Keep it Clean

After removing your makeup, cleansing and exfoliating your skin properly and thoroughly is one of the most important steps in skin care.  However, while your intentions may be good, using harsh scrubs or peels can severely dry out or even leave abrasive marks on your face.  Choosing the right products for your routine is key.

You can keep moisture locked in while cleansing with an oil or gel based cleanser.  The old antic that oils will clog your pores are exactly that.  Old antics…if done correctly.  There are a lot of clean oils that are extremely beneficial to your skin’s health and can cleanse while keep skin moisturized.  However, If you are not including exfoliation into your routine as well, then you CAN cause clogged pores by slathering oil on top of dead skin cells.  So the trick is to be sure you do both.

Exfoliation can come along with your cleanser or be done with additional products that offer chemical peels.  You want to alternate using your deeper exfoliators with your more mild (in your cleanser) so not to swing the other way and over dry.  Don’t be scared by the “chemical” in chemical peel.  There are some safe chemicals you can use and still abide by a clean skin care routine.  Let’s break it down.

Exfoliators are typically either AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids), BHAs (Beta Hydroxy Acids) or Retinols.

AHAs are the simplest and can be used a few times a week.  Glycolic Acid is the BEST AHA I can think of and I encourage everyone to incorporate it to really increase cell turnover along with collagen and elastin production.

BHAs are a bit more harsh and I’d like you to only use them 1-2x week max.  The most common BHA most women use is Salicylic Acid.  It’s awesome for skin care because it can literally reduce our sebum oils to prevent breakouts but it also has a lot of side effects. We can get similar benefits with more natural products.  Willow Bark is one of them.  I was recently introduced to this natural miracle worker and I’m loving it.  It doesn’t reduce sebum oil like Salicylic Acid, but it can decrease irritation which is more than half the battle with breakouts.

I use Is Clinical’s Cleansing Complex Gel Wash most days because it has Willow Bark and it gently exfoliates my skin while leaving behind lots of antioxidants. I typically follow this with Drunk Elephant’s TLC Glycolic Night Serum. A couple days a week, I use May Lindstrom’s Cleansing Oil which gives me ultimate hydration and on those days, I use my BHA product.  I’m currently using M61 Power Glow Peel Glycolic Wipes which do contain SA, so I only use them 1-2X per week.  I also love Dr. Dennis Gross’s Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Peel Wipes and these use Willow Bark instead of SA.  I tend to just switch off buying one of these two peels but I’m going to try GoopGlow’s Glow Peel next because I’ve heard wonderful things and it’s very clean!

Retinols are not something I use anymore.  I feel I get enough exfoliation from my other products.  However, Shani Darden’s Retinol Reform is one I highly recommend because it is said to be the least drying with incredible results (by experts I trust) and I like the ingredients.  If you have tried retinols in the past and they have been too drying for you, another more naturally derived option is to use Bakuchoil.  It helps lighten dark spots and during the Summer, when my dark spots spike, I sleep in Cocokind’s Overnight Resurfacing Mask to help lighten them naturally with bakuchoil.

So there you have it…Cleanse and exfoliate and stay clean!

Listing links to all of the mentioned products here: