While the average Korean woman uses 6-7 skincare products every single day, I tend towards a mere 3-4 on a daily basis (which for me is excessive, honestly). Omitted (or forgotten) is my cleanser, which is just a mild gel cleanser by UK brand Simple which has worked wonders for me in terms of mild cleansing and not stripping my skin. I have oily skin, but my beauty ethos is to hydrate the hell out of my acne scars and flesh coloured bumps and it has worked pretty well for me.
For all you oily skinned ladies, I urge you to stay away from foam cleansers (or only using them once in awhile for extra deep cleansing) that excessively strips away surface oil and causes overproduction of sebum, to focus on hydration and to find any good spot treatment cream that works well for you. I used to suffer from severe hormonal acne and scaring, and while my skin is still far from perfect it has improved by leaps and bounds since then. The tipping point was when I stopped focusing on my acne, but instead on allowing my skin to heal naturally by moisturising products. I also find that alternating between spot treatment and hydration works best for me; focusing on only either acne treating or hydration in a single day. I currently tend towards the average ratio of 7 day hydration : 1 day spot treatment, but whatever works best for your skin condition.
On an average day I simply gently cleanse my skin with Simple Gentle Cleanser, then following up with Muji Light Toning Water which hydrates my skin with the glycerin in it while helping maintaining the natural skin pH value. I follow up with my Nature Republic Aloe Vera Gel, which is a cheap, cost-effective and multipurpose gel that I decanted into a sanitised pump bottle for easier daily access. Aloe Vera acts as a mild humectant, which coupled with the Glycerin, helps to prep my skin and fully absorb the effects of my current favourite moisturiser which is the Benton Snail Bee Steam Cream, a phenomenal cream which helps to heal my current acne scars and hydrating it to plumpness while not causing my skin overproduce sebum.
Every couple of days I use either a chemical exfoliant, a hydrating mask or a deep cleansing mask. The chemical exfoliant of choice is the Alpha H Liquid Gold, which always helps my skin feel fresher while gently exfoliating it. Personally I prefer chemical exfoliants, just because I always feel that physical exfoliants can get too harsh. While I'm not a hardcore fan of The Saem's O2 Bubble Mask (which I bought on a whim, sucked into the interesting concept of bubble masks), I still use it occasionally when I run out of sheet masks. Lastly, the Innisfree Jeju Super Volcanic Clay Mask has been exceptional on days I want deep cleansing of my pores. 15 minutes and I'm left with visibly brightened skin, cleaner pores and a skin not taut from an overly drying clay mask.
Should I have makeup on, I simply use any oil cleanser. Currently I'm using up my Nature Republic one, which is gentle and effective, though I do not feel any strong commitment towards it. I personally lean towards oil cleansers because they feel far more thorough to me, and I always double cleanse.
So that's it. Let me know if you want a more in depth review for any of these products, and I'll continue trying new skin care.
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