Acne Prone Skin: Skincare Products I Tried

I've had acne since 2nd year high school. A time when I was too young to care and everyone else said it will eventually go away. They're still here 10 years later tho 🙃

Which meant Im one of those who went to the drugstore (Watsons) and tried a bunch of products. So here's a list I wanna share the world 🌍

My Acne Story

AKA a disclaimer.

I tried a lot of things. Products that were hyped online and products that people advised me (without me asking for it) are gonna work 100%. And it was crazy how a lot of stuff didn't really work, or didn't show any difference. I even tried going to the derma for an expensive 5 session Laser from August to December of 2018 (only worked the first 2 times and made it worst after).

December 2018

I get into phases where it just depresses me. It's nothing new I guess, don't worry about me 😅.

But now I also recently found out that the root cause of my acne was PCOS. Which may be also why a lot of good skincare products didn't work.

I don't get a lot of bumps now after taking the pills.

March 2019

And as it is currently healing now, I started going crazy again with Youtube and online shopping, for products that could help heal all the redness away. And that's how the idea of this blog post was born 🐣

First, a Legend

I'm not good with words even though I try to keep this blog, I will probably just say the same things again and again, so let's use emojis.

• 🙌🏻- holy grail
• 💛- noticed a difference when I stopped using it
• 👍🏻 - did their job
• 😷 - irritated my skin
• 🤔 - didn't notice any difference
• 👻 - only worked at first
• 👌🏻 - cheap
• 💸- expensive
• 🛍 - repurchased
• 📅 - currently using

Products

PS. I am also not the most observant person out there. Sometimes it's either it worked or it didn't. 

Toner 

I'm really not picky when it comes to toners. Although I think it's the first and most important part of skincare. I use a lot of toner daily 😅so I try not to give in and try the hyped up ones because I might go broke.

• Eskinol Pimple Fighting Toner 👌🏻🛍👍🏻- used this for the longest time. And during those times when I have given up trying stuff that won't work. It stings the eye but it is the most generic I guess, from price to quality.
• Moringa-02 Malunggay Herbal Facial Toner 👍🏻👌🏻 🛍📅 - Like Eskinol, but it does not sting the eye.
• Apple Cider Vinegar 👻👌🏻- Smells so bad. They said you have to mix with water because it is too much.
• Dickinson’s Original Witch Hazel Pore Perfecting Toner 👍🏻 - Has a mild scent. The only reason I didn't repurchase was because of how big the bottle was and once I finally finished it, I thought it's time to try something else.
• Thayers Alcohol-Free Hazel Toner 🙌🏻💸🛍- Like Dickson's, but without the scent. A little too expensive too keep repurchasing.

Cleanser

Used makeup since college to hide the redness, which wasn't easy.

Hello, please don't tell my how makeup just makes it worst because it actually doesn't, I just have to make sure they are removed 100% after.

• Biore Facial Cleansing Oil 👍🏻🛍- does not take it all away 100%. Face feels oily after, which makes it important to have a second cleanser.
• Biore Facial Foaming Cleanser 👍🏻🛍- less oily than the first one. I used a lot more product with this one but overall I think the oil one does the job better.
• Heimish All Clean Balm 🙌🏻📅- This one removes everything. I was intrigued with cleansing balms so I went to Youtube searching for the ones from Enature and Banilla Co only to always end up with the reviewer saying that this is what they currently use. It also has a lot more product than the other 2. Planning to buy smaller containers so that I could repack them and keep one in my bag for emergencies.
• Biore Makeup Remover Wipes 👍🏻😷🛍- this one I buy so that I have something to use when traveling or for emergencies. Wipes in general aren't nice. They don't take off makeup 100%.
• Purederm Argan Oil Makeup Remover Wipes 👍🏻🛍😷👌🏻- same with the one above, but cheaper.
• Garnier Micellar Water 🤔- Micellar water aren't capable of removing foundation unless we use all of the bottle in one use (I also don't remember the other ones I tried). This is great tho after facial washes so that we could see if there are some makeup left. 
• Cosrx Good Morning Cleanser 🛍👍🏻- has a weird smell at first. I use this as a second step of my cleanse, but I feel my face become dry after.
• Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Cleansing Foam 💛🛍- works well with the Biore Facial Cleansing Oil.
• Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cleansing Foam 👍🏻- same with the above. Bought this because I found it in a Korean Mart when I was running out of cleanser.
• Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser 💛📅🛍- I used this before but it was too gentle. Bought it again now because I wanted to buy Cosrx Low pH First Cleansing Milk Gel, but reviews said they are similar. I use it now in the morning and when I don't use makeup.
• Klairs Pore Gentle Charcoal Soap 💛📅 - Bought this to be paired with the Heimish All Clean Balm only to find out that I use this more than that one (because I use this even when I don't wear makeup). My face never felt more clean.

Sunscreen

Every day ☀️☀️☀️

Using some of these products would also require us to use sunscreen because they have ingredients that makes our skin more sensitive to the sun.

• Biore UV Perfect Face Milk 👍🏻🛍- This would've been perfect but it makes my face a shade lighter than it already is. Only noticed the issue when I learned to stop wearing makeup every day.
• Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence 👍🏻📅- No white casts
• Cosrx Aloe Soothing Sun Cream 👍🏻🛍- No white casts. Just as awesome as Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence.
• Belo SunExpert Tinted Sunscreen 🙌🏻📅- I use this when I have plans and I don't want to use makeup, which is a lot lately. It's not powerful enough to hide the redness.

Serum/Essence

Not the most knowledgable in terms of skincare so I'll just put these things together. Most products here are 💸💸💸

• Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid 😷💸- They said you just have to wait for it to be better but it didn't. It got so bad I couldn't wait another minute.
• The Ordinary Azelaic Acid 💛🛍- I will only realize how much this helps with the redness when I stop using it
• The Ordinary Niacinamide 10 + Zinc 1% (🤔 or 👻)🛍- I think this works well with The Ordinary Azelaic Acid, which is also the same product that stopped me from trying out Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Serum for the longest time.
• Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Serum 💛💸📅 - Recent purchase but so far so good. Kind of a hard maintenance product because I can't leave it in my room where it gets very hot in the afternoon.
• Cosrx Advanced Snail Mucin 96 Power Essence 🙌🏻💸- the only reason I haven't repurchased yet was because I still have little left. Stopped using for now because I'm trying out new products.
• Cosrx Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol 👻💸- bought this together with the Cosrx Advanced Snail Mucin, but together they only worked like magic on the first few weeks.
• Skin Genie Heal All Tamanu Oil 🤔👌🏻- One youtuber raved about Tamanu Oils once so I tried it. Has a smell. The applicator is a roll on and I'm not as comfortable with using that on my acne because I think the dirt just gets passed around.

Moisturizer/Hydration

I've been using a lot of products that dry out my skin (mostly those that fight acne), so I thought this is what's missing.

• Aloe Vera Soothing Gel 🙌🏻👌🏻 📅- This is the product that got me into skincare. I was in Mumuso in Marquee Mall when it opened and a lot of girls bought this in huge amounts. It comes in a 300ml green container. There are a lot of brands out there that sells this ranging from ₱100 to ₱250. Currently using one from The Face Shop because it's the easiest to find.
• Beauty Bakery Clarifying Witch Hazel Facial Mist 👍🏻- Has a scent. I used other mists but already forgot about them and this is probably the only one I used up until the last drop. It comes in a glass bottle making it heavy and not travel friendly.
• The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors 👍🏻📅 - a very simple daily moisturizer. Doesn't have a lot of claims other than to moisturize the skin.
• Skinfood Royal Honey Essential Wrinkle Corrector 💛💸- a Christmas gift from my sister. Used this when I was suffering the after effects of laser sessions in the derma, this helped calm the angry acne bumps.
• Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream 👍🏻💸- I used this as an alternative for The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors. The product was okay.

Acne Fighting

What should've been my first line of defense but most didn't work 😅

• Cosrx Centella Blemish Cream 🤔💸- Wanted this to work so bad but it just didn't
• Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch 😷👌🏻- Probably everyone's holy grail but every time I use this, the pimple marks just end up taking longer to vanish.
• Miacare Spot Care Patch 👻👌🏻- also tried pimple patches that I could find in Watsons but only worked at first
• Mario Badescu Drying Lotion 🤔💸- this one is very hard to remove in the morning. Also spilled some 😅already. I still use this every once in a while just in case it brings a miracle.

And that's it!

Hope this helps 🐣