10 Things That Completely Changed My Skin

As someone who’s dealt with severe acne and used to do many things wrong before learning how to fix and reverse the damage, I can definitely say it’s possible to achieve clear skin by making a few minor changes to your daily routine.

Therefore, in this heartfelt article, I want to share a few things that helped me completely get rid of my acne and transform my skin for the better.

Below, you will read how making minor changes to your skincare routine, diet, and daily habits, can help significantly improve your skin’s health and appearance in a matter of days.

10 Habits That Completely Changed My Skin (For The Better):

I Stopped Cleansing My Face Twice A Day

Not using a cleanser on mornings when the skin feels normal and not excessively oily can help protect the skin barrier and actually prevent the skin from becoming too oily throughout the day.

This is because the skin is covered in a thin veil called the acid mantle, which consists of oil and sweat mixed together and helps keep the skin lubricated and protected. 

Once the acid mantle is removed with a surfactant, the skin will try to compensate for the lack of protection and lubrication by pumping out even more oil.

However, the excess oil can sometimes get stuck inside the pores, leading to the accumulation of bacteria that cause inflammation and acne.

Realizing this, I started cleansing my skin only once a day, in the evenings, to remove impurities that have adhered to it during the day, and skipping cleansing completely in the mornings.

Instead, I just splash some water, apply my moisturizer, and my sunscreen, and I am done.

By doing this, the acid mantle on my skin’s surface has helped protect my skin barrier and kept my skin soft, smooth, and clear rather than dehydrated, excessively oily, and textured.

I Stopped Using Makeup Wipes

Makeup wipes contain alcohol, fragrance, and essential oils that can severely irritate acne-prone skin.

Besides that, makeup wipes don’t adequately remove makeup and are more likely to move impurities around and give the impression of clean skin when, in reality, you still have a ton of makeup left on your face, which will then proceed to clog your pores and cause the onset of new breakouts.

But what I personally hate the most about makeup wipes is the sheer pressure you have to apply to “remove” some of the makeup on your face. 

The rubbing and tugging will definitely irritate your skin and even cause active acne to erupt, bleed, and spread the infected cellular debris to other areas, causing more inflammation and breakouts later on.

Instead, I started removing my makeup with either micellar water if I’m wearing light makeup or a cleansing balm when removing heavier makeup after a night out.

I then follow this up with a gentle gel-based cleanser to thoroughly remove any remaining impurities from my skin before proceeding with the rest of my skincare routine.

I Started Using a Moisturizer

Anyone with oily skin knows how dreadful the thought of applying a moisturizer can be, especially when one knows that their face will turn into a greasy mess halfway through the day. 

But since I started using a moisturizer, I haven’t noticed any significant difference or increase in oiliness. 

My skin remained the same in terms of oiliness, but applying a moisturizer made my complexion look softer and smoother and feel more comfortable and less tight after washing. 

The trick with moisturizers is to find the right one for your skin’s needs and use no more than a pea-sized amount on damp skin.

This method locks hydration into your skin and creates a comfortable barrier to protect it from losing moisture and becoming dehydrated, irritated, and rough.

Additionally, a moisturizer can help maintain the skin barrier and prevent pathogens, such as acne-causing bacteria, from overgrowing and triggering breakouts.

I Introduced Serums Into My Skincare Routine

Serums are my favorite part of my skincare routine right after exfoliation, and although I now love using them, I used to struggle with most of the products I had previously tried.

It seemed like nothing worked for me, but I figured out much later that the reason for this was incorrect use.

Serums are lightweight solutions that contain concentrated ingredients for targeting different skin concerns.

Depending on the formula and the active ingredients, serums should be applied to clean, damp skin and immediately followed up by a moisturizer before the hydration evaporates through the skin surface.

This application method was a game-changer for my skin that has helped me enjoy having a clear, soft, and smooth complexion without dealing with a sticky, gooey consistency sitting on the surface of my skin while it still felt dry and tight and looked rough and patchy from underneath.

I Became Diligent With SPF Application

When I first started applying sunscreen, I wasn’t very diligent with it.

I used to apply it only on days when there was sun outside, and I knew I was going to head out.

This resulted in me forgetting to apply sunscreen on most days and just heading out of the house with no protection at all.

Since this was also around the time I got serious and started exfoliating regularly, it wouldn’t be until a few hours later that I would feel my face burning in the sun and remember that I didn’t apply sunscreen.

So I made sunscreen an extra step in my morning routine that I apply 5-10 minutes after applying moisturizer and 15-20 minutes before applying makeup to give it time to set. 

Once you make sunscreen something that you just do every day, no matter what, you will be less likely to forget to apply it, and your skin will certainly thank you for it in the long run!

I Started Learning About Ingredients

I’ve been to beauty school and learned all sorts of beauty-related skills like facials, chemical peels, microneedling, waxing, manicures, pedicures, etc.

But one thing I wish I’d learn more of are ingredients used in skincare and other cosmetic products.

So, even after I finished beauty school, I still experienced acne and other skin issues, which was incredibly embarrassing given I was now someone who was supposed to take care of my clients’ skin.

That was until I learned how to read ingredient lists, and this is what made me become picky when it came to skincare products, and it’s something that essentially helped heal my skin.

Learning about ingredients will give you the power to make an informed decision when purchasing facial products instead of just throwing money at something and hoping it will work because the label says that it should.

I Stopped Applying Foundation

I’ve been applying makeup since I was thirteen and I never really had any issues with my foundations besides an occasional pimple here and there, which I considered to be normal.

However, things took a turn for the worse when I started getting an adult acne onset in my 20s, and every single foundation that I’ve previously used started making the issue even worse.

At one point, I stopped applying foundations and started applying tinted sunscreens and a little bit of concealer where I needed it.

I eventually found out about the Jane Iredale Mineral Powder, which is a little bit thicker than a regular powder and worked perfectly to cover up the redness and scarring left from old acne without clogging my pores and causing new pimples.

From there, I continued applying only a tiny bit of concealer or a tinted moisturizer whenever I felt like I needed it, while my skin continued to heal from the years of damage wearing and sleeping in makeup had caused me.

I Started Paying Attention To My Skin’s Needs

I used to buy products that looked good and sounded like they were the solution to my skin issues.

For example, I used to buy products because the label says they will hydrate, heal, and nourish my skin.

Although I found the product itself not to be bad, nothing ever worked for me the way I wanted it to. 

I was blinded by my expectations of what the product would do, so I couldn’t see that it wasn’t helping my skin in any way.

Until I realized I was not paying attention to my skin’s needs; I was using the products I was spending money on in the wrong way.

Let’s take hyaluronic acid, for example. I used to drench my skin in hyaluronic acid serums day and night because this was my routine.

I chose to ignore my skin’s needs because I thought I should use hyaluronic acid twice a day for the best results.

So, I started wondering why I needed so much hyaluronic acid, and it turned out I didn’t.

Eventually, I started using hyaluronic acid whenever my skin needed it, which was once every two days, rather than twice a day, which helped improve my skin immensely, and I could actually see the benefits from using a product correctly.

So, it’s worth mentioning that we can sometimes be blinded by our expectations and may overlook what’s really in front of us.

Our skin’s needs should always be the first place when choosing a product, and just because you want something to work doesn’t mean it will.

Instead, try experimenting with your skincare products and see whether minimizing the frequency of use or combining them in a certain way could yield better results.

Chances are, you probably don’t need to apply a certain product multiple times a day for it to work, and by doing so, you may be assaulting your skin with a plethora of ingredients inside that product it doesn’t need.

I Stopped Applying a Ton Of Products On My Face

This is how my usual morning routine looked like when my skin was at its worst with severe cystic acne, discoloration, texture, dehydration, and irritation:

Cleanser – Toner – Hydrating Mist – Hyaluronic Acid serum – Niacinamide serum – Hydrating mist – Moisturizer – Sunscreen – Primer – Foundation – Concealer – Powder – Blush – Setting spray.

My evening routine wasn’t anything better, and consisted of:

Oil cleanser – Micellar water – Gel cleanser – Foam cleanser – Exfoliating solution – Toner – Hydrating Mist – Essence – Hyaluronic Acid serum – Niacinamide serum – Moisturizer – Facial oil.

Reading through this and knowing what I know now is making me cringe because of how bad my skin was and how convinced I was that there was something wrong with me internally.

I was blaming my skin concerns on my hormones, stress, my job, my life, my relationships, and even minor inconveniences everyone experiences on the daily.

I was so miserable because I was throwing a ton of money on a ton of products that did nothing but mess up my skin. 

Once I swallowed my pride, which made me think I knew everything about the skin, and decided to stop clogging my pores and inflaming my skin with a plethora of products, my skin started getting significantly better after only a few days.

I then realized that human skin doesn’t know how to deal with all these different ingredients at once and it will definitely start to freak out when you feed it with, what was probably over one hundred ingredients combined from the multiple products in my skincare routine.

I Improved My Diet

Improving my diet has been the best thing I’ve done for myself, and I am here to say everyone should make an effort to do that.

My diet consisted of low-nutritious foods such as McDonald’s, Burger King, pizzas, fried foods, processed foods, pasta, and noodles.

There was never room on my plate for any vegetables because I hated the taste of vegetables.

But this changed when I started learning how to cook and prepare veggies in different ways, using different spices and herbs that added so much flavor to the blandness.

Today, I am enjoying a full plate of various foods, and I’ve never felt healthier in my life.

Changing my diet helped improve my skin, health, mood, energy, focus, how I dealt with stress, and the overall quality of my life.

I also introduced a couple of different supplements into my daily routine which is also something that had a major effect on my skin’s health.

But that’s not to say I don’t enjoy vitamin J (stands for junk) every now and again. In fact, I don’t stray from treating myself to a mouth-watering burger from Burger King once every few weeks or so.

This is crucial because the goal is not to be harsh on yourself and force yourself to eat healthily or else.

The goal is to make tweaks and changes that will improve your lifestyle, not punish yourself while trying to achieve clear and healthy skin.