Skin Care

I am having the same issue. Waiting for the responses to this too.

I finally decided to try the aztec clay mask I've seen everywhere and I highly reccomend it! I bought mine online at target. It has kept my skin in check and my face feels so soft. You get a lot of it, but I got it for less than $10. It has also helped with keeping my skin less oily

Have you tried a chemical exfoliator? Much more effective than physical exfoliators, and more gentle on the skin! I know The Ordinary Peeling Solution tends to be super effective, as long as you use it as directed once a week (and bonus, it also evens your skin tone, reduces redness, and can lighten acne scars over time), and it’s super cost-effective, so you won’t have to invest much to try it out.

Mascne! It's awful. I've noticed way less blackheads overall since I've started dermaplanning at home. I ordered very small facial razors on Amazon and use them every 3-4 weeks. I was SUPER careful at first and watched a lot of videos on how to do it. I started doing it during the shutdown of everything, because I used to add it once a month after my facials and I really liked it. Have you seen a dermatologist? Are you using disposable masks or washing your reusable masks every 1-2 days in hot water? With my skin specifically, it's super dry. So my blackheads are due to congestion more than anything. So the more hydrated my skin is (hydrafacials help a lot at my local medspa), the less blackheads. I also use a salicylic cleanser every other day in the mornings with a cleansing brush, which helps with blackheads! Are you using a chemical or physical exfoliator? My skin responds best to chemical (physical is too hard) so I use AHA/BHAs (so basically glycolic acid) for mine. Chemical peels (at home or professional) can help too! And drinking a TON of water!

I have random cystic acne most of my life. Physical exfoliators worked well till my late 30’s and then seemed to exacerbate things. Mind you I did things like cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize, masks, and spot treatment. All the good stuff.
Until I did some research on chemical peels. There’s an online company I’ve been with for four years and they will answer all your questions so you do them properly at home. So there’s progression in treatment.
Every once in awhile I’ll get a blemish and I just do a spot treatment. No big worries after I.e. scarring. It has really improved my skin.

I know how you feel. I work in a lab and we have to wear masks every day, all day for weeks at a time. Contrary to what the general public believes, we don't get clean masks very often...I finally broke down and tried some products from Mary Kay. My friend who sells it had me do a virtual hydrasession and sent me testers of all the products. I have a cleanser, a microdermabrasion scrub, charcoal mask, lip scrub, and facial peel that clean and exfoliate. Then I have eye patches, lip balm, nourishing oil, and a moisture renewing gel mask to put the moisture back in my skin. I use the full routine once per week (usually wednesdays as my reward for making it halfway through the week without killing anyone lol). I cleanse my face every day and use a toner to help keep my skin happy. I also will use my microdermabrasion scrub one other day during the week (usually on the weekend) and if I seem to be breaking out more I will use the charcoal mask a second (or third if it's really bad) time during the week. When I do my full routine I will leave my gel mask on overnight and wash it off in the morning. I've been using these products since March and my skin is so much better! It is a little expensive...I paid ~$250 for all of the products, but it is well worth it!

I use Apostrophe for my acne issues. I have no cystic acne and no new eruptions when masks became norm

Two game-changing words: grapeseed oil.

Before you think I'm crazy, I read The French Beauty Solution a few months ago and have been evangelizing on this to everyone with skin since. It's one extra step in my evening skincare routine and my face has never behaved this nicely in my entire 29 years and 11 months on this earth. PM skincare routine looks like this: Cleanse > Toner > Serums (if you choose) > One to two drops of grapeseed oil (straight off the cooking oil shelf at the grocery store) on the tips of your fingers and just pat all over your face. It absorbs quick and you will GLOW.

Full disclosure, your face is gonna break out HARD for 2-3 days bc the oil pulls all the nasty up from the deep. Stick with it! After a few days your gorgeous glowing skin shows up like never before.

This is the book, there's a whole nonsense chapter about a "grape cleanse" which is the crunchiest thing I've ever read *insert eye roll here* so take that with a grain of salt

https://us.caudalie.com/the-french-beauty-solution.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0rr4BRCtARIsAB0_48MxNo-RrjxvmHVys19SycyP8O9r_DrVR1a99TUzUdc2tVdCWfOgKa0aAt5zEALw_wcB

I've heard similar results about the Aztec Healing Clay too. One of those it's-gonna-get-worse-before-it-gets-better type deals, again because it sucks all the crud in your face up to the surface.

I no longer wear makeup. Water water water, I will not drink other drinks. I have a vial of the Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% I got this from my teenage brother and it does a good job of keeping my skin in check. I also do a peeling mask on Sundays and a moisture facemask on Wednesdays. If all else fails and my face has a breakdown on my aloe vera jelly is what I'll wear until it dries on my face then I rinse off and pat dry, this helped when I had hormonal acne during my 24s. I used to have acne marks and vitamin c oil helped me reduce the appearance of those.

Thank you all for your feedback! I appreciate it so much! ❤