This month I changed up my beauty ritual a little bit. Not only did I add retinaldehyde which straight up infuriated my skin but I added a few more products to help me make it through these final dry winter months, which always seems to be the worst, before spring comes with better temperatures and more humidity. Then comes the dryness of 10% humidity in the summer and scorching 100 degree days. But I’ll think of that later. I want to think about the coming spring, flowers, and allergy season.
Morning Cleanser Change
I switched to using micellular water or oil-based cleanser in the morning instead of a water-based cleanser. Oil-based cleansers give my skin a jolt of moisture first thing in the morning. During the night our sebum production is at our lowest, which for dry skinned people means it basically falls to zero. Those oils my skin do produce escape from and get rubbed off onto sheets and pillowcases throughout the night. that’s a big reason why people with acne prone skin or lots of oil production should wash their pillowcases more than once a week. That doesn’t mean the fitted and top sheet; just the pillowcases. They’re a haven for dead skin and extra oil.
The oil cleanser I’m using is Tatcha’s Camellia oil cleanser. It is pricy and I know that but it’s also a milder oil cleanser. I also have Banilla Co. Clean it Zero balm and I really like that as well. The main difference is that it doesn’t feel as luxurious as Tatcha’s oil. It does require a little more rubbing than Tatcha’s in order to get it into an emulsion with the water so it washes away. Tatcha goes into a water suspension incredibly easy. Out of the dozen or so oil cleansers I’ve used Tatcha’s cleansing oil goes into suspension the easiest but at the cost of not picking as much heavier makeup residues as others. That’s not necessarily a con though, other oil cleansers that will straight up melt the thickest, heaviest, most matte foundation in the world also feels like its overly harsh on my skin.
For micellular water I’ve been an avid user of Garnier’s SkinActive Micellular Water (pink top for my morning routine) but I’ve recently bought BioDerma’s HydroBio Micellular Water (the blue top). Huge love for the 500ml bottle because it comes with the pump top dispenser instead of having to pour out the solution.
Toner Change
Here’s the bigger change that’s helped out the most. I added Caudalie’s Grape Water. I don’t really understand why it works, to be honest, but it does work. I’ve been using a Rose Water toning water from Fresh and Mamonde and they work well but the Grape Water just seems to work a bit better. Per product it’s about the same price but a 6.7 fl oz. cannister is $18. I will give Fresh one thing, the pump spray method is great especially if I wanted to refill it with another product. The Caudalie spray is finer, but our recycling center doesn’t accept anything in an aerosol.
Face Oil Change
Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil. This one is a different type of face oil. Some face oils just sit on top of the skin. Herbivore’s face oils have a tendency to do that on my face. Kora Organics Noni Oil does a good job of absorbing into the skin leaving me with a healthy radiance in the morning without my makeup or sunscreen rolling off.
Serum Change
I added retinaldehyde. If you follow my IG page I posted a picture of the initial results. Contrary to what my aesthetician said, my eye area did NOT enjoy this product nor did my cheeks, forehead, or the dry area surrounding my mouth. I started using it every other day and now I’m using it twice a week. I also quit using the salicylic acid wash and toner for the time being. That seems to be doing the trick. My pores are still getting a little smaller week by week. My skin is more glowy week by week. Eventually, I’ll have this perfect poreless glass skin. But for the time being it’s still pore city and dry as the Sahara desert if I do nothing.
Overall Conclusion
I’m really liking almost removing water cleansers from my morning routine. I still use them at night because I need the extra power to remove makeup and dirt from the day (I have a dirty day job sometimes) and the water cleanser just does a better job removing all of that. The Grape Water seems to have decreased the irritation and redness in my skin from the retinaldehyde and irritation from being overly dry. I really like the Noni Glow oil. Its silky and goes on so smooth and just absorbs so much better than my other face oils. Other oils I use as a booster to my cream moisturizers, but I can use that alone.
