Skin Care Regimen: Late Twenties

I realized the importance of good skin care early on in high school when I began wearing daily moisturizer, cleansing my face every morning. It soon lead me to using eye cream, exfoliator and products with SPF.

It wasn’t until until my mid-twenties when I started experiencing breakouts on my chin, and while I’m still clearing it up today, it took me to 29 to find products and a skin care regimen that works for my skin type (went from normal-dry to combination). My advice is to start a skin care regimen early, especially when it comes to cleansing (and being sure to remove makeup EVERY night– that was one of my downfalls), moisturizing and protecting skin with sunblock and products with SPF. Here’s products in my regimen that I have been using and find to work:

1. While I do get breakouts, I do have tiny, tight pores… and I want to keep it that way. For the last several months I have been using Neutrogena’s Pore Refining Daily Cleanser, which has been great at keeping pores clean and tight.

2. I only recently started using Garnier’s Clean+ Balancing Daily Exfoliator, which offers a refreshing burst of citrus and soft exfoliation.

3. To really get my skin clean, I have also been using Olay’s Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System, which is a budget-friendly cleansing brush. Seriously, I am addicted to this thing! It’ soft enough that it doesn’t irritate my acne, which was surprising to me as I thought it would.

4. I’ll use makeup wipes for those nights when I’m just too lazy to wash my face– I’ll admit it, bad habits are hard to break!

5. Out of all the different moisturizers I’ve used, I always turn back to my standby, Philosophy’s Hope In A Jar. This moisturizer is gentle, non-oily, and leaves my skin feeling soft. Since this one does not contain SPF, I wear a tinted moisturizer with SPF over it.

6. If I know I’ll be outside all day, sunblock is a must! However, I hate putting oily, greasy body sunblock on my face and use a sunscreen that is specifically formulated for the face. This past year I have been using Neutrogena’s Clear Face Liquid-Lotion Sunblock.

7. For pesky zits that pop up, I stop them early with Neutrogena’s Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel, which has been amazing at drying up zits and preventing them from growing larger.

What are some of your must-have skin care products?