– One of the key things that I did to really help clear up my skin is make sure I’ve… (laughs) Don’t you hate when you have a thought process and then you lose it? (hands clapping) (gentle music) Hello, how are you? (graphics clicking) My name is Iain Jeffery, and I am a beauty blogger from Melbourne. And today I’m here to talk (graphics clicking) to you about everybody’s favorite topic, acne. But before we get into it, make sure that you subscribe to Adore Beauty’s YouTube channel, and hit that bell button so you get notified every single time that they post a new video.
So in today’s video, I really want to take you through a little bit of my own history with acne and how it’s really manifested for me, the tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way, as well as the key products that I’ve found are most helpful in clearing up my acne, and my skin care routine. So let’s get into it. For myself, my acne really started to manifest itself into being more than just the occasional pimple around the time I was 15 or 16. It really started to erupt in quite cystic, sore, really deep pimples.
I really noticed that I would get them most concentrated sort of in this goatee area, (image clicking) but also through everywhere that I would grow a beard. I would also get them a little bit on my cheeks, so really kind of in this lower half of my face. For myself, the cause of it really was quite hormonal. And then the other triggers that I’ve really noticed for my acne as well have been increased stress levels.
(graphic clicks) If I’ve been quite stressed, I do tend to break out, and if I’m not having a great sleep schedule, (graphic clicks) it really reflects on my skin as well. These days my skin has started to normal-out a lot more. When I was a teenager, I was really oily. These days I really am more of a combination skin type.
I get a little bit of shine down my T-zone. I am really prone to getting dehydrated, though, and so I like to offset this really effectively, in my skin care routine, by not only using really potent actives to help target any pigmentation and blemishes that I’m experiencing, but also offset this with products that really help restore my moisture barrier so my skin can hold onto water to the best of its ability. So in terms of treating your acne, there a couple things that I think that everyone can benefit from. The first thing is being really gentle but really effective in your cleansing routine, really making sure that you’re looking for cleansers that are pH balanced, which means that they have a pH of 5.5.
That is the pH of your skin, so we are all naturally a little bit acidic. By keeping your cleanser in the same range as that, you’re gonna avoid over-stripping your skin, which can lead to more irritation and inflammation down the line. And then my other really key tip is be really nice (graphic clicks) to your skin. I think that sometimes people forget that their skin is an organ, and acne can be such a frustrating experience that you really want to throw everything, including the kitchen sink (graphic bonks) at it, and this can really cause more issues than what you started with.
I kind of liken it to if you go to the gym and you tear a tendon one day. You’re not gonna go back to the gym the next day and keep working out that tendon. You’re gonna give it a break, and you’re gonna help nurture it, and nourish it, and bring it back to health. And if you start to approach your skin in the same way, I find that not only does this improve your relationship that you have with your skin, but you’ll also see much better results in general.
In terms of some really key dos and don’ts when it comes to acne, do make sure that you wear an SPF-30 or higher every single day. (graphic whooshes) I like to go for a SPF-50, personally, but make sure that you are using a dedicated sunscreen. The SPF in your foundation absolutely does not cut it, not only because we want to avoid things like skin cancer down the line, a lot of acne treatments can be quite sensitizing on the skin, which means that they increase your skin’s insensitivity to the sun, so you want to make sure that you’re not causing further damage just by going about your daily life. And on top of that, a lot of people will experience pigmentation after a pimple has gone away, and you don’t want the sun to darken this and make it stick around for longer. Do also make sure that you are double-cleansing at night.
Make sure that you’re using an oil-based cleanser first before you go on with a water-based cleanser. (graphic whooshes) Even if you’re not a big makeup wearer, you should still be wearing sunscreen every day, and this does create a film on the surface of your skin that’s designed to stick around. You want to make sure that you’re breaking down the day really, really effectively before you go in and just clean the skin. You’ll notice that it’s a much gentler and easier process using two steps instead of one to get everything off.
My final do is make sure that you find a combination of active ingredients that work really, really effectively for your skin, but that you also listen (graphic whooshes) to your skin. So make sure that you’re paying attention, not overdoing it, and really separating your actives so you’re not doubling up on any given routine. In terms of things that you should do when you have acne, one, don’t pick your skin. It’s only gonna make things worse.
And that really tiny little blemish that no one was gonna notice but you noticed is now turning into a massive, red sore. Everyone’s gonna notice that. Be kind to your skin. Just let it do its thing. Pop on a spot treatment, and go about your day.
You should also avoid sleeping (graphic whooshes) in your makeup as much as you possibly can. I know sometimes (graphic whooshes) it can be such a chore to wash your face at the end of the day, but you are gonna notice a really big improvement if you keep your skin clean, hydrated, and nourished. My big other don’t is (graphic whooshes) don’t over-strip your skin. Make sure you’re nourishing it with good moisturizers (graphic whooshes) good overnight masks, and good hydration serums.
People with acne have a tendency to shy away from these products. It is going to help restore the skin, rebalance the skin, and also help reduce this inflammation that we’re all seeing at the same time, and it’s gonna have a nice anti-aging benefit as well, which is never a bad thing. So in terms of clearing up my skin, one of the key things that I found to be most beneficial was finding key active ingredients and using them with a really high consistency. So in the mornings, I like to use strong antioxidants, and at night I like to use retinols and exfoliating acids.
The key retinol for me is my prescription retinol that I get from my doctor. However, there are some really amazing retinols out there that you can get without a prescription. And the fabulous Joey has done an amazing video all about retinols that are available at Adore Beauty, so I’d absolutely recommend watching her video and using her advice. So let’s talk through my routine.
I’m gonna kinda talk you through the base, and then tell you when I would use various actives and when as well as what they’re gonna do for you. I always start with cleansing. I do like to personally cleanse morning and evening, but I’ll only ever double-cleanse in the evening. So my first step at night time is my oil cleanse.
I like the Cosmedix Purity Solution Nourishing Deep Cleansing Oil. This is a really good blend of argan, olive, and moringa oils, which help to break down surface grime, pollution, dirt, as well as any SPF and makeup that I’ve been wearing that day. What I really like about this oil, especially for an acne-prone skin, is that it is really thin, so it doesn’t feel too heavy when it’s on the skin and it does emulsify really, really cleanly. When you’re using this one, you want to make sure that you’re hands are clean but they are dry, and you want your face to be dry as well.
Really get in there, spend a good 30 seconds massaging in, then rinse off with a little bit of water. In terms of second cleansers or skin cleansers, you want these ones to be water-based so they can really get into the pore and help clean out any gunk. And I really like the cleansers by La Roche-Posay. All of La Roche-Posay’s cleansers are pH balanced, so they all have a pH of 5.5, so they don’t strip the skin.
The Innovation Toleriane Caring Wash is a really gentle, kind of milky cleanser that firms up a little bit. This one features ceramides, which are a fatty acid your skin is comprised of to help restore barrier function as you cleanse as well as niacinamide, which is a vitamin B3, really good at, again, reducing inflammation and restoring the skin. And niacinamide is another ingredient that Joey had a video all about, so make sure you check that one out as well. But this one doesn’t foam, as I said, too much.
It leaves this skin feeling really comforted after cleansing, and you just feel really clean without feeling squeaky or scraped. If I have been wearing a little bit more makeup or my skin is feeling a little bit oilier that day, I will go in with the Effaclar gel cleanser. This one is a foaming gel, so it foams up a little bit more, but again, it doesn’t strip. And this one is really great because it does have Zinc PCA in it, which helps regulate sebum production as well as a little bit of citric acid to provide a very, very gentle exfoliation as well.
My other big tip when you are using your skin cleanser or your second cleanser, take your time with it. Give it a good 60 seconds being massaged into the skin. If you have a FOREO device, this is a really good time to use that as well. Immediately after I’ve finished cleansing and when my skin is dry, this is when I like to go in with my treatment, so my treatment serum or my treatment cream.
I like to do this first just so it is as close to my bare skin as possible, meaning that it has the best chance of really improving my skin over time. In the morning, I like to go in with a skin soother called C E Ferulic Serum, which is a 15% pure vitamin C serum. Fun fact, SkinCeuticals actually wrote the book on how to formulate a really good vitamin C serum. This is patented.
It includes, as I said, 15% pure vitamin C to not only build collagen and protect against free radical damage, but also fight any pigmentation in the skin as well alongside vitamin E, which is another strong antioxidant and ferulic acid, another great antioxidant to help stabilize the entire formula. This one I use five or six drops of every single morning, as I said, onto dry skin, and just pat it in. In the evening or nights that I’m not using my retinol, I’ll use the SkinCeuticals’ Blemish and Age Defense. This is a water-weight serum, so it is really thin, so it suits being at the start of my routine.
And this features 1.5% salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid, meaning that it’s oil soluble. What this means is it can go inside the pore, exfoliate the pore wall, dry out any gunk, and reduce inflammation at the same time, which is a really awesome thing for someone that’s suffering with acne. It also features a little bit of glycolic acid and citric acid to give a bit of surface exfoliation, which helps minimize any texture or any dry flakes that you sometimes can get building up.
And then two nights a week, I go in with my retinol cream and I do a pea-sized amount of this, dotted over the skin, and then massage it in. I like to give all of these active products a minute or two just to sink into the skin properly before I go into my next step. After I’ve applied my treatment serum, I like to start re-hydrating the skin. And the first product that I go in with is the NIOD Superoxide Dismutase Saccharide Mist.
Try saying that one three times quickly. But superoxide dismutase is a really awesome antioxidant. It actually has the ability to regenerate itself, so it can constantly scavenge free radicals, meaning if there’s any left on my skin after my cleansing process is done, it will help neutralize those, but it also provides me with additional protection during the day. This one is also a really soothing mist, and it is quite instantly brightening as well.
The other advantage of using a hydrating mist toner or essence before you go in with any other serums or moisturizers is that this helps to create a pathway for your other products to travel down into the skin to increase their absorption. This is fantastic. (fingers tapping) (toner splashing) I love this product. Following that, I go in with my hydration serum, and my favorite one is the NIOD Modulating Glucosides. This is a really unique serum because it is kind of a milky texture.
It features squalene, which is derived from olives, which is a very, very thin oil that’s very similar to the structure of human sebum. Whilst that sounds kind of gross, I know, this is really advantageous because your skin knows what to do with it, and it really helps to restore that plumpness in the skin. This one also helps to fight any sensitivity and any redness on the skin, so you get that really beautiful calming effect as well. I take four or five drops of this and just pat it all over my skin morning and evening.
Following that, I like to go in with my eye cream, and I use the Alpha-H Liquid Gold Firming Eye Cream. I’m not getting any younger. I wanna maintain my eye area as much as I possibly can, so this is why I like this one. It’s really cool because it has this little gold-tipped applicator to help massage the product into the skin, so it immediately helps de-puff whilst you’re treating any fine lines, and wrinkles, and dark circles.
After I have done all of that, it’s time for me to moisturize, and I like the Aspect Phytostat 9. This is a really cool moisturizer because it can be used morning and evening, so you don’t need a separate night cream. It features lots of really beautiful botanical oils, vitamin E, and it really just nourishes the skin without being too heavy. And, as I said, you can use it morning and night so it plays really nicely under makeup.
If it is daytime, I will then go in with my sunscreen. As I said, I use an SPF-50 every day. My all-time favorite sunscreen is the Ultra Violette Queen Screen, which provides broad spectrum SPF-50 protection as well as a little bit of extra vitamin C from Kakadu plum to further brighten the skin up over time. This makes me look like the dewy goddess that I honestly am, or at least I aspire to be.
It plays well really nicely under makeup plus Ava and Bec, the founders of Ultra Violette, are just fabulous people. At night, if I am experiencing any pesky breakouts that are kind of taking a little bit longer to go away, this is when I spot treat them. I like to use the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Plus, which features salicylic acid and niacinamide to help reduce inflammation and increase skin cell turnover. This one is a gel cream, so I just use the tiniest little bit on any active breakouts just to treat those.
This one has the added effect of also fighting pigmentation at the same time. So if you do have any slightly more lingering spots of post-acne marks, this is really great to use on them as well. A couple of times a week, because we all love a mask, I like to go in with the Aspect Probiotic Sleeping Mask. So this one is really cool because you can use it either overnight or as a 20-minute mask, but I really like to use probiotics in my skin care to help feed my flora and fauna on the skin, so my skin’s microbiome.
This all kind of links into maintaining barrier function and reducing any irritation or inflammation. If you can really protect that important aspect of your skin, it just keeps it much happier, and it’s much healthier. This is also really great before an event. If you chuck it on for 20 minutes, and then just tissue any excess, and do your makeup on top of it, your skin looks incredible.
It’s really funny when you talk through your skin care routine, it sounds like a lot, but it honestly doesn’t take me very long at all. It’s about five minutes morning and evening, but I really think that the results are worth it and that it is just a really fun part of my day. I think if you start to look at skin care as really being 15 minutes or 5 to 10 minutes that you can take just for yourself, and not have to give to anybody else, it just becomes this really enjoyable meditative state that I look forward to. So I hope that this has helped you kind of start to navigate the world of treating acne.
It can be a little bit scary, but there are so many amazing resources out there, and the team at Adore Beauty are so fabulous that you can message them with any questions that you have. Feel free to ask me questions as well or leave them just down below so we can help answer them. But apart from that, don’t forget to subscribe and click that bell button. And until next time, I’ll see you later.
Nature’s Way Sambucus Black Elderberry Gummies with Vitamin C and Zinc, 60 Gummies
Source: Adore Beauty
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