My go-to affordable skincare products for healthy, balanced skin

Welcome to A Blonde with a Blog’s new addition, Skin Deep! Thanks for checking it out. Just a little backstory on my skin and how it sparked my interest in skincare:

I started getting breakouts when I was 11 or 12. As I got older, they grew progressively worse, and it’s hard for me to remember a time where my skin wasn’t a huge sense of insecurity for me. I had tried everything from the relatively inexpensive Proactiv in my younger years to the exorbitantly priced Chanel skincare line in recent years, and I never felt like anything made me look and feel the way I wanted to. 

The thing that genuinely cleared my face and changed the texture of my skin once and for all was Accutane (if you’re considering going on the medication, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have), but that was several years ago and I still suffer from minor issues every once in awhile now. 

I wish I could go back and kick myself for shelling out (literally) thousands of dollars over the years on expensive skincare products and gimmicky lines (I’m looking at you, Clinique Three-Step), because I’ve found an incredible, skin-changing line in the drugstore — and it’s  a painfully obvious choice, available everywhere. 

As with most of my purchases, I research them pretty heavily ahead of time. If you need an objective, science-based review of a product before trying it, I suggest www.beautypedia.com. The reviews are unbiased and judge the products fairly, picking apart ingredient lists and comparing them with the company’s claims about the product. 

Here are my recommendations for a comprehensive routine that covers all the bases in a practical way:

The CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
This fragrance-free, irritation-free cleanser is perfect for all skin types. It says for oily to normal skin, but its ingredients render it perfect for even sensitive types. You could wash your face with this three times a day and it still wouldn’t irritate your face! The bottle is huge, so you get a lot for your money. Because cleansers get rinsed off, it’s not vital that your cleanser contain a lot of active ingredients (in fact, it’s usually better that they don’t). This cleanser is a fantastic choice. If you're super oily, you wouldn't even need to follow it with a moisturizer (although I don't recommend skipping that step, because the moisturizer listed below has acne-fighting ingredients).

The CeraVe Renewing SA Lotion 
This non-comedogenic moisturizer has a low dose of salicylic acid in it, which works to disintegrate dead skin cells on your face’s surface so they don't clog your pores as they naturally shed. It’s not antibacterial, it’s chemically exfoliating (so it won't kill the bacteria on your face, it'll just keep your cells sloughing off as they should to prevent blockages). Such a small dose is fine to use twice a day, as it's unlikely to irritate your skin. I’ve found when I use a large amount of this at night, my skin looks really refreshed in the morning. It's fairly thick, though, so you want to use a pretty small amount in the morning (or under makeup) so you don't look greasy.  

The CeraVe Skin Renewing Cream Serum 
This little guy is seriously remarkable. It has a low dose of retinol, which is a really expensive, high-quality skincare ingredient that reduces wrinkles and heals acne (the most perfect two-in-one combination imaginable). It’s found in most prescription skincare products because it’s so powerful. The fact that a drugstore brand includes this ingredient is pretty outstanding, so definitely get your hands on it!

As always, consistency is the most important ingredient in any regimen. Neglecting to take off your makeup at night or putting on new makeup in the morning without washing your face first is the quickest way to negate all your effort! Always be gentle when using any product.

My next post will cover why makeup wipes are making your skin worse, and a few options you can look into instead! Thanks for reading.

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