Take care of your goddamn skin & hair hype thread

General
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One of the unfortunate things about my youth was that I never learned why or how to take care of my skin. It wasn’t horrible, but wasn’t great either. I’ve been learning about products & routines via the million resources available online.

This kind of hype is rare for me – I have boxes of other unfinished products, meanwhile I’m using these up and repurchasing. The changes have been significant and are continuing to improve. My skin tone and texture are more even, balanced all day, pores less clogged. I wish I had taken before and after pictures.

My goal is to have healthy skin with the minimum effort / product.

Anyway, if you have any skin care items that have dramatically changed your skin for the better, please recommend them!

– My recommendations –

For reference, my skin is high sebum & dehydrated type.
Methodology: These products were introduced into my routine one at a time, and resulted in the most significant improvement. Additionally, when swapped out or removed from the routine, negative results were most apparent.
I am posting amazon non-affiliate links here, but I generally find better prices on eBay.

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First product is Cosrx Low PH Good Morning Gel Cleanser. This is the first face wash that left my skin feeling clean but not dry. This is the first step of my face care. It’s awesome.

Second product is Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion. This lotion is the last step of my face care (I use a couple acids, moisturizing toners & essences in between, but haven’t settled). It’s a lightweight non-greasy lotion that calms my skin. Afterwards, the next time I wash my face, it’s like washing off a protective barrier I haven’t noticed all day/night, as opposed to a layer of oil or dead flakes.

Additionally, I’ve been using it to great effect on my eczema – my left hand has become eczema-free after two years of chronic rash, and my right hand is showing more sustained improvement than it ever has in the last six.

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Third product is Rohto Melano CC Intensive Anti-Spot Essence. I gently dab this on any discolored or pitted acne spots after washing in the morning. It helps heal & even them out.

The hydrating steps between wash and seal are super important for both oily & dry skin, FYI, so if you decide to try these products out, be sure to include this step. I’ve been using multiple applications of the Rohto Hadolabo Gokujun Hyaluronic Lotion Moist, but it’s pretty basic and I’m going to re-evaluate once I use it up.

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I’ve been meaning to post here.

YAS! Take care of your motherfucking skin. I have pretty dry skin and I am an avid moisturizing person, especially when it comes to hands and lips.

My go to’s:

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
The best facial moisturizer I’ve used. I apply the moisturizer after I shower because my skin instantly starts to feel like it’s dying for moisture. I want to try out the Gel version because I apply the lotion several times in the morning for my skin to fully feel comfortable. Clinique is easily one of the better skin care products I use, and worth the price. I’ve tried so many other facial mosturizers and this is the only one I found that works and makes my skin face feel good.

Clinique 3 Step Skin System
On top of them moisturizer I also use the cleaner and clarifying lotion. Both help clear pores very well and clean the face after wearing makeup. I’ve been using these products for over a decade and it still keeps the skin feeling good.

Soap & Glory Hand Food
My now go to hand lotion. I’ve mainly been using St. Ives, and it’s still good, however when I first applied this to my hands, I instantly felt the difference. It didn’t leave my hands feeling greasy/oily and my hands felt silky-smooth. It has a light scent. I maybe need 1 of 2 applications after I wash my hands and I’m good to go for several hours. As a knitter, I constantly need to make sure my hands aren’t dry to help with the feeling of the knitting needles and yarn.

The Body Shop Spa of the World Creams
Body butter is my new jam. I’ve been using the Japanese Carmella and Hawaiian Kukui Creams. I apply this to my body, mainly legs and feet. I apply twice a day and love the scent, although can be a bit powerful to my liking at times. I like it better than using normal St. Ives lotion, especially now that the weather is getting colder. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and have noticed my feet especially have been less dry. I spend one or two minutes massaging the cream into my feet and legs.

Vaseline Lip Therapy
So my lips are constantly dry. I can’t go a few hours without applying lip balm. I’ve used so many: Carmex, Blistex, Burt’s Bees, Chapstick, etc. After a while of using them my lips start to feel like there is some weird layer where no moisture can penetrate and just makes it feel weird and/or I need to apply more of that lip balm.
However, Vaseline has been working very well and love the different flavors/scents. I wish they had better applicators like in stick form, but not sure it can work with them.

*Alba Lip Balm
This is better than Burt’s Bees. I’m currently switching between this and Vaseline as a few weeks ago the Blistex and Burt’s Bees was not working for me anymore. So far I like how it feels and haven’t need to constantly apply.

I discovered several of these products either thru going to beauty stores like Ulta/Sephora and/or recommendations by people. I don’t mind going to Ulta, but know you can easily find these online.

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If you’re every feeling it, definitely try some of the Korean brands. You can get American luxury quality/ingredients at drugstore prices.
There are a bunch of good sales going on right now. I was eying the box featured here:
$69 Gothamista’s Box of Holiday Wishes (7 products – there’s a 30% off coupon for first time buyers too)
And this one:
$40 Hyggee Beauty Box (4 products, 1 day left)
Both sets are basically $100 off, but I literally just restocked everything :cry: I haven’t tried some of the brands, but they have a good reputation & the ingredients are on point. I did just pick up the Hyggee all-in-one balance essence for when I’m traveling & don’t want to carry a million bottles. We will see how it goes, but I know my skin loves birch juice and lactobacts

I use Kukui, Camellia, and Meadowfoam Oil to boost my conditioner. Kukui is THE BOMB.

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It’s sad that nobody taught you how to take care of your skin. My mother is a skin doctor and she gave me many useful advises. For my face care, i use organic butters and oils.
Recommendations:
Jojoba oil, filtered or unfiltered, doesn’t matter which as long as it’s just jojoba oil.
2. Shea butter, filtered or unfiltered, as long as it’s “just” shea butter.
Can see reviews and other information here: Shea Butter Unrefined Ivory-White

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These days, my skin is an oily mess. I’ll be taking some of the advice in this thread.

As a teenager I was plagued with a horrendous amount of acne on my back. To the point where my sister refused to help me apply sun screen. (silver lining I can now give myself a handshake between my shoulder blades)

A dermatologist was consulted and several topical and oral treatments were tried. All having basically no effect on the issue (though plenty of side effects). As a last resort I was put on a many month course of Acutane.

It was explained to me by the doctor that this worked differently. It offered a permanent alteration of my body chemistry and they hoped that alteration would lead to less acne. Long story and a few months (of very chapped lips) later and it worked. All that’s left of my pimples are the scars.

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My current routine (links are not necessarily the best prices):

  1. Cleansing balm: using Clean It Zero Purifying which is the most effective I’ve used at pulling out sebum plugs, but I get a few whiteheads if I don’t maintain afterwards. After I use it up, I’ll be trying other brands.
  2. $8-9 The CosRX cleanser mentioned above. It’s great, no reason to change.
  3. Alternating evening use of the CosRX AHA & BHA. I’m a little too inconsistent with this.
  4. $30 Neogen Real Ferment Micro Essence: This is my most expensive item. I have good results with it, and the ingredients are the ones that work well with my skin, but I also haven’t tried not using it & it’s pricey.
Ingredients

Bifida Ferment Lysate, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Betula Alba Juice, Rice Ferment Filtrate (Sake), Aspergillus Ferment, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Methyl Gluceth-20, Water, Betaine, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract Ethylhexylglycerin, Trehalose, Lactobacillus, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Trideceth-10, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tromethamine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tropolone, Allantoin, Butylene Glycol, Coptis Japonica Extract, Arginine, Hydroxypropyl, Methylcellulose, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Calcium, Carbonate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Adenosine, Niacinamide, Dextrin, Glycine, Serine, Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Leucine, Alanine, Lysine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Threonine, Valine, Isoleucine, Phenoxyethanol, Histidine, Methionine, Cysteine

  1. $9 Mebika Moist Lotion: this is a multi-application hydrating step replacing the HadoLabo I mentioned above. Lots of rice extracts & ceramides, and plenty hydrating. (I get it for 900 Yen)

Ingredients

Water, DPG, ceramide 5, fermented lactobacillus / comemuka rice juice, rice germ oil, hydrolysed rice protein, rice bran glycosphingolipid, rice flour, rice bran oil, rice fermented rice, rice bran, rice bran extract, inositol, placenta extract, water soluble collagen, ceramide 1 , Ceramide 2, ceramide 3, ceramide 6ii, royal jelly extract, evening primrose oil, sunfish oil extract, buckwheat seed extract, soybean sterol, soybean seed extract, wormwood leaf extract, sunflower seed extract, archichoke leaf extract, amacha leaf extract, wild thyme Extract, Goutou leaf extract, rosemary leaf extract, Madonnarily root extract, Ginseng root extract, licorice root extract, Chinese gourd root extract, glycerin, PEG / PPG / polybutylene glycol-8/5 / 3 glycerin, ethylhexyl glycerin, Rehaloth, (styrene / acrylate) copolymer, hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin, sodium citrate, citric acid, hydrogenated lecithin, lysolecithin, lyso lecithin, xanthan gum, polyacrylate crosspolymer-11, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, t-butanol, BG, Tocopherol, phenoxyethanol, propynyl butylcarbamate

  1. $5 Yumepirika All in one Gel: A water & oil based layer for winter moisture. Also rice based. It’s been on mega sale here, normally costs 12x the price.

Ingredients

Water, BG, glycerin, aloe vera leaf water, olive fruit oil, hydrogenated lecithin, glycyrrhizic acid 2K, allantoin, glucosylceramide, rice bran sphingolipid, yuzu fruit extract, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, acetyl hyaluronic acid Na, hydrolyzed elastin, arnica flower extract, rosemary leaf extract, squalane, Hoba seed oil, Kaninabara fruit oil, rice extract, rice bran oil, rice germ oil, rice fermented liquor, sake lees extract, laminaria digitata extract, tochaka extract, alge extract, hibamata extract, susabinori extract, aloe vera leaf extract, horse chestnut seed extract, chamomile Flower extract, sage leaf extract, licorice root extract, oak root extract, sodium ascorbate, horse oil, grape seed oil, honey, white jellyfish polysaccharide, hot spring water, bergamot fruit oil, mandarin orange peel oil, Roman chamomile flower oil, sucre Rochiumugamu, hydrogenated rapeseed oil alcohol, polyglyceryl oleate -6, xanthan gum, polyglyceryl stearate -10, carbomer, hydroxide K, citric acid, citric acid Na, alpha-glucan, lysolecithin, phenoxyethanol

  1. The CosRx Oil-Free Lotion mentioned above. It doesn’t have strong hydrating power, but it really protects my skin all day from losing moisture. No breakouts. Solid winner.

I also love these under eye patches especially when I’m sleep deprived:
Petitfee Black Pearl Hydrogel Patches
Seriously, these are great when you’re feeling saggy. Pop em on, watch some tv.

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Thinking about making this (KLAIRS Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop) my splurge instead of the Neogen, because it noticeably improved my skin texture & healing when I used it, particularly the pitted acne scars.
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Wow, I have so many things to try now. The only standout thing I’ve been able to find for my skin is Olay Regenerist, which is the only moisturizer that actually helps my face’s dry skin without triggering a breakout.

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Here are Gothamista’s recs. She’s usually spot on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L98NcHx1QeA

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Don’t forget your beards, a healthy beard will protect the skin beneath it just fine. I use beard oil and a brush, pretty bare-bones.

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If I could not have a beard I probably would simply because of all the issues with Beadruff I get.

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I used to have really oily skin. When I lived in the states (before I could order things from elsewhere! wow), I was afraid of moisturizers because they were so thick & greasy. I had to use blotting paper all the time & I didn’t even wear makeup. I can’t say how much change was due to age (I’m mid 30s now), but I think switching to gentle acidic cleansers (so I didn’t get the tight feeling after a wash) with layered hydration (mostly humectant), then maybe emollient and a little occlusive (to seal it in) helped my skin stop making so much oil to compensate. ymmv,o.

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How do I take care of my skin when my face has a beard all over it, other than continuously shaving?

Whenever my beard grows it eventually reaches a point where it itches. I tried some beard oil, and that helped me go longer before I had problems, but eventually it wasn’t enough to make a difference.

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So management for me is 2 things: the worst beadruff occurs when my beard gets pretty long if I go more than 2-3 weeks without trimming it with clippers. Additionally I use the same dandruff shampoo for my head on my bearded face parts which also seems to help with management and that pretty much keeps it in check. It only gets itchy and beardruffy again if I skip a shower day on the weekend or let the beard really grow out.

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I also use the same selsun blue I use on my bald head on my beard. It does keep away flakes and fungus, but it also dries out my face despite being the moisturizing version.

I have to keep using the selsun on my head at least somewhat regularly to hold tinea versicolor at bay. But for my face I can do whatever.

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Well, beardruff can be a tricky one.

The best tips I’ve got:

  1. Use actual beard shampoo. The regular stuff for your head will do in a pinch, but long term, you want to use a more specialized product, because the hair and skin on your face aren’t quite the same as the stuff on your head. (Or not on your head if you shave, I guess.) Professor Fuzzworthy’s is my brand of choice, or Milkman’s 2-in-1 if I’m traveling, but find one you like.

  2. You CAN use an oil - I suggest something with Argan oil in, or similar, there’s a million articles about the relative merits of each - but I generally prefer a bear moisturizer. I generally use Hydrate from Stubble&Stache, but again, find one you like.

  3. Groom, groom, groom. Comb your beard every day. Not just with a chunky beard comb, either, you want something with thinner teeth too, that will get down to your skin and run along it, not just run through your beard up top. The mechanical action on your skin helps knock any remaining dry skin loose, and allows you to comb it out of your beard, keeping you a lot more itch-free. Huntsman, Kent, and beardaholic make some good ones, though admittedly I just use a hairdresser’s comb and a wooden beard comb I got as a pack-in when my sister got me an aldi beard kit as a small gift.

Also, as an addendum, I can’t remember if I’ve recommended it here before, but there’s also a leave-in conditioner called Cowboy Magic, you can get it on Amazon, it’s a little exxy, but the shit is legit magic on most kinds of hair, and a bottle lasts a fair while since you only use a tiny amount per use. Originally made for grooming horses, a lot of dressage women started using it on their hair, and it turns out, it’s basically one of the best leave-in conditioners money can buy.

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Mmmm. Combing I will have to try.

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There are so many products out there for men with beards. If you ever go to a Target they have a whole section for “masculine” beauty products.

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That’s the problem. I can’t find any definitive truth about what’s real and what’s bullshit.

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I’m sure that the internet (Reddit/YouTube) has some popular beard person that give you the 411.

Also re: dandruff. I have a bad dry scalp. I used Nizoral AD for ages and it’s pricey. Then I watched Queer Eye and got a really good tip from Jonathan Van Ness to use apple cider vinegar and water. Been doing that for months and can see a difference and no longer need to buy the pricey shampoo.

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I’m starting to get pretty long hair now (past my shoulders) so it’s interesting reading this thread; I’m finding what I used to use for product when I had kept it shorter maybe isn’t the right stuff. It’s usually kindof a mess and I know there’s solutions to this stuff but I just don’t have the experience/training for any sort of serious regimens for long hair care.

I do wanna keep it long, but for now it’s been pretty aimless and at some point I’m going to have to figure out what to do with it. My previous barber isn’t into the longhairs, so I’ll need a new source.

Also, I have been starting to tie my hair up more often, which is an absolute first time experience for me. If I’m gonna order some, any particularly good hairties that are convenient and robust? I’ve basically borrowed a few in a pinch and now I need my own.