Treat Your Skin AND Your Wallet Right
Whatever your skin texture, sebum production rate (how dry, normal or oily your skin is), or sensitivity, taking care of your skin although highly self-indulgent, is essential. It became somewhat of a priority to me only recently, when I found myself caring more about covering my troubled skin rather than curing it. A hard field to navigate, skincare tends to have a stigma of the more expensive items being the more reliable "miracle worker" products. Most people, especially those in college/young professionals, don't have the funds to drop 100 dollars on a suspicious sulfur scented face "creme". That decision additionally becomes more complicated when you have sales associate Pamela breathing down your neck, relaying facts about a brand's newest launch when all you want is a moisturizer. With competition heating up the beauty industry, indie companies and affordable companies have garnered a vast amount of attention and recognition. Providing real benefits with pure ingredients, effective formulas and affordable pricing is becoming the norm.
Before you asses how to treat and care for your skin, you have to understand it. Oily skin is the effect of over-achieving sebaceous glands. A fairly simple concept, oily skin means that your skin is slightly slick or shiny at the touch beyond just the T-zone (forehead, nose, chin), and is commonly acne-prone. Pores are protruding and can be hard to hide. Dry skin is equivalent to slacker sebaceous glands. Dry skin is usually tight, more rough, and prone to red patches/acne. Combination skin is a, well, combination of both skin types. Oily in the T-zone and normal/dry on the perimeter and cheeks of the face. Normal skin is balanced, usually not too dry or oily, not usually acne-prone but highly envy-ensuing. If you'd like more clarification, I recommend taking the queen of skincare, Renee Rouleau's online quiz, here.
After understanding the nature of your skin type, the next step is to learn how to take care of it in the most effective and affordable way. Splurging on one truly good product is always okay, but you can cut corners with most products. There are some pretty basic tips and routines that will help you start to regulate your skin depending on your skin type and concern. If you want a basic routine, no matter what skin type you have, the 3 most important steps are:
Cleanse Morning and Night
use a Toner
Moisturize (even with Oily Skin)
******If you want a more specific and aggressive routine:******
Cleanse morning and night
Exfoliate 2-3 times a week
Use a Toner
Apply a specifically targeted serum
Moisturize
I've spent about 18 months testing new products and learning about smart skin care, and I destroyed my wallet so you don't have to. These are my recommendations and suggestions for each type of skin, each price range, and each concern. I've included my current skincare collection to showcase what products I've come back to and repurchased, as well as the products I'm trying out.
My Picks
Cleansers
For oily skin: Cleanse with a clarifying cleanser, to thoroughly eliminate excess sebum and collection of sweat, grime or makeup. For a pricier option, I would highly recommend Skyn Iceland's Glacial Facial Wash at $30. For the mid-price range, I'd say Clinique's Liquid Facial Soap for Oily Skin at $14. The cheapest option, a cult favorite Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser, is only $1.50 less than the Clinique cleanser, but comes with 3x the product (16 oz.). For Dry Skin: an oil-based cleanser or gentle wash is the most beneficial. At the highest price mark, the philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser ($24) is beyond amazing, and perfect for sensitive skin. I'd scrub my eyes with it and there wouldn't be even a hint of stinging. For a mid-priced option, the Face Shop Rice Water Bright Oil-Cleanser ($10.15) worked miracles for my skin in the winter months (I have combination skin that gets dry in the winter). My least expensive recommendation for a dry-skin cleanser is the Neutrogena Naturals Face Wash ($6.99) or the CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser ($9.99). For Combination/Normal skin: at $38, the Fresh Soy Cleanser is a gentle, versatile and amazing option. Very soothing and tightening, and suitable for sensitive skin. At the next price level down, The Body Shop Tea Tree Cleanser ($14) or the Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel (same price) are both favorites of mine. Mario Badescu has many natural products for ageing skin, so if that is your concern I highly recommend checking them out. The lowest priced option for cleansers usable for normal/combo skin is the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser ($8.59).
Exfoliants
There are two main types of exfoliants: chemical (AHA and BHA), and physical. Both can be very irritating, and should be used with caution. Depending on the sensitivity of your skin, exfoliating dead skin should be at least a once a week occurrence, in order to speed the process of regeneration. Exfoliants are generally versatile to all skin types, the variability depending on sensitivity rather than sebum or age per say. My favorite physical exfoliants are the St. Ives Oatmeal Scrub & Mask ($4.29) and the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant ($55). My favorite chemical formulas are the Pixi Glow Tonic ($15), and The Ordinary AHA & BHA Peeling Solution ($7.90). I've personally never tried the brand, but I hear constant raves about the brand Paula's Choice, specifically their selection of chemical exfoliants.
Toners
Toning is essential in order to balance skin's ph, after a day of makeup, environmental exposure, and aggressive cleansing. Consider it the liquid restoration. For Oily skin: a more expensive option is Dr. Hauschka Clarifying Toner ($34). An outstanding mid-price toner would be the Corsrx AHA/BHA Clarifying Toner ($11.66). This is technically a chemical exfoliant, with use of AHA and BHA (alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids) to open up pores, allowing natural skin to renew itself. If you'd like to more about this topic, I recommend the Paula's Choice beginner introduction to AHA's and BHA's. The cheapest option for oily skin is also a very common and accessible one, Witch Hazel ($10.53). For Dry skin: the Fresh Deep Hydrating Rose Toner is widely known for it's skin softening and hydrating formula ($44). The Klairs Supple Preparation Toner ($19) is something I absolutely swear by, and turned my skin around from its periodic cystic acne binge in January/February. My pick for a cheap but reliable toner geared towards dry skin is the Burt's Bees Rosewater Toner ($10.99). For Combo/Normal skin: I recommend Lancome's Exfoliating Toner at $26. For the mid-price selection, I personally rely on ANY of Mario Badescu's toners and "lotions", specifically the Cucumber Cleansing Lotion ($15) or for ageing skin, the Glycolic Acid Toner ($18). I also really like the Earthscience Clarifying Herbal Astringent ($11), good for those looking to purchase more natural products. The lowest budget recommendation is the Simple Soothing Facial Toner ($7.79) or The Ordinary's Glycolic Toner ($8.70).
Serums
For this category, unfortunately it's hard to spend little and find a serum that truly does its job. Serums are targeted towards specific needs, so instead of doing serums for each skin type, i'll be organizing them based on specific skin issues. For dry, flaky, irritated skin: Fig + Yarrow Facial Serum ($22.99) doubles as a moisturizer, and keeps skin hydrated and smooth all day. For oily, large pores: Skin Food Peach Sake Serum controls oil, smooths texture, and smells absolutely amazing on top of it all. For ageing/dark-spots/dull skin: The Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Serum ($90) and the Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment ($105) have been neck and neck for quite some time now. Both wildly expensive for the average civilian, but praised for their abilities to transform skin. For oily acne-prone skin: The Ordinary Niacinamide and Zinc Serum ($5.90) is wonderful for combo skin experiencing breakouts. The Ordinary as a brand is a phenomenal company, with amazing prices and the least gimmicky products you can find. One of their branches is in North Jersey, so it only took 3 days for my first package to arrive. For dry acne-prone skin: First Aid Beauty's Repair Hydrating Serum ($36). For dark spots/acne scars: Missha Time Revolution Night Repair ($24.97). Another product that can be grouped together with serums is essence, an additional layer of benefits and preparation. My personal favorites are both snail enzyme derivatives, the Cosrx Snail Mucin Power Essence ($14.48) and the Benton Snail Bee Essence ($19.60).
Moisturizers
For some strange reason, all of my favorite moisturizers come in pots, which has proven to be a fairly unsanitary method of storage. Nevertheless, I've plowed through around 20 different moisturizers in the past 2 years or so. Moisturizer is a very mainstream form of skin care, and has been a staple of the beauty routine for many decades before us. For oily skin my top picks in price ascending are as follows: Garnier Moisture Rescue ($5.41), Teddy Organics Rose-hip Oil ($21.47), and Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer ($27.50). Oil for oily skin has been a taboo idea, but now has widespread acknowledgment in its beneficial nature, controlling sebum and replacing over-active production with nutrient rich oil. For dry skin: in price ascending again, The Ordinary Rose-hip Oil ($9.60), First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream ($30), and Clinique Moisture Surge Intense ($52.50). For combo/normal skin: Garnier SkinActive Clearly Brighter Moisturizer ($15.49), Missha Snail Aqua Cream ($28), and Belief The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb ($38). An honorable mention for any skin type is the Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream ($24.50).
Masks
A very fun and relaxing aspect of skin maintenance, face masks are all the rage right now. Whether you need a surge of hydration or a refresh button for your pores, masks are deeply integrated into the market, and some of them are outrageously priced. Just as I did for serums, I'll be organizing masks by skin concern rather than type. For lack of hydration: Origins Drink Up Intensive ($26). For clogged pores, acne: Aztec Healing Clay ($9.48), Glam Glow Super Mud travel size ($22), and Kiehls Rare Earth Mask ($30). For rough/uneven textured skin: Fresh Rose Face Mask ($25). For anti-ageing: AMOREPACIFIC Intensive Serum Masque ($32). For any concerns, TonyMoly has sheet masks sold in urban outfitters that are pretty great, but the more upscale sister is the Pureness 100 line. You can find their masks here.
