When I look back on the health of my skin in past years, I realize that I have made a lot of progress. There are a number of factors that contribute to this progress so I’m taking this opportunity to share the products (and habits) that transformed the state of my skin in the last year.
Products That Transformed My Skin
First I want to provide the disclaimer that if a product you’ve seen me use consistently is not listed below, it doesn’t mean that it has not helped improve my skin. It’s likely the case that I just don’t think the particular product is unique. For example, I really love the Farmacy Beauty Honey Halo Moisturizer and it’s a staple in my routine, but I know there are a lot of good quality moisturizers out there that can likely do the same thing for you. The same holds true for cleansers and cleansing balms. I’m really not picky about those products and usually use whatever I have piled up from PR. But these products listed below? These are the products I stand ten toes down for.
Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum
I did not want to believe the hype about this product but I must admit it is liquid gold. The Caudalie vinoperfect serum is a Vitamin C alternative serum, meaning that it provides brightening benefits as Vitamin C does and is known for but without the potentially irritating effects. I like this serum in particular because I can combine it with other actives since it is not a true Vitamin C serum. On Tuesdays and Thursday mornings I apply this after cleansing and toning and before applying the Topicals Faded Serum which has been a staple in my routine for a few years now.
Farmacy TXA Brightening Toner
Admittedly I was first exposed to this toner through a sponsored post I created for Farmacy Beauty, but I absolutely love every single product of theirs that I have tried. In fact, I’d say Farmacy Beauty is probably one of my top 3 skincare brands of all time because of how consistently effective their products are for my skin. The Brighten Up TXA toner is formulated with Azelaic Acid and TXA, both of which are known to be superstar ingredients for faded dark spots and brightening the skin (both ingredients are in Topicals Faded Serum). I don’t think this product is strong enough to make an impactful difference on its own but it definitely plays a good role in a full brightening routine. I incorporate this product into my skincare routine as the toner I use on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, before following up with the Caudalie Vinoperfect and Topicals Faded Serums.
Winlevi
I’ve been using Rx strength prescription products since 2018. I was initially prescribed Tretinoin and Onexton for my acne—both products work well for me and I continue to use them to this day. However, I was still experiencing some pesky hormonal acne particularly on my chin and occasionally around my cheeks. My dermatologist prescribed Winlevi, a topical hormonal acne medication that was fairly new and the first of it’s kind at the time. Since then my skin has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of deep cystic breakouts I experience. Everyone’s medical grade skincare needs are different, but if you have a dermatologist, consider asking them whether Winlevi might be a right fit for you.
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum
Like the Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum, I did not want to believe the hype about this product. I was concerned that because it was a night serum, it likely had active ingredients like retinol and I would not be able to combine it with my existing night routine that involved tretinoin. A quick search and read through the ingredients proved me wrong. This serum is essentially just a really fancy (and really expensive) hydrating and restorative serum. But the gag is it’s very effective for my skin. I know this because at some point I stopped using it consistently and realized that my skin was more dull and less hydrated. That’s all it takes for me to decide to never go without this product in my routine. I use it every night except for Tuesdays and Thursdays when I do my exfoliating night routine which I’ll talk about next. I apply this product before I apply my Rx tretinoin which I use on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.
Dr. Dennis Gross Extra Strength Peel Pads & Vitamin C Serum
These peel pads are another hype worthy product. They help exfoliate the skin which in turn leads to less congestion of my pores and therefore less breakouts. I received the Vitamin C serum in PR and the instructions mentioned that it works best when used after the peel pads, so thats exactly what I have been doing and I have no complaints. I think the two work exceptionally well together on my skin to firm and brighten. I only use the two on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as a part of my exfoliating night routine.
Shop these and some of the other products in my skincare routine below and feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about how I use them
Habits & Routines That Transformed My Skin
Consistent Facials
At the start of 2023 I decided that I wanted to rebrand as the girl that got consistent facials. As a law student on a tight budget, I didn’t have the funds to consistently get facials even though I knew that it would probably bring me results. The only facial studio I could remotely afford was Heyday skincare and that was also very inconveniently located from where I lived in Harlem. All of that is to say I was not consistent with facials. But at the end of 2022 I getting facials at MelaSkin Studio. It was a small Black woman owned spa that I had heard and seen great things about—I had even included them in my round up of Black estheticians a while back. I appreciated that my facials here were customized for my skin’s needs. Rather than booking a particular facial that I thought I needed ahead of time, I simply chose the option for a returning client and once my esthetician took a closer look at my skin she would determine what the most suitable treatment would be. Unfortunately this studio closed as of December 2023, but nevertheless I highly encourage you to start consistent facials if you can at a place that works best for you.
Stress & Sleep Hygiene
I definitely underestimated how much of my skin’s poor health was due to high levels of stress and low hours of sleep. Besides being more mindful of cheese and dairy consumption, I haven’t changed too much about my diet over the years. So what has changed? My stress levels and my sleep hygiene. Now that I am no longer in law school and no longer working a high intensity job, there are very few things that make me anxious or keep me up late at night. My bed time these days is around 10:30 pm and sometimes I might even be in bed before then. That is a stark contrast from the days that I might go to bed around 1 or 2 am and wake up at 6 or 7. Our bodies, and specifically our skin, goes through a regenerative process at night while we sleep. The less time we spend sleeping, the less time we give our bodies to go through that natural and necessary process.
Final Thoughts
I’m very content with the progress my skin has made over the past year or so. Granted my skin is not picture perfect, I have visible pores and breakouts every now and then that leave me with post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, but it is not nearly as bad as it used to be. Having severe acne and hyperpigmentation took a hit on my confidence in ways I did not realize, which is why these days I am so committed to making the investments I need to make to maintain the healthy look and feel of my skin.
“And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” Exodus 34:29
