My Daily Skincare Routine for Combination Skin

My friends asked me about my skincare routine and the products I use. Since it’s a lengthy list, I decided to write a blog post about it.

I’m in my late thirties and have combination skin that is prone to acne. I also have some atrophic acne scars, though no wrinkles yet. During the fall and winter seasons, I opt for peels to enhance the appearance of my scars. However, I take a break from them in the summer. I began these peels last year, completing about six with a five-week interval between each session. While the improvement in my scar appearance has been modest, I’ve noticed an enhancement in my skin’s texture. Still, I anticipate needing around 10 to 20 peels to witness a more pronounced transformation. I haven’t reached that stage yet.

I’m mindful of the ingredient lists, and the products I use are mostly clean. I say “mostly” because there could be ingredients that I’ve overlooked. Anyway, my skin seems to like these products and I feel good using them.

My Summer Skincare Routine

Here’s what I do in the summer:

I start the day by washing my face gently. Then I put toner on a soft cotton pad and wipe my face with it. After that, I use an antioxidant serum. After waiting a bit, I put on Vitamin B cream. Then comes sunscreen, followed by natural BB cream, which I set with a setting powder.

Before bed, I clean my face twice. First, I use a cleanser. If I have makeup on, I use a cleansing balm on a cotton pad to take it off, then I cleanse my face again. After cleansing, I apply toner to a cotton pad and cleanse my face, checking the pad. If it’s clean, my face is as well. If not, I grab another cotton pad, soak it with toner, and give my face another wipe. Once I’m certain my face is clean, I apply a peptide serum, gently massaging it into my skin. Then I use Retinol, massaging it into my skin. Once that’s soaked in, I finish with Emu oil. I also put castor oil on my eyelids and gently rub my eyelashes. If there is leftover makeup, the castor oil melts them and turns black. If so, I wipe off the oil with a clean, dry cotton pad and put on more castor oil. I make sure to purchase castor oil only in a glass bottle as castor oil tends to penetrate deep in the skin.

Here’s a list of the products I’m currently using.

Morning products:

Morning Cleanser – “COSRX Morning Gel Cleanser”
Toner – “Numbuzin 3 Toner”
Antioxidant Serum – “Sollalla Vitamin C serum” or other serums that I alternate
Vitamin B cream – “Platinum Vitamin B cream”
Vegan Sunscreen – “Dr.Ceuracle Vegan Sunscreen”
BB cream with sunscreen- “Heimish Moringa Ceramide BB Cream”
Finishing powder – “Demure Light Setting Powder”

Nighttime products:

Cleansing Balm – “Mary&May Vitamin B, C, E Cleansing Balm”
Cleanser – “Heimish All-Clean Green Foam”
Toner – “COSRX AHA/BHA Toner”
Peptide serum – “6 Peptide Complex Serum”
Retinol/retinal – “Fusion A Retinoid Concentrate – 0.25”
Emu oil – “Certified Pure Emu Oil”
Castor oil – “Organic Castor Oil”

My Cold Weather Skincare Routine

When I say cold-weather, I mean late fall, winter, and early spring times. At that period of the year, I plan to do peels. Between the peels I prepare my skin for them, to avoid side-effects like hyperpigmentation.

Below are the products I use in between peels. I mostly use Platinum Skincare products in the “Peel Season” because I follow their peel protocol. I won’t share the peel process today but will do when I start doing them later in a separate post. You can also learn everything about peels on their website: TCA Peel Protocol (the detailed instructions are in the description of the product).

My cold-weather skincare routine:

Morning: