Skin care, makeup, fashion, beauty care advice and product reviews.

With all of my product and lifestyle research throughout the years, I now know what keeps my skin clear and acne free. Here are some tips and products I have used that give results.

1. Don’t pick! This is the first rule of thumb. Picking your skin, especially with bare, unwashed hands, will defeat the effects of any healing products or healthy lifestyle changes you may be doing. Picking your skin with bare hands may lead to small cuts and tears from your nails, and dirt is easily passed from your hands to your skin, thus creating breakouts. Remember, if you pick one zit, you will have 5 more!
2. Keep it simple. Using too many harsh products on your face can dry out your skin, creating peeling, redness and breakouts. You may think that using that 10% Benzoyl Peroxide every night is helping, but if your face is irritated you will only break out more.
3. Always wash your face at night. ALWAYS! No excuses on this one. Your face collects so many dirt and toxins throughout the day. Mixed with makeup, this is a combination sure to lead to breakouts. If you do one thing to keep your skin clear, just take a few minutes to wash everything off at the end of the day. If you are too tired, then do it as soon as you get home before you start relaxing. If you are not in the habit already of washing your face at night, I promise you results from doing this one simple thing.
4. Use a cleanser with Salicylic Acid. Salicylic acid fights acne by killing bacteria and lessening sebum production. For less oily skin, I like DDF Blemish Foaming Cleanser. This cleanser does a great job of cleaning off makeup, contains acne fighting ingredients, and is mild enough to use morning and night. For oilier skin, try DDF Salicylic Wash. This cleanser contains a higher percentage of Salicylic Acid for more intense acne fighting, but it may dry out your skin. If you experience any dryness or irritation, switch to using this cleanser only at night and a milder cleanser in the morning. Remember to wash your face twice at night to remove all makeup! A great cleanser to use in the mornings if you have more sensitive skin is IS Clinical Cleansing Complex. Containing both salicylic acid and glycolic acid, this cleanser fights acne, gently exfoliates your skin, and is gentle enough not to dry out your face. This cleanser does not remove makeup that well, so that’s why I recommend using it in the mornings and a stronger cleanser at night.
5. A hydrated face is a clear face. You have all heard that drinking water helps clear your skin and this is not a myth. Not only does drinking lots of water cleanse your body of unwanted toxins, but it also helps to detoxify your skin and add needed moisture.
6. Along with drinking water, using a moisturizer is very important. Even if you have oily skin, a moisturizer helps to keep your skin from becoming irritated and actually helps even out the production of oil, thus leading to less breakouts. There are a lot of moisturizers for oily skin, but I like Peter Thomas Roth Ultra Lite Oil-Free Sunblock SPF 30 because it’s super sheer, blends in really well, and also contains an SPF 30, which is so important! Don’t be afraid that using a moisturizer will make you break out. So long as you stick to an oil free moisturizer your skin will have less irritation and dryness which means less break outs.
7. Use mineral makeup. My favorite is Colorescience for it’s superior ingredients compared with other mineral makeups. Colorescience foundation covers imperfections really well without being shiny and heavy. Best of all, because Colorescience contains no talc or additives, it’s actually good for your skin. Colorescience makeup does not penetrate your skin so it won’t clog pores and cause breakouts, and soothing minerals along with vitamin A soothe and eliminate skin irritation.
8. Use a topical acne fighter at night. Hands down, the best acne remedy is IS Clinical Active Serum. If you’ve read my blog before, you know how much I like this product! Active serum is a liquid that you put on with your fingertips at night, avoiding the eye area. Active serum contains Salicylic acid and Glycolic acid to fight acne, kill bacteria and exfoliate dead skin, and Kojic and Lactic acid for superior anti-aging benefits. Also assisting in pigment reduction, this product does it all! Don’t use any other product on your skin after using Active Serum on clear skin. Active serum is best used alone to avoid irritation. If your face becomes dry, then you can wear a moisturizer such as IS Clinical Hydra Cool on top, once the Active Serum has dried on your skin. Hydra Cool is a cooling, serum moisturizer that contains Menthol, which is anti-bacterial. Hydra Cool is designed to work in conjunction with Active Serum and other IS Clinical products to help them work better.
9. Use a sulfur mask. My personal favorite is DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask. Sulfur is well known to absorb oil, purify skin and pores and is a great anti-inflammatory. Sulfur is so healing it actually helps to instantaneously dry out blemishes and prevent more from coming. Apply a thick layer all over your face and neck, avoiding your eye area, 1-3 times per week. For severely acneic and oily skin, you may use this mask every day, but if your skin gets too dry, decrease frequency. Don’t let this mask dry out on your face, wash it off with warm water after no more than 10 minutes. DDF Sulfur Therapeutic mask will also help to gently exfoliate dead skin cells, leaving skin super clean, calmer and radiant.
10. Get facials. If you can afford it, get a good, deep cleaning facial once a month. Otherwise, getting a facial once every couple, or every 6 months will definitely help. A facialist can deep clean your skin and clean out pores using professional grade products and equipment, plus they have the skills to really get in there without damaging your skin. Don’t get anything too frou frou, make sure that your facialist does extractions and a glycolic peel is excellent for less sensitive skin. It’s not worth spending the money unless you walk out of the spa with unclogged pores and balanced skin.

Remember, keep your skin clean, keep your hands away from your face, and use high quality, oil free, products. A simple regimen consisting of skin beneficial products and keeping your skin free from irritation leads to clear beautiful skin!