I thought I’d share my skincare routine for acne. It’s a little different than what most people do, but I find it supports my skin to heal (as quickly as it can, and ensures no scarring, discolouration, or hyperpigmentation from pimples and breakouts).
I’m big about allowing your body and skin to run it’s course, and refraining from making it worse (I know it’s not easy to resist the urge to pick and layer a bunch of skin care products on your skin – but all that just makes it worse, not better).
I healed my acne many years ago, but occasionally I do get breakouts.
My skin is quite reactive (and very unforgiving). So, if I eat certain foods like ice cream or raw chocolate, it’s “breakout city” for me.
I also get breakouts from lack of sleep, stress, and anything that throws my digestion off.
After I gave birth to my daughter, my skin was quite sensitive and prone to breaking out, especially the 2 years I was nursing her. My skin was perfect while I was pregnant with her, but as soon as Luna Ray was born, on came the terrible breakouts. I stopped nursing her a couple of months ago, and my skin has definitely improved and gone back to normal (phew!).
Why it’s important to have a skincare routine just for acne and pimple breakouts
This is a big one, and I suggest everyone who is prone to acne and breakouts, has a skincare routine for acne they can fall back on.
Knowing what works really well for your skin, what soothes it when it gets irritated or inflamed from pimples and breakouts; will support your skin to heal much quicker.
For some of you this might be your regular skincare routine, but for others, there’s certain things you might have to add in or take out of your regular skincare and makeup routine, to fast track your results.
For myself, my skincare routine is very different in my day to day life, compared to when I have pimples and breakouts. I need to change things up quite a bit to ensure my skin can heal efficiently, and not be doing anything that could be overloading it, or making it worse.
As much as I love skin care products; acne and pimples (and most other skin conditions) don’t.
Years ago when my acne was at it’s worst, I healed it from using less products on my skin, not from using more.
So the moment I get a pimple on my face, everything stops and I have to cut back and simplify my skin care routine.
This guarantees my skin can heal much faster, prevent hyperpigmentation and scaring, and sometimes even stop pimples in their tracks.
And lucky for me, once the pimples or breakouts go away, I can go back to my regular skincare routine and use makeup again without a problem.
My Skincare Routine For Acne & Breakouts
As soon as I get pimple(s) on my face (or I can feel one coming!), I stop my regular skincare routine and I follow my special skincare routine for acne and breakouts.
This special skincare routine is for soothing your skin from irritating pimples and preventing redness and inflamed skin. The more you sooth, nourish, and let your skin be, the easier it will be for your skin to heal, and prevent scarring, discolouration, and hyperpigmentation.
My Step by Step Skincare Routine For Acne & Breakouts:
1- In the morning I wash my face with a mild cleanser. I like oil cleansing and use Living Libations Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever.
Other cleanser I really like:
2- Afterwards, I leave my skin bare for the entire day. When I have pimples and breakouts I don’t like to put anything on my face unless absolutely necessary (like if you go outdoors in the sun, wear sunscreen, but if at home all day, keep your skin bare).
3- If I go out and I need to cover up pimples and breakouts, I use RMS Beauty “Un” Cover-Up (I won’t use tinted moisturizers or foundations when I have pimples, I just use concealer where I need it).
4- At night I double cleanse with Living Libations Best Skin Ever and GroVia washcloths.
5- I use a few drops of oil to moisturize my face at night. If you have dry skin, you can also use a few drops of oil to moisturize during the day. Oils and oil blends that I find balancing for acne prone skin:
- Loa Skin Botanical Beauty Elixir
- Annmarie Skin Care Herbal Facial Oil For Oily Skin
- Living Libations Soothsayer Serum
- Leahlani Happy Hour Balancing Serum
- Leahlani Siren Brightening Serum
6- At the end of my skincare routine, I dab a spot treatment on my pimples. My favourite is Indie Lee Banish Solution or Living Libations DewDab, which is particularly good for very stubborn pimples. I only use a spot treatment at night. ,
8- I do this every day until everything has healed, and I have no more “active” breakouts. Once the pimples are gone, I stop the spot treatments, and continue with cleansing and moisturizing.
9- If you need something to help fade acne marks or discolouration left behind from pimples, I recommend Living Libations DewDab or Zippity DewDab. Use it like a spot treatment, apply a small dab at the end of your skincare routine at night. These essential oil blends are clarifying, help skin heal faster, and fade any marks or hyperpigmentation left behind from a breakout. Out of the two products, I prefer DewDab.
Keeping Your Skincare Routine For Acne Simple
As you can see, my skincare routine for acne is very simple.
Simple is best.
Less is best (make this your acne mantra!).
In general, whenever you have acne breakouts or pimples, the less you put on your skin (skincare products and makeup included), the faster your skin will heal.
If you are wondering what my normal skincare routine is like, or how this skincare routine for acne differs from what I normally do, the big difference is I stop using makeup, creams, moisturizers, and any exfoliating products when I have pimples and acne breakouts.
As I said before, the moment a pimple appears (or I feel one coming on), everything just stops. I switch immediately to my simplified (and minimal) skincare routine for acne, and take a break from most skincare products and makeup until my skin completely heals.
I find this is the most effective strategy.
6 Responses
Is there a reason you only use the spot treatments at night Natasha? What about a really itchy day-time spot?!
If find most spot treatments are safe to use only once a day, if you use twice a day it could dry out your skin or cause redness. Also, in general I like to use active ingredients including pure essential oils only in the evening when the sun is down.
Thanks Natasha. I hear you on the drying property of some spot treatments.
Hi Al,
It sounds to me the Stieva-A is quite strong on your skin, some brands of retina-A have different dosages, so if you continue with it and after a few weeks your skin continues to feel irritated and peel, you may want to ask your dermatologist for a lower dosage.
It’s quite a common reaction to any vitamin A product to get that skin peeling (in the first 2 weeks). Whether it helps to clear up acne is really case by case, and it’s up to you if you want to go that route.
Whatever you choose to do and use, I strongly recommend eating a super healthy diet to support the health and healing of your skin (no dairy, plenty of vegetables and green leafy vegetables, and minimize sugar & caffeine in your diet, etc.), and minimize the use of all other skincare products and makeup while using the Stieva-A (the combination of a strong prescription cream and other skincare products can cause more irritation. But, do make sure to wear a good quality sunscreen because the prescription cream is making your skin sensitive to sun and more susceptible to sun damage as you’re going through treatment).
Hope this helps!
Ive tried the seabuckthorn oil cleansor and broke out alot my face also became very inflamed.
Can I follow the same routine night and day with hemp oil. Ive noticed my skin seems to like just hemp I also add geranium to it.
Hi Megan,
Yes you can follow the same routine using the hemp oil, no problem!