where they were so ashamed of their skin that it hindered their social life, but it's a phase that I've gone through and am trying to snap out of. I firmly believe that social life and development of any person completely trumps skin woes but trying to find the confidence to get past it is hard. One thought that gets me through is that nobody really notices because let's face it, if you have bad skin, you've probably had bad skin for a while and people are used to it by now. Besides, people are talking to you and your brain, not your skin. Also, 95% of people (family excluded of course, we all know what those loving comments are like) of the minute percentage who notice will be too polite to mention it. And we all know ignorance is bliss, no?

Anyway, moving past the psych to the physical. These pointers are what has personally helped me get rid of 90% of my active acne and I really really wish I had known all these 8 years ago when my acne bloomed. So no matter if you're a pre-pubescent hormonal teen, or 25 and struggling with adult acne, just hear me out because it can't hurt, can it?

1. Face the reality of YOUR type of skin. Stop reading and believing everything those beautiful bloggers with gorgeous skin write about, look for a reliable community of people in a similar situation to consult with instead
I admit, I am a die hard blogger fan. After all, I'm trying to write one myself. But face reality with me and see that bloggers are special people who have very hardy skin. Not everyone can try out so many products and barely have adverse reactions. You and I, with the acne face, are not one of this special group. To still get the products!favourites!routine! fix, look for communities such as r/skincareaddiction or r/asianbeauty which are full of great advice actually backed by science, not just anecdotal advise partially influenced by sponsorships. It's wonderful to know you're not the only one out there and when people post before and afters, it just puts so much hope back into the world.


2. Stop buying into bullshit product claims (pending patent xxx ingredient!) and learn to read and understand ingredient labels
How many times have you been suckered into a product just because it claims to "get rid of acne in just 10 days!" simply because you were desperate looking for the next "the one magical unicorn product"?

Learning to read ingredient lists is one of the best things I did because I could actually be somewhat able to find out whether the claims can be fulfilled and which ingredients were actually good. For example,  if a product that claims to whiten, brighten with vitamin c (listed as ascorbic acid, or xx ascorbyl if it's a more stable derivative) has it listed as the first item in the ingredients list, then it's a winner. If it's way down, put that product back down! I always try to buy products with the "active" ingredients high up in the ingredient list rather than having just plain ol' water and alcohol denat. making up the bulk of the product.


3. Know your sensitivities to ingredients
It's hard to know what products you're sensitive to when you have faceful of bumps. After all, if new bumps appear, they just blend into the many.

I only recommend the following routine because I don't have the balls to go entirely without products. This routine encourages proper cleansing and hydration only. It may not sound like a legit way of doing things, but try it.

- oil cleanse to remove makeup (I highly recommend the asian oils that emulsify with water rather than to remove oil with a washcloth)
- gentle soap (try those derm recommended/formulated types such as cerave, cetaphil, physiogel etc.)
- sheet mask, preferably in the healing or calming variety. Don't apply moisturizer because the sheet mask should be sufficient.
- Spot treat with your choice of treatment that works for you. Benzoyl Peroxide seems to work better than salicylic acid/tea tree oil/niacinamide/sulphur for me, but might be different for you.

Try this routine for a week or 2 and hopefully things calm down (an exception would be if your acne was hormonal - in this case please see a derm).

Now it's time to add other products back into the routine. It should be easier to tell which cause bumps and which don't because the face is clearer. Ingredients to look out for would be cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, coconut oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil derivative). I myself am sensitive to the fatty alcohols (cetyl, stearyl and cetearyl) and lanolin, which are very commonly found in creamy moisturizers/washes, even in those formulated by dematologists. Even my prescription cream had it, so no wonder I was still breaking out! >:(  This list is by no means exhaustive, but I've found that running the products through cosdna.com and seeing which ingredients brings up an acne rating is a good start to identify acne-causing ingredients.

There is no choice but to go through this trial and error experiment to identify which products and eventually which ingredients are the cause of clogged pores or acne.

r/skincareaddiction recommends patch testing, meaning to test on a small portion of the face for about a week before applying to the entire face. This way, should you break out, you'll only break out in a small portion rather than all over. Patch testing is for people with extremely good self control in my opinion, I'm of the slather it all over immediately and hope for the best variety. PATCH TEST!!!!


4. Stick with it
I am just about the most fickle and impatient person on this earth. I like things to happen IMMEDIATELY. Naturally, when the new "unicorn product" doesn't work overnight, I'm off the next day looking for the "rainbow unicorn product". Just, NO. If it's not causing more acne, stick with it, stick with it, stick with it, because if it's not causing more acne, there no longer is an irritant in your routine and the rest of the acne will slowly diminish. Then you will be faced with the problems of the aftermath of acne rather than acne. New problems, but better problems hopefully?


5. Don't overdo it
The product is working, LET'S PUT/DO MORE OF IT!!! Worst compulsion ever. This is for products with actives in it. Liquid exfoliators (AHAs and BHAs) or in other words glycolic acid, mandelic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, fruit enzymes. Retin-A or Tretinoin. Derma-rolling. Even physical exfoliation such as scrubs or brushes. If it works with the current frequency that you're doing it, just keep it simple and keep at it. Over doing it could cause damage to the skin barrier and result in hyper sensitive skin that reacts badly (I'm talking flaking, redness, dehydrated skin or even rashes) and who would want that right after getting rid of acne?! I learnt this the hard way. Don't be too enthusiastic.


I think that's enough of this great wall of text. I genuinely hope this advice will help someone out there, and if you do try this out do let me know how it goes!

Weekly Favourites #17

This was supposed to go up on the weekend but I've been so busy! So... what I've used most and have been loving last week were -

Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in 143 - One of the sheerest foundations I own, but if you like your skin to look like skin or if you have perfect skin (jealous!), then you will love this on its own. This doesn't quite justify the price tag of $80 bucks for me, but when mixed with other thicker foundations (I favour the Shu Uemura Lightbulb Foundation to mix or MUFE HD Foundation), the results are darn natural yet still with an oomph of coverage.

Marc Jacobs Re(marc)able Concealer in 04 Glow - Refer to glowing review here. I've been getting so carried away in the morning just spot concealing but it's been worth it.

Hada Labo Air Aqua UV SPF50/PA+++ (fresh) - This sunscreen is HG material, babeh. Goes on like a serum, sinks in instantly, so lightweight that I can't feel it, leaves no white cast and keeps me matte all day long. This is a sunscreen like no other, beats the Biore ones hands down.

Selsun 2.5% suspension - This is a very strange item to be in favourites, but here's the backstory. I was stalking reddit/r/skincare as per my recent nighttime reading addiction, and came across some posts that talk about acne being caused by fungus rather than bacteria. The signs of the fungal acne include many small bumps around the hairline and jaw area that don't go away despite using all the traditional acne medications. The anecdotes refer to using anti-dandruff shampoo as a wash or a mask (diluted and spread as a thin layer), specifically Selsun or Head & Shoulders which have the active ingredient of Selenium Disulfide and Zinc Pyrithione respectively. I decided to hunt the Selsun down (no silicones) and give it a shot and whaddayaknow, my little bumps pretty much decreased by 50% after the first use. It also seemed to do wonders for cleaning out my sebaceous filaments (these are not blackheads as most people think!) on my nose and cheeks. I won't say the bumps have completely cleared, but they don't make me want to squeeze them out anymore! So if you are at your wits end like I was, maybe using an anti-dandruff shampoo will work for you. Also, this does tend to be drying so use with caution.

Have a good start of week everyone, and as always, let me know your favourites too!

Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Full Cover Concealer Review

Can we just check out this gorgeousness that is the Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Full Cover Concealer? Extra points for the punny name too!

This is the most lux concealer pot that I've ever laid my grubby large hands on. It's rather solid, hefty almost and is actually a good substitute as a paperweight, a beauty addict's paperweight that is. I particularly like the filleted (architectural software command that joins 2 lines perpendicular to each other with a rounded corner. hur hur) edges of the glass.

I know that the Marc Jacobs Beauty line does go quite high end, but this concealer retails for SGD$36 which is actually not too bad given that Tarte, MUFE, Nars etc. go for much higher, and even MAC concealers are SGD$30 which is not that much cheaper than the Marc Jacobs Concealer. It's probably one of the more value-for-money items in the range in my opinion ( and also because I might be concealer obsessed).

Enough of the case/tub-gasm. The product inside is unlike any concealer I've ever felt before. I highly suggest that if possible, do go down to a sephora/marc jacobs store to feel it. It's super duper creamy and silky, yet it's almost like all that silky creamy goodness got pressed at an intense pressure to form dense yet airy texture. I am so bad at describing it, so let me give it another go. It feels like an ultra dense meringe mixture before it's been baked. For those who are familiar with the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer, it's like someone whipped that formula then pressed it into a more solid form.

It's whipped delight, that's what this is. (sidenote: this also feels and is chock full of silicones that is probably what gives it its delightful texture)

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC30, Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Full Cover Concealer 04 Glow

I have the shade 04 Glow, which does well on my NC30-35 skin when used on pigmentation and scars. It's not brightening under the eye so if you're looking for an undereye concealer do go a shade lighter. 04 Glow also has peachy undertones, so it would do well if you're a NC35 and above and looking to correct dark circles. I can't use this in large portions because I'm more yellow undertone than peach, but in areas to correct the colour of pigmentation, this does wonders.

For demonstration purposes, I have used my dark eye circles as the rest of my face is being a bitch. When Marc said full cover, he was not kidding. My favourite way of using this concealer is going in with a small brush and to pinpoint conceal lisa eldridge style. It blends out seamlessly into the rest of the face while still giving any marks the coverage that you so desire. I find that using a finger really just wastes product because a finger smears the product around. Also given the relative softness of the product (as compared to other cream concealers), using fingers seem to create a dent in the tub really fast!

Texture wise, it's so creamy that I thought it would be a really hydrating concealer. I was disappointed because the texture actually exposes the rough texture and any dry patches that I have on my skin. Another reason why pinpoint concealing is the way to go. Folks with nice smooth skin/well hydrated skin would best benefit from this concealer.

Longevity is where the other portion of the name comes in - re(marc)able indeed. My combination dehydrated yet oily face went a full 9 hours with minor fading of this concealer in portions of my face that I do not touch like my cheeks. Considering that I find this concealer to be one of those do not not truly set to a finish that doesn't transfer (like the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer), it is very impressive! I wish it did set someone like the MUFE Full Cover Concealer though, would really appreciate something that doesn't transfer.

All in all, aside from the rather crappy shade range, if you're someone who has PIH and smooth skin, or are willing to put in the effort to pinpoint conceal, this would be a comparable concealer to the likes of MUFE Full Cover Concealer but with a better, softer finish. Folks with more textured skin or matured skin, if you enjoy the skin-like texture (because this concealer does reveal the skin texture through it's pigments), then this is also for you.

This is an A product for me, now if only I had smoother skin to make using this product easier. -wistful-