Silk Naturals

Thank you so much for helping us figure out what to do for skincare. I'm looking for advice on what to buy and when and how to use it.

My main problem is dry skin and flakiness around my mouth and where my nose meets my forehead. Secondary problems are a ruddy complexion, pores on my nose and cheeks, and occasional breakouts.

I have both daytime and nighttime moisturizers that I like. I might be willing to experiment in the future but I just bought refills of both so those will stay for at least a couple of months. I use the oil cleansing method and like that.

So I'm looking for tips on exfoliators to try. In the past I've used a Clarisonic, which I really liked (not mine - a friend let me use hers with a new brush head for a week while I visited), and the Philosophy "The Microdelivery" exfoliating wash (also used on a visit, so I've only used it for about 2 weeks). I really liked that too, but would rather go for something from SN. Is it an either-or thing with the microdermabrasion cream or the AHA and BHA? Or can/should they all be used? I'd also like advice on serums to try. I'm 23, if that makes a difference.

I've also already bought the Pore Refining Toner but would love some advice on how/when to use it. It says to use it after a warm shower, after using an extractor tool, then to use serum and moisturizer? How often should this be done? I usually shower in the mornings, and when I use the extractor tool it makes my nose really red, so I wouldn't really want to put makeup on right after that. I do shower in the evenings 3 times a week to wash my hair. Would it be enough to do the whole shower-extractor-PRT-serum-moisturizer routine only 3 times a week or...?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

fjernsyn wrote:Thank you so much for helping us figure out what to do for skincare. I'm looking for advice on what to buy and when and how to use it.

My main problem is dry skin and flakiness around my mouth and where my nose meets my forehead. Secondary problems are a ruddy complexion, pores on my nose and cheeks, and occasional breakouts.

I have both daytime and nighttime moisturizers that I like. I might be willing to experiment in the future but I just bought refills of both so those will stay for at least a couple of months. I use the oil cleansing method and like that.

So I'm looking for tips on exfoliators to try. In the past I've used a Clarisonic, which I really liked (not mine - a friend let me use hers with a new brush head for a week while I visited), and the Philosophy "The Microdelivery" exfoliating wash (also used on a visit, so I've only used it for about 2 weeks). I really liked that too, but would rather go for something from SN. Is it an either-or thing with the microdermabrasion cream or the AHA and BHA? Or can/should they all be used? I'd also like advice on serums to try. I'm 23, if that makes a difference.

I've also already bought the Pore Refining Toner but would love some advice on how/when to use it. It says to use it after a warm shower, after using an extractor tool, then to use serum and moisturizer? How often should this be done? I usually shower in the mornings, and when I use the extractor tool it makes my nose really red, so I wouldn't really want to put makeup on right after that. I do shower in the evenings 3 times a week to wash my hair. Would it be enough to do the whole shower-extractor-PRT-serum-moisturizer routine only 3 times a week or...?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

For an exfoliator...a manual one should be good as well as BHA. I tend not to think of AHA for someone in their 20's. I would give the Microdermabrasion Gel or Cream a try. I would also initially stick to exfoliating only about three times a week, and I would not use a chemical exfoliator and a manual exfoliator on the same day, or you will likely experience irritation. I would also use the BHA at night...maybe on the nights you don't shower? I would slowly work up the frequency where you alternate days between the BHA and Microdermabrasion Cream. If your skin seems a little sensitive, it is likely that you need to back down on the exfoliation.

Pore Refining Toner can be used daily. It is a great skin hydrator. I would use it after cleansing and before you put on serum and moisturizer.

Serums....Green Tea & Aloe, Vitamin C Peptide. Serums can be layered and they go daily after toner and before moisturizer.

As for the three times a week shower rotation...it should be often enough for manual exfoliating which is very convenient to do in the shower....extracting maybe once a week just to allow the tissues good break...maybe working up to more.

Thank you, that is so helpful! So let me type out a hypothetical week and I'll see if I've grasped what your'e saying.

To start, I'd do something like:

Monday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: shower: ocm and microdermabrasion, PRT, serums, moisturizer
Tuesday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: OCM, PRT, serums, moisturizer
Wednesday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: OCM, BHA, serums, moisturizer
Thursday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: OCM, PRT, serums, moisturizer
Friday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: shower: ocm and microdermabrasion, PRT, serums, moisturizer
Saturday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: OCM, PRT, serums, moisturizer
Sunday morning: OCM, moisturizer w/ spf, makeup
evening: shower: ocm and manual pore extraction, PRT, serums, moisturizer

Then work up to where I'd use the microdermabrasion cream in the shower MWF and the BHA TThSa. If my skin responded well to this, should I exfoliate Sundays, when I did the manual pore cleaning? BHA or microderm? Should I use PRT on days when I use the BHA?

How does this look?

Thanks!