You guys. My skin hasn’t been on its best behavior these days. My hormonal acne leads to aggressive scarring that often makes me feel, quite frankly, like shit. As I am working on my skin, it’s so important for me to remember progress can be tracked when documented, which can help in the me feeling like shit area. I have been documenting my journey via photographs for some time, and now is the perfect time for some comparisons.
I have been using the routine I list below for 60 days unless otherwise noted. In addition, I’m going to be rolling out individual reviews of each of the products mentioned within the next few days. I hope to get them out asap, but until then…!
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| These are skincare products I took with me on vacation December 5th. Some of the products mentioned in this post are not in this photo. The regimen was started the following week, when I returned home. |
Skincare Routine for Hyperpigmentation
- Cleanse:
- In the morning, I switch between Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser (also used with a spin brush every 3 days) and Erborian Double Mousse Cleansing Foam.
- In the evening, I’ve been double cleansing with an oil cleanser as my first cleanser (and makeup remover) and I mainly use Erborian Double Mousse Cleansing Foam or Liquid Black Soap as second cleansers.
- Mist: I switch in between Missha First Treatment Essence Mist, Nature Republic Bee Venom Mist, and Mario Badescu Rose Mist. I consider this my toning stage.
- Serum 1: Holysnails Shark Sauce
- Serum 2/Essence: Manyo Factory Galactomyces
- Serum 3: Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution
- Emulsion/Lotion: Hydropeptide Lumapro-C Skin Brightening Pigment Corrector
- Moisturizer 1: Joseon Dynasty Cream
- Moisturizer 2: Hada Labo Goku-jyun Alpha Milk
- Moisturizer 3: Clarins Multiactive Jour Day Cream SPF 20 (started using in January)
- Sleeping Mask: Erborian BB Sleeping Mask (PM Only)
Other products I used very randomly, (probably 10 days out of the 60+ days I have been on this regimen) and likely don’t contribute to the lightening overall due to inconsistent use:
- Valentia Night Revive Retinol Serum
- Murad Rapid Lightening Serum (I was using this inconsistently before sheet masking to lock it in)
- Valentia Pure Glow Brightening Moisturizer
And now for some photos. I found my acne scars distracting and it made it difficult for me to see overall progress. But when I focused on each sections, I saw that my skin had improved greatly.
Section 1
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| Before #1; photo taken 11/4/2016 |
The above photo was my “after” photo for my review on The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension. Although I was using some of the mentioned products before, a month and two days passed before I started this explicit routine (routine started beginning of December).
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| After #1; photo taken 2/2/2017 |
In this first section, I can see very clear progress. Very happy with this section.
Section 2
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| Before #2 |
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| After #2 |
While I can detect some lightening on the before and after #2’s, I don’t see as much progress as in the first batch. I need to focus more on that area of my face.
Section 3
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| Before #3; Photo taken 10/28/2016 (exactly 7 days before the previous before photo) |
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| After #3: photo taken 2/2/2017 |
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These three spots are nearly gone! Progress! Section 4
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| Before #4 |
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| After #4 |
It took me a little while to recognize the progress on this section of my face because I was so distracted by the awfulness of the other section. The spots definitely lightened in this section, but it still has a little ways to go.
Section 5
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| Before #5 |
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| After #5 |
It also took me a while to accept that I had some lightening in this section also. My face is recovering from some active hormonal acne that just loves collecting in that area of my face. The large patch of hyperpigmentation in the before photo is actually a burn; in the after photo the healing active acne had mounted itself where the burn used to be. If you look closely, most of the hyperpigmentation from the burn is gone as well as some of the acne scars around it!
When I get aggravated with my skin, I need to remember these photos! Hope this helps somebody!
-XX
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