One of the most important things about caring for your skin is recognizing changes and adjusting accordingly. This can be if your skin starts behaving differently and/or when the season changes. This time I’m on the cusp of both so here’s what I’m using on my skin right now.
See my previous skincare routine post here
I’m 34 and thanks to my copious amounts of melanin, genes, and my diligent skincare routine, I look younger (or maybe I just act younger…lol) than I am. But the way my black decides to crack is through adult acne and facial hair…lol. We’ll get to the facial hair a little later but I noticed I was having a little bout with adult acne. The thing with adult acne is that you obviously can’t use the same things we used as teens to treat it because we don’t get acne for the same reasons we did as teens. And because our skin tends to get drier as we age (even if you have oily skin) those acne products could dry the skin out. Murad had sent me their Anti Aging Acne line a few months ago and when I got it I thought “This is a great idea but I don’t need this.” I feel like that kit jinxed me and caused the universe to give me acne…lol.
But it’s been working well to keep the adult acne at bay. I’m approaching PMS and normally would have some huge giant pimple on my chin, but I feel like it’s lessened that likelihood. I’m not out of the park just yet so we’ll see. The pimples that have popped up on my forehead have been handled which also is helping another issue I’ve been having: the worst hyperpigmentation I’ve had in like ten years. I kept getting pimples on the SAME spots on my forehead and chin over and over again and the dark spots left behind were looking like Pangea. But by my assessment, if I can lessen the pimples, I also lessen more dark spots from popping up. I’ll do a post later on that details everything I did to get rid of them this go-round.
So morning and night I use the Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser. I like that it isn’t drying (I have oily skin and YES, you can dry out oily skin) and although it’s something you obviously wash away, it claims to still continue to fight acne even after you rinse it off. A few times a week (2-3 times) I’ll use my Clarisonic with the Deep Pore Brush (I switched to this from the Radiance brush since this one is more suited to acne-prone skin) along with the cleanser. Find out how various Clarisonic brush heads work and which might be for you here. After drying my face I apply the Murad Advanced Acne and Wrinkle Reducer all over. It has a lower amount of salicylic acid (0.5%) so I can do this without over drying my skin. It also contains Retinol and Glycolic Acid which “accelerate natural cell turnover to improve skin tone and texture.” I wait for the acne treatment to dry and settle (usually about 2 minutes) before moving onto the next product in my routine. I also need to be more diligent about using this on my chest, too. I get more breakouts there than I do on my face (and thanks again hormones for the hairs there :/)
If I’m wearing makeup, I’ll first remove it with my boscia MakeUp BreakUp Cleansing Oil then I’ll cleanse with the Murad (aka double-cleansing). If I’m being very careful around my edges—you know, not trying to get them wet so they revert, I sometimes also swipe a cotton pad wet with Caudalie Makeup Remover Cleansing Water to make sure I get any leftover makeup around my hair line.
During the day I use the Murad Anti-Aging Moisturizer SPF 30. It’s lightweight but hydrating enough for mild winter days/temperate spring-ish days. This wouldn’t be hydrating enough for me on really cold winter days and would probably be a bit too heavy when it gets much warmer out but for right now it’s a good balance for me.
At night I use my long-time fave Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturizer (you can use this day and night but make sure you add SPF if wearing it during the day—I use Murad Invisiblur when I do). I’ve noticed my skin looks much more radiant and “healthy” when I use this which is why it’s been a favorite of mine for over a decade. It contains Alpha Lipoic Acid (an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from premature aging and environmental damage), Vitamin C Ester (helps brighten the skin) and DMAE (which helps to firm but can also give the product a bit of a fishy smell at times—it goes away though…lol).
I just started using Derma E DMAE Firming Eye Lift because like I always say with eye cream—stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. Once that dries I sometimes layer RoC Multi Correxion Eye Cream on top of it.
For dark spots I cycled off using treatment for a bit—something I learned from a derm some years ago at a skincare press event. I was going to go to a dermatologist to get some prescription medication to treat dark spots because as I mentioned earlier, this is the worst hyperpigmentation I’ve had in almost ten years, but since I’ve been using the Murad Anti Aging Acne line and keeping the breakouts under control, I’ve had less new dark spots so I’ve noticed fading in the ones I’ve had for months. So I went back to using one of my OTC go-tos Alpha Hydrox Spot Light Skin Lightening Treatment.
My lips have been getting pretty dry lately so I’ve been using the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy but what I’ve also been doing is before I apply my makeup I’ll put Chapstick on and allow it to penetrate my lips while I do my face and hair and then I wipe it off before I put on my lip color. This way my lips are moist and primed but I don’t alter the texture of my lip color—particularly mattes.
So as I’ve mentioned, the way my black wants to crack is through acne and facial hair. It’s like the second I hit 30 a few hairs pop up on my chin, neck, chest and upper lip. Now they’re EVERYWHERE. But the thing is if I’m not careful with the removal method, I can wind up getting dark spots and ingrown hairs. I’d rather have 5 o’clock shadow than dark spots…lol. But thankfully I didn’t have to chose one evil over the other so I started using the Iluminage Precise Touch Permanent Hair Reduction, an at-home laser treatment—one of FEW that works on dark skin and dark hair. I definitely have less hairs but I still have some sprouting up. I’ve post a full review later on.
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And that’s that for now! I’ll be updating again with my summer routine or if something changes before then you’ll see both.
Thanks for these tips and products! Definitely dealing with many similar issues since turning 30! Great post!
Author
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading!
Danielle. Thanks for sharing that. I have always been a huge fan of Murad and have been using their acne care line for years now. Now that i am 32 i think i should change to the anti-aging line. lol On another note i recently came down with a bad case of chickenpox which has left my entire body with scars. i know for my face that i can do a feel glycolic peel treatments but what can i use on my body for the scaring? also what is a good line of products for my face to help with clearing up the scaring?
Author
Hey Tanya!
Ugh—sorry to hear about the chickenpox! I haven’t dealt with them since I was like 5/6 so as long as you don’t have any open cuts or abrasions on your body stemming from the chickenpox, you can use the same type of products to clear up the scaring on your body. You might want to look for body products specifically since you might need slightly more aggressive formulas for the body vs the face (because the skin on your face is more delicate than the skin on your body). But I remember how itchy chickenpox was so if you scratched your skin a lot when you had them, I’d wait a bit before using any aggressive treatments. I’d go with very gentle cleansers, moisturizers, etc. or even products made for sensitive skin if it’s still soon after the chickenpox cleared up.
For your face other than peels you mentioned—again making sure you don’t have any open cuts or abrasions stemming from the chickenpox because if you do and you use a peel or even something not as strong as a peel you run the risk of burning your skin and causing more scarring—I’d assume you could use the same type of products you would use to get rid of dark spots but again, I haven’t dealt with chickenpox since I was a kid so make sure you research first. But you can read more about hyperpigmentation and products I’ve reviewed here: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/category/beauty-health-makeup-hair/skin/hyperpigmentation-skin/
Also look into estheticians or derms in your area to see what kind of treatment options are available to you. It’ll be more costly, but they might be able to offer something that works faster than OTC products.
Good luck!
You may also want to look into electrolysis. I had started going a few years ago for my face, and I NEVER looked back.
I’m noticing dark spots but they usually go away after I wash my hair. However, my skin tone is not even (dark on the outside and light inside), and I am getting dark lines that’s probably forming to circles under my eyes. Would I need this entire routine or can I focus on the 3-4 Murad products and Pericone moisturizer you mentioned? Im currently using only Estée Lauder Clean face cream and Clinique moisturizer.
Author
Hi Shannon!
I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying here. I’ve never heard of dark spots that go away after you wash your hair—can you explain? Doesn’t sound like the type of dark spots I’m referring to in this post.
I also don’t understand what you mean by “dark lines probably forming to circles.” Do you wear glasses/sunglasses? It could be the imprint from your glasses that caused a mark/indentation there. There’s two types of “dark circles”—1. darkness under/near/around the eye area that’s actually discoloration. I along with lots of women of color am naturally darker around my eyes than the rest of my face. 2. actual dark circles caused by broken blood vessels in the area and because the skin under the eye can be very thin, the color shows up dark. It’s always a good idea to start using an eye cream (read more here: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/2015/12/eye-cream-stay-ready-so-you-dont-have-to-get-ready/ and watch a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjwbOKhisdY) but there’s only so much they can do. Visiting a derm is a great idea *if* you have an under eye issue that you want to see more dramatic changes than an eye cream can do.
Also whenever I share what I’m using on my skin, it’s in hopes that it helps you all to understand the components of a skincare regimen, that you need one, and that you need to be consistent and hopefully learn some things (because that’s my goal—teaching folks more about skin and encouraging people to seek the assistance of professionals to take better care of their skin) but in no ways am I suggesting at all that you have to use everything (or even a single product) that I’m using. Not everything is going to work for everyone and also there are other products out there that do the same (or similar) things that the ones I use do. I’m a skincare product fanatic partly because I’m a junkie and partly because I write about skincare a lot (even for magazines at times) and it helps me to know what else is out there.
That said, knowing very little about your skin I can’t say if you need to use anything I’ve mentioned in this post. *If* you have adult acne (recurring—not just a pimple here or there) then you can visit your local Sephora and get samples of the products to try before you buy. But Murad also isn’t the only brand that has products for adult acne—you can also find skincare products that have lower amounts of salicylic acid (the active ingredient that helps treat acne) from so many other brands and at various price points. I mentioned the Murad because that’s what I use right now. Down the line I may use something else for the sake of me knowing what else is out there.
Part of having a skincare regimen is knowing your skin type and what your concerns are and then looking into products/procedures that address your skin type and concerns. I have TONS of skincare posts you should read through to have a better understanding. Just reading one of my routine posts won’t help and might actually confuse you more if you need the skincare background info. When you have time go through my skincare archives: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/category/beauty-health-makeup-hair/skin/. There’s SO many posts that will give you a better understanding. I mean like YEARS of posts I’ve written…lol.
Lord I’ve been suffering from acne and bad hyper pigmentation as well. Before I try some new face products, I want to go to a dermatologist first.
Do you have a dermatologist you recommend ?
Author
Hey Chrissy!
Ughhh, sorry about the acne and hyperpigmentation! I’d look to see who takes your insurance and then google around for reviews on who practices near you. I know dermatologists but more on a journalist/source kinda way—look up Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton to start along with some others in your insurance network then narrow it down. I am trying someone out for laser hair removal soon but it’ll be my first time trying them out.