My Routine for Doll Skin✨
i absolutely love having a thorough skincare routine. it makes me feel like a scientist, haha. i unfortunately have bad genetics when it comes to skin, so no amount of “drink water”, “cut out dairy and sugar”, or “manage what you eat” will ever help improve my skin. i simply need an effective routine, and here’s what works best for me.
the morning
in the mornings, i usually prep my skin for the day. this means i use products that protect my skin from the UV rays, pollution, makeup, and other nasty stuff that it’ll come in contact with.
cleansing: in the morning, i do not use a cleanser. i just rinse my face with warm water.
toner: i don’t use witch hazel or any other astringents; instead, i use toners that hydrate my skin instead of drying it out. i love the kikumasamune sake high moisture toner and the pyukang yul essence toner.
serums: during the day i need serums that will adequately prepare my skin for makeup. because i’m oily, i use the ordinary’s niacinamide + zinc serum since it is great at oil control. i also have a 1% salicylic acid serum that helps with oil control as well as lightly exfoliates my skin, making it smooth and clearing my pores so my makeup has a great base. if i have recently had any acne, i use either a vitamin c serum or an alpha arbutin serum to clear up any dark spots. for those, i like the ordinary and the inkey list.
moisturizer: finally, to lock in everything i put on my face i like to use a moisturizer. even if i have oily skin, i use a moisturizer or else i’m just drying out my skin. i use light creams or gels. my favorites are the ordinary’s natural moisturizing factors, the primera watery cream, and the iunik centella gel cream.
spf: every morning, my skincare routine ends with me putting on sunscreen. when using chemical exfoliation, it’s pertinent that you use an spf afterwards because if not then it undoes all your hard work; however, even when you aren’t using chemical exfoliants you always need to wear spf because sun damage makes your skin tone uneven and you obviously don’t want skin cancer. yes, even if you are darkskinned, when you’re inside if you have sun coming in through your windows, during the winter, when it’s raining. it’s also important to use spf 30 or above and be sure to reapply every two hours. for the initial application, my favorite sunscreen is the purito green level if i’m not going to be in the sun all day. for reapplication over my makeup, i use the supergoop spf spray.
at night
my skincare routine for the nighttime is focused on barrier repair and hydration. this is when i use products like chemical exfoliants because using them makes the skin more sensitive to harmful uv rays from the sun. i like to layer hydration here in order to balance out my morning routine which isn’t very hydrating.
oil cleansing: i make sure to double cleanse by using an oil cleanser first and then following up with a traditional cleanser. if you wear makeup, have oily skin, or wear spf (and you’re supposed to wear spf every single day!!!), you need to double cleanse or you’re still leaving some makeup and spf on your face, which can cause acne. i like to use the farmacy cherry balm, but i also like the oat balm from inkey list.
traditional cleansing: for my traditional cleanser, i use gel cleansers because i have really oily skin. i like to dry cleanse, which is basically rubbing the cleanser onto your skin without water for about 30 seconds before wetting my hands and continuing to cleanse my face with water for the remaining 30 seconds. yes, i wash my face for 60 seconds and so should you. we’re supposed to wash our hands for at least 30 seconds to truly clean them, so why should our faces be any different? my favorite is the glow recipe blueberry bounce gentle cleanser, but i also like the simple micellar gel wash. i remove all my cleansers with a warm, wet cloth.
chemical exfoliation: this is truly how i get my skin together. i’m a bit advanced when it comes to chemical exfoliation, so unless you’re used to it do not copy me. your skin will hate you. bha 2 days a week, retinol/differin once a week, and azelaic acid on alternating days = doll skin, period. this combo gets rid of my skin congestion, clears my pores, smooths out my skin, and gets rid of any pimples with the quickness. i use the paula’s choice 2% bha, differin, and the ordinary’s azelaic acid (or paula’s choice if i want to splurge a little).
toner: again! i’ll admit it, i put my skin through a lot as someone who wears a full face of makeup everyday and has oily skin. however, it’s important to not be constantly stripping your skin of moisture. every other product in my nighttime routine is focused on keeping my skin barrier in tact and healthy. some people like putting their toner on a cotton round and wiping it over their face to get off excess dirt, but i cleanse my skin thoroughly so that isn’t needed. i always pour a bit of toner into my hands and press it into my damp skin like a serum.
essences: this is literally just for extra hydration. essences are like toners, but they can be thicker and are always hydrating, so they feel more luxurious. my favorites are the hadalabo premium hyaluronic solution and the cosrx snail mucin essence.
serums: at night, i only use hydrating serums. i love the ordinary’s niacinamide + zinc serum at night because niacinamide not only helps with oil control but it also helps with barrier repair. i also like to use their marine hyaluronics serum. my favorite barrier repair serum is the purito centella buffet serum; as soon as i put that on, any irritation is immediately soothed. krave’s great barrier relief and paula’s choice omega complex serum are both great if you’re willing to spend a little more.
moisturizer: because i don’t have to worry about keeping my makeup on all day, i tend to go for heavier moisturizers at night. during this time, i only use moisturizers that have ingredients formulated for barrier repair, such as ceramides, centella extract, and squalane oil. i use the one kind dream cream and the cerave moisturizer in a tub.
occlusive: an occlusive is what i put on my face during the night so i wake up with soft, plump skin and don’t suffer from tewl, or trans-epidermic water loss. if you wake up with skin on the dry side, you should probably put on an occlusive at night. i used to use a facial oil, but i found that it wasn’t occlusive enough for me. now i use the cerave healing ointment, but plain vaseline works well, too.
weekly
here are the things that aren’t needed more than once a week for me. these are all either addressing issues that i don’t have as often, for special occasions, or could even be detrimental if done too often.
face shaving: i do not do at-home dermaplaning, but i do use an eyebrow razor to tackle my mustache area and in-between my brows. i also shape/tweeze my eyebrows and tweeze wherever else needed at this step.
masks: depending on where i’m going or what my goal is, i usually use either a sheet mask, a hydrogel mask, or a clay mask. sheet masks are honestly just hydrating serums, and i like to do these in the winter when i’m feeling especially dry. i use hydrogel masks tend to target certain areas such as the under eyes or lips. when i need my makeup to last a very long time or i’m about to go on a really important event, i use clay masks to completely mattify my face. when removing clay masks, i like to use a hydrating spray (my toner in a spray bottle) to make the mask wet again so i don’t tug on my skin as much during the removal process.
spot treating: i don’t get pimples often anymore, but when i do i like to get rid of them asap. i don’t pop my pimples because it’s unsanitary for a number of reasons, but i do understand the urge to pick at them. that’s why i put a spot treatment on them. i use zapzyt which is a 10% benzoyl peroxide acne treatment gel or the sulfur spot treatment from face reality. if my pimple accidentally does “pop”, i clean the area and quickly put an acne patch on it. i love the peace out acne dots with salicylic acid and the hydro-stars from star-face.
lip care: especially now that winter is coming up, it is important to not have dry, nasty, cracked lips. i use a lip scrub to exfoliate all the dead skin off, then apply an overnight lip mask. the lip scrub i use is the seraphine botanicals orange + cream lip polish. my favorite lip masks are the tarte sea jelly glaze lip masks and the laneige lip sleeping masks. obviously, throughout the day i wear lip balm and while i really love the jack black intense therapy lip balm and the dior lip glow balm, i only use vaseline now for medical reasons.
