I think it’s safe to say that I, as much as the next person over, have tried a plethora of skin care items ~yes I said plethora because it’s just that MUCH!~ to try to achieve the perfect skin care routine to fit my skin.
Growing up, I suffered from problematic skin and constant breakouts due to hormones and stress. While I had my good days, I definitely almost always had cystic breakouts, hormonal breakouts, and just bumps; lumps, you name it!
More than 90% of the population is affected by acne at some point in their lives. That being said, we’ve all tried our fair share of products that promote “ridding of acne”, “clear skin in 1 week” or some other highly promising yet not always effective slogan.
The biggest tip I can give you right now is to AVOID those products at all costs. Drugstore cleansers, fragranced skin care, high doses of accutane and acids, and brands created to miraculously reverse your acne almost instantly like Proactive have never worked for me and almost always caused more damage than good. That is because they are filled with fragranced chemicals and substances that shouldn’t go on your face to begin with.
The Ordinary is a skin care line owned by DECIEM that advocates “being authentic, being different, being functional, being beautiful and being sensibly priced”, as they stated on their ‘About’ section on their website. The entire outlook of The Ordinary is to ditch the flowery and fluffy marketing, ditch the small talk, and stick to what really matters: delivering quality products that are guaranteed to be clean, beneficial, and affordable. Most of their products’ price points range between $5-$15, with the exception of a few more pricey products that are more expensive because of the materials used in production.
Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve tried too many products in my day. Whether it was Neutrogena, Proactive, accutane, and other home remedies that, in retrospect, weren’t the most reliable, I feel like I have enough jurisdiction to say that The Ordinary products are some of the most monumental, holy grail products I’ve used so far.
Twice a day after washing my face with my Bioderma Sebium face gel, I go in with The Ordinary’s Glycolic Acid 7% Toning solution. Then, after allowing it to set for a few minutes, I use a few drops of Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5. After those set, I go in with a few drops of Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. Finally, to top everything off, I use a smidge of Natural Moisturizing factors + HA. Once a week, I use the AHa 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution. This is a chemical exfoliator, which is why you’re only supposed to use it 1-2 times a week.
The effects I’ve seen after using these products have been extraordinary. I’ve had less redness, less texture, and clear skin like never before. While obviously this wasn’t instant because no product is supposed to act that fast, I still saw those effects after about a week of using them.
There are plenty of questions circulating how to purchase these products and how to layer them. Personally, I bought what I thought my skin needed most and that’s what you should do as well. As for layering, there’s plenty of articles that go into detail on how you’re supposed to layer, but the main takeaway is that you go in the denseness of the items. You want to start with water-based solutions, then use your oil based or anhydrous formulations, moving onto emulsions and creams, and suspensions if you purchased any. While some say it’s suspensions before creams/ emulsions, it’s really up to you!
This article was published in the DECIEM chat rooms to help guide users on how to layer their products!
If you haven’t given The Ordinary a shot, I 100% recommend that you do! Definitely fab!
by Bana Habash
