My Skincare Routine

Today I thought I'd share what products I'm currently using on my skin to get it into better condition and hopefully boost my confidence. I've always suffered with oily skin since my teenage years and over the recent years, plenty of spots! Luckily, during lockdown I stumbled across Tik Tok (as most of us did, let's be honest) and found @skincarebyhyram who has literally opened my eyes to what I should or shouldn't be putting on my skin!

I'll link all the products if you're interested towards the end of the read, so let's get started!

MICELLAR WATER. This is an absolute must have for everybody and I will use this any day over face wipes. Face wipes are easy and quick at removing make up and impurities, but they are quite bad for your skin and even worse for the environment (unless you're buying the bio-degradable ones). I used to be a lover of face wipes but in reality, a lot of them are actually quite harsh on the skin and end up stripping it of its natural oils due to the chemicals they contain, which coincidentally end up causing inflammation and irritation e.g. red patches!

The one I use is just this Simple Kind To Skin Micellar Water which is free from perfumes etc that can upset your skin if you have sensitive skin. The bottle is also made from 100% recycled plastic which is nice as it feel's like you're doing your bit for the environment!

I'm currently alternating between two cleansers each day of the week. The first is one I have purchased recently which is the Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser from The Body Shop, and the second is the Organic Fennel + Cardamom Chai Soap Bar from a company called UpCircle. I feel like I have looked for years and brought all the wrong products until landing on these two absolute gold mines.

The Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser is without a doubt the lightest and most gentle cleanser I have ever used. It's perfect for targeting acne and you only need to google search the reviews and you'll see that it's been virtually ridding acne for long term sufferers! You only need 1 - 2 pumps and after just a week my acne has gone down considerably. I personally love the tingle that tea tree can leave on your face after rinsing and my skin honestly feels so refreshed and breathable after using this foam wash.

The Fennel + Cardamom bar from UpCircle has been amazing for calming down the redness on my face. The green clay it contains draws out toxins from pores, helping prevent breakouts and the small grains of fennel and cardamom gently exfoliate any dirt or dead skin away. The only downside to using this I would say is that you do have to considerably buff your skin when washing it off as it can leave that soapy residue behind that doesn't feel the nicest! But for overall redness reducing it's fab.

Next I always use the Garnier Rose Water Toner, which helps to close your pores up after giving them a good clean. Not only does it smell absolutely divine, it is so, so good for sensitive skin and leaves mine feeling super hydrated and glowy!

Now lets talk serums... I've always tried to avoid serums as I assumed them all to be oil based and my face has enough of that so I never use to use one. However, after watching some videos of @skincarebyhyram it made me reconsider. I'm currently using three different ones which are Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% and Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 from The Ordinary, and also 2% Salicylic Acid from Revolution.

I usually go in with these two in my night time routine as both are brilliant at preventing breakouts. Salicylic Acid helps dissolve the skin debris that blocks pores and causes acne, where as Niacinamide + Zinc strengthens the skin as well as battling blemishes and tackling redness/hyperpigmentation.

I tend to use the Hyaluronic Acid in the mornings before applying my moisturiser as this particular one from The Ordinary helps to give lasting hydration to the skin and retains moisture which leaves my skin looking visibly softer and healthier. If I was to recommend buying any of these serums it would 100% be this one.

MOISTURISERS. Again, I switch between two depending on whether it's the morning or evening. Morning I've been using the Tea Tree Mattifying Lotion from The Body Shop, and evenings I've been using Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA from The Ordinary. Both of these I really love.

The Tea Tree Mattifying Lotion pretty much does what it says on the bottle - mattifys! I like using this one in the morning as it helps fight back any oily skin I might have pop up during the day and it also leaves my skin with a smooth matte base for when I'm applying foundation. 10/10 recommend!

Natural Moisturizing Factors is similar to the Hyaluronic Acid in the sense it proves instant hydration and is best suited to oily prone skin. It essentially provides a protective barrier against surface hydration loss.

So! This little gem I have saved until last as I believe it to be the best! This is The Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask from The Body Shop. It's brilliant for purifying oily skin, unclogging pores to draw out all the yuckies and gives you a lovely glow once rinsed off. PLEASE though, for the love of God, do not leave this mask on for longer than recommended otherwise you will end up with an extremely red face like mine when I was used it! It's recommended to leave on for 5 - 10 minutes or until dry. Personally now I have used it a few times, 6-7 minutes is the right amount of time for me. Quoting The Body Shop "It's porous, so it works like a magnet to suck out impurities and absorb excess oil." I was amazed at how different my nose looked after using this just once - pretty much all my blackheads were gone and my pores were left looked smaller, smoother and more refined.

If you're wondering how good or bad your products are, there is a brilliant app called Think Dirty which allows you to scan the barcode and it lets you know what's actually in your product and what parts are bad - I was shocked at some of the stuff I had been using.

I really hope you've enjoyed reading this post, lengthy I know! I'm hoping to do a skin comparison in a couple of months to let you know how I've got on after using all these products after awhile, but until then thank you for reading and I'll see you all again really soon!

Love Molly x