Dry skin, oily skin, inflammation, cystic acne — my face has seen it all. I have tried a lot of products over the years, many of which only made my face worse. After some trial and error, I have finally found a routine and favorite facial products that have really helped my skin return to normal!
These are the products that I use every day and highly recommend to anyone, especially if you have sensitive skin and need to avoid medicated products. The best part is all of these products are under $20!
- Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser
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This face wash is very simple and doesn’t have any active ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. This is ideal for me so I am not mixing medicated products together. If your skin leans towards the oily side this cleanser may not be strong enough for you, but for anyone with dry and irritated skin this is very simple and gentle cleanser.
You can buy this cleasner from Neutrogena’s website or Amazon.
- Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
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I was very skeptical when I heard my friend had a bottle of snail mucin in her skin care routine. I was sure it was probably one of those fancy sounding products that become all the rage without actually working. But when I tried it for two weeks, I found that the redness in my face had gone down. I thought for sure I was crazy but I kept seeing results. Experts at Vogue came to the same conclusions I did that the snail mucin helped moisturize and heal dark spots among other benefits. I usually put this on after I wash my face and right after I shower to allow it to be soaked in the most.
You can buy this product from the Cosrx website. While you’re there you should check out other products from this very reputable Korean skincare line! You can also buy this product (cheaper) on Amazon.
- Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
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I fell in love with this moisturizer the first time I tried it. Described as “water gel” this moisterizer with hyaluronic acid has a light, smooth and refreshing feeling on the skin. Gels are ideal for oily or acne prone skin according to this article from Vogue that has a guide to whether gel, cream or lotion is right for your skin. However this is a great moisturizer to try for dry skin as well it may simply take a couple applications in the morning.
You can get this product on Neutrogena’s website or Amazon.
- Etude House Sunprise Sun Milk
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I often find sunscreen very heavy and leaving my skin very oily. However, this sunscreen is much lighter than any other sunscreen that I’ve used. It is very light and very effective with its 50 spf protection. This sunscreen also uses zinc oxide which is an ingredient for physical UV protection as opposed to chemical protection which can be irritating to the skin, according to this article. I put this sunscreen every day over my moisterizer and reap in the joy of sun protection without my face feeling oily!
You can buy this product at Etude’s website or Amazon.
- Curology
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I had heard a lot about Curology before I decided to try it. I had exhausted many prescriptions options from my doctor that had only made my skin more dry and more irritated. When I finally succumbed to ordering it my acne was worse than it had ever been. They said it would get worse before it got better, but for me my face only improved once I started using it. I have used curology for six months now and I am amazed at the improvements made.
They also have an awesome resource for anyone on medicaid called their “Access Program” which offers two years free of curology for anyone whose application they accept. Here is the link to learn more about the program.
I know the struggle of trying an endless number of skin care products to find the ones that work for you. Most of the products that I use every day were recommendations of products that worked for friends of mine and that I got to try before I bought it. I hope these recommendations are useful and you try out these amazing products that have immensely helped my skin!