This is a skincare routine that has FINALLY worked for me. This minimalist skincare routine is simple, affordable, and keeps your skin healthy and glowing!
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Ah, skincare. I’m sure you have probably heard so many different things regarding this topic. You need the most expensive brand. Your products should be “non-toxic”. Only use “natural” skincare products.
It can get so frustrating when you are trying one thing after the other and nothing works. I used to be there!
Natural Skincare
I specifically went through a phase where I was only using “natural” and “DIY” skincare. I would use a LOT of coconut oil and apple cider vinegar. These seem to be quite popular in the natural skincare community.
Unfortunately, the natural homemade skincare did NOT work for me AT ALL. The coconut oil was clogging my pores bad and the apple cider vinegar was way to harsh on my skin. I would NOT recommend using these on your skin.
Skin Struggles
I have never struggled with bad acne, but my skin is definitely not perfect. My breakouts usually occur on my forehead and I tend to get little bumps all over it. After doing some research, I figured out that what I had was fungal acne.
Fungal acne is caused by a yeast overgrowth and causes little acne bumps to appear on the affected area. It causes your skin to appear very texturized and putting makeup on it makes it even more visible!
After doing a little more research, I learned that all the natural products I was using were making my fungal acne worse! Fungal acne thrives with any plant oils, including coconut oil! I was also using a sunscreen that wasn’t oil free. So I decided to try skincare products that were fungal acne safe and it changed my life!
My Minimalist Skincare Routine
The products I talk about here are all highly rated skincare products and are recommended by dermatologists. They aren’t at all fancy and are fragrance free (fragrances can be very irritating to your skin). The best part? All of these products are actually SO AFFORDABLE! Some of these you can even find at the drugstore. Of course, I will be linking them all below to make it easier for you!
Okay, let me take you through my minimalist skincare routine step by step:
1. Remove Makeup
Okay, let me start off with the first thing I would do if I happened to be wearing makeup that day.
Before I go in with a face wash, I remove all of my makeup by using The Ordinary Squalene Cleanser. This is actually meant to be a cleanser for people with very dry skin, but I find that it’s just not enough for me on it’s own. The container is quite small as well so I would be going through a lot of it really fast if I used it as a cleanser. However, a little bit goes a long way when I use it to remove my makeup! It’s a creamy cleanser that melts into your skin and dissolves makeup really well. I rinse it off and then go to step two.
2. Cleanse
This step is something I do both in the morning and in the evening. It’s the first step of my morning skincare routine and usually the second step of my evening routine if I was wearing makeup.
The cleanser that has worked very well for my skin is the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser. This cleanser is SO gentle but VERY efficient in cleansing your skin!
At first, this cleanser might seem a little pricier than other drugstore cleansers, however, the bottle is huge and lasts me a long time (2-3 months!).
I go in with this cleanser and massage it into my skin then rinse it off. I take a washcloth and gently pat dry my face. Before, I used to harshly tug at my skin with a washcloth to dry my face, would not recommend!
3. Serum
I used to not really be into serums so much but let’s talk about my HOLY GRAIL skincare product!!! This product is also by The Ordinary (I love this brand if you couldn’t already tell) and it is the Niacinamide Zinc Serum.
This is a serum that is meant to minimize pores and blemishes and it actually works! It works pretty quickly too. It is great an reducing the appearance of acne scars and redness. Niacinamide and zinc are both great ingredients that help you with acne or other blemishes!
I go in with this serum after cleansing, only applying a few drops. Again, this product can last you for a while.
4. Moisturizer/Sunscreen
Finally, I apply moisturizer on my face or a moisturizing sunscreen if it’s the beginning of the day. If it’s the evening and I am getting ready for bed, I only apply moisturizer.
Like I previously mentioned, I used to use coconut oil as a moisturizer and that went pretty terribly. I now use the CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion and my skin has improved significantly.
This lotion has niacinamide, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid which are all amazing for your skin. It’s also fragrance free which means it’s great for sensitive and eczema prone skin! My favorite thing about this lotion is that it keeps my skin moisturized without feeling thick and heavy.
If I am doing this in the morning, I will use a moisturizing sunscreen instead of the daily moisturizing lotion. The sunscreen I use is the CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30. It is oil free as well and has worked really well for my skin! Overall, all of the CeraVe products are made to work for most people because they don’t have crazy ingredients and are dermatology based.
5. Exfoliant
Let us not forget about exfoliating! I like to exfoliate my face about once per week or once every two weeks. Basically when my skin begins to look dull and I feel like I need to take a layer off of my skin lol.
I used to make DIY face scrubs that I would use almost every day when I was desperate to take the little bumps of my face! I would use things like sugar, lemon, honey, cinnamon, and coffee grinds. This was SOOOO bad for my skin and I cringe every time I even think about it. Physical exfoliants break and irritate your skin. It might work for you, but just make sure you aren’t using anything too coarse and that you don’t do it every day!
I now only use a chemical exfoliate, which sounds bad, but it’s actually quite gentle. It is The Ordinary AHA BHA Peeling Solution . Basically, you put a thin layer of this stuff on your face and leave it on for 10 min max. Then, you rinse it off with warm water and that’s it! No rubbing or tugging on your skin.
So there you have it, my minimalist skincare routine! This may seem like too many products for a minimalist because I know there are minimalists out there you literally only use like 3 products total! However, I have found that this routine works very well and I love using all of these products! I have no intention of switching anything up for a long time.
Product Links:
- The Ordinary Squalene Cleanser
- CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
- CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30
- Niacinamide Zinc Serum
- The Ordinary AHA BHA Peeling Solution
Thanks so much for stopping by! If you want to read more minimalism content, check out these recent blog posts:
Minimalist Money Habits to Practice
15 Things That Make Your House Look Cluttered
Sincerely,
Denise XOXO
