How I Healed My Skin in 10 Days
Five (actually) simple steps to get to the bottom of random breakouts
I posted the photo above on the way to a concert recently. When I looked back on my IG stories later that evening, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my skin was finally clear again. I’m only wearing a light skin tint in the picture, and compared to the breakouts I’d experienced in the days prior, I was amazed.
Over the course of the previous week or so, I had launched into action to get to the bottom of a series of unexpected skin issues. With a few simple tweaks, I restored my skin—and an additional glow, if I do say so myself—and have been telling everyone who will listen about how I got here.
So, today I’m going to tell you about it as well! If you’re hesitant to dive into yet more beauty advice, I get it. I’m constantly bombarded with new products and routines to try on all the platforms and it can be a lot. But what I learned in this process over the last few weeks is as much about what we don’t need to do for our skin health.
Most of my life, I’ve had problem skin. As a teenager, it was acne. As a 20-something it was hormonal breakouts from a never-ending process of finding the right contraception. And in my 30s, up until about a year ago, it was all of the above plus fine lines and melasma from earlier irresponsible sun tanning.
A year or so ago, I finally found a skincare routine that mostly works for me. I have sensitive combination skin that leans towards oiliness in the summer and dryness in the winter. The skincare that initially cleared up (and, importantly, maintained) my clear skin targets acne and large pores, hyperpigmentation, signs of aging, and dehydration.
Over time, though, I started experimenting with new products—a serum here, a toner there—and got lazy about other habits, too, resulting in a series of unfortunate events… on my face.
It started with a series of breakouts in random spots on my face. A seasoned acne fighter, I’m used to my typical problem areas: jawline during hormonal breakouts, clogged pores sometimes causing inflammation or small pimples on my nose and cheeks.
These breakouts were different in that they popped up at random over the course of a few days. I also started to see redness around my nose, tiny bumps in the sensitive skin right by my eye, and getting shinier/greasier than usual on my nose throughout the day.
I wish I had before/after photos for you, but the last thing I wanted was to snap a selfie in full reactive skin mode!
I’ll be honest, at first I didn’t help my case and tried overzealously to do extractions, making the whole situation worse. But by around day four, I got Type A about it. I Googled and TikToked and studied the ingredients lists on every product that comes within ten feet of my face, and now I’m summarizing and sharing to save you the trouble.
In a nutshell, here ya go:
Step 1: Remove External Pollutants
Remember in 2020 when we all became hyperaware of how often we touch our faces and why it’s not a good idea to have our germ-y digits all over our skin? Same idea when it comes to skin health. If you’re managing breakouts or a flare-up as I was, before you change up your skincare or start a new active ingredient, take a minute and think about everything that comes into contact with your face.
I thought about my makeup brushes, bedding, linens, hats/headwear, headphones, sunglasses, and hair. This didn’t apply to me, but you might also consider any recent changes that might be causing your new breakouts. Are you using a new detergent or hair product? New headphones causing sweaty buildup around your temples?
What I did:
Washed all our bedding including pillowcases, sheets, and duvet cover on a sanitary high spin cycle.
Washed all my makeup brushes and beauty blenders (and tossed a few as well).
Gave my phone a wipe down and made a conscious effort to do this more often.
Started changing my top pillowcase (I’m using these ones for hair and skin purposes) every other day.
Washed my hair and started sleeping with it pulled back in a protective style away from my face.
Washed my sleep mask (I use this one) and started washing it every other day.
Invested in towels that are just for my face. I keep these in a basket beside the sink and use one towel a day (one side in the morning and the other side in the evening) before putting it in the laundry basket.
Conclusions: My sleep mask, makeup brushes, and towels might very well have been the cause, and at the very least were not helping matters. Summer heat breeds more bacteria and grime, and that was likely transferring to my face. Gross.
Step 2: Glow from the Inside Out
With external irritants managed, I turned to the internal factors. This is the hardest one for me because I famously forget to drink water, eat my feelings, and live for caffeine 😭. I could say I cut out coffee, alcohol, sugar, and stress in the name of clear skin, but let’s be real. Instead, I reflected on any changes to my habits and aimed to make adjustments.
What I did:
Started carrying my Owala around the house with me room to room and bringing a smaller version out with me either in my bag or the car.
Snacked on nuts and fruit throughout the day to avoid getting starving and having a blood sugar crash which can sometimes = breakouts.
Re-ordered collagen powder for my smoothies. (Honestly, I don’t know if it does a single thing, but running out of my last tub did coincide with my skin looking a bit rougher. So who knows.)
My conclusions: I think the main change for me was my water consumption. I’d been neglecting to bring water when I went out, and of course summer weather means more likelihood of dehydration and so on. There are apps I could download to help with this, but I’m not there yet.
Step 3: Skincare Investigation
With those details under control, it was time for me to look at my skincare products. Using a fine-tooth comb, I scoured the labels and active ingredients of everything I’d been putting on my face including makeup and skincare. There were little to no changes in makeup, thanks to my July makeup capsule, so I turned my attention to the skincare products I’d been using.
I looked for evidence of reformulation (like packaging changes), and reflected on the order I’d been applying active ingredients in case I’d created some sort of irritating combination by mistake.
My routine included salicylic acid, niacinimide, a variety of AHAs, BHAs, and PHA serums, a milky toner, a new vitamin C cream, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and a chemical SPF. Other actives (that I’m not using, but you might be) include retinols, retinoids, coenzymes, ferulic acid, and more).
At this point in my process, I realized that my once-effective skincare routine had crept towards chaos as I experimented with new serums and toners.
What I did:
Read the ingredients carefully on all of the above, and discovered that my Naturium niacinimide cleanser included vitamin C, unbeknownst to me.
Researched more about how and when I should/could safely use exfoliants like AHAs and BHAs.
Read reviews of a newish watermelon toner I’d been putting on every day to combat enlarged pores.
My conclusions: My routine was confused and overall TOO MUCH! I might have accidentally been overdoing it with the vitamin C as I had no idea this was an ingredient in my morning cleanser and had recently added an additional vit c product. My bad. AND, I was likely exfoliating too much with an SA cleanser and a mishmash of AHA/BHA/PHA toners and serums.
Step 4: Soothe and Heal Skin Barrier
Using my conclusions from step three to guide me, I addressed any suspected irritants—grimy surfaces, too many products, dehydration—and turned to soothing my skin barrier.
I never even knew what a skin barrier was or that I had one until I found skincare goddess Charlotte Parlermino. (Her content helped me heal my skin initially, I highly recommend you follow her.)
Essentially, our skin naturally has a defensive layer, but with various products and lifestyle factors, it can become damaged and irritated resulting in breakouts and a host of other issues.
Since learning more, I now suspect a lot of the skin problems I’ve had throughout my life may have been related to a damaged skin barrier from too many harsh actives and not enough moisture and repair. (Does any other acne sufferer remember the days of accidentally bleaching your towels and pillowcases with harsh peroxide-based skincare?! 😨)
The key words I’ve learned to look for when it comes to barrier care are ceramides, peptides, allantoin, cica, and hyaluronic acid. Others that help include niacinimide, squalane, colloidal oatmeal, centella asiatica, glycerin or anything described as a humectant.
My advice is to keep it as simple as possible, especially if you’re trying to determine the cause of a flare. Even moisturizing, repairing ingredients can be overdone.
What I did:
Immediately ceased and desisted with (most) products with harsh or exfoliating active ingredients. This meant a break from my exfoliant serums and vitamin C.
Introduced a simple routine:
Cleanse with my OG Aveeno Active Naturals cleanser. (I continued double-cleansing with this balm too in the evening if I was wearing makeup)
Balance skin with this allantoin ceramide spray
Soothe with a multi-peptide + HA serum
Moisturize with a simple non-comodogenic HA cream.
My conclusions: After 2-3 days of doing this morning and night alongside steps 1-3, my skin calmed down. Breakouts stopped popping up, redness retreated, and my skin felt back to normal. Phew!!! I was also shocked to see, on reflection, that the products in my new routine were all somewhat inexpensive brands and not the higher-end ones that I’d been trained to think were superior. This is not to say all drugstore skincare is great, but it clearly comes down to individual skin needs and preferences!
Step 5: Slow Re-introduction
After several days of clear skin, I started to reintroduce my skin to mild actives, one at a time. As I write this, two weeks later, my skin has tolerated niacinimide and a gentle AHA kaolin clay mask. I still haven’t gone back to the harsher toners and exfoliants, and if my skin stays happy I might not do so.
What I did:
I’ve used my niacinimide + zinc serum in the evening and did this AHA + kaolin clay mask on just my nose and cheeks (with results I felt very happy with!)
Should my skin continue tolerate this okay, I will—one at a time—reintroduce vitamin C and a single exfoliating serum (to be used only sometimes).
My conclusions: Less is more! Despite having clear skin for a while, I think I got carried away and damaged my barrier over time. I’m also actually shocked that my skin has stayed okay without my salicylic acid topicals because for so many years I felt that was the only thing that kept acne at bay. Here’s to simplicity.
Obviously this is all a work in progress, and I’ll share updates as I go. Overall, I wanted to share with you as both a cautionary tale and a gentle reminder that a longer, more expensive, or more TikTok-viral skincare routine doesn’t always mean better!
And of course, it’s good to keep in mind that if you are existing in a human body—especially a female one!!!—there are only so many factors you have control over. Most importantly, find what works for you most of the time without breaking the bank.
In this post, I’ve used affiliate links for products I recommend, which means I’ll earn a small commission if you shop with my link. You can browse everything I’ve mentioned here.
As always, thanks for reading, friend. I’d love to know: how’s your skincare routine these days?