Hi guys! I’ve been meaning to share my skin care routine with you for a while and I’m sorry for the delay. However, it allowed me more time to master my new routine in the last few months and share my results. I recently did a poll on my Instagram and many people were interested in hearing about my skin care routine. I’m by no means a skin care expert but I’ve been religiously implementing a solid routine for the past eight years. It’s been a whole lot of trial and error, and still is, but I’ve managed to learn a lot along the way and I hope it can help you guys too!

I know finding a skin care routine that suits you can be extremely frustrating and daunting. There’s always something that doesn’t work for your particular skin or clashes with another product. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to pinpoint exactly which product is really irritating your skin and what should be kept and eliminated. It only makes it worse that there are so many different acids and formulations to worry about. I’ll be sharing my technique that I’ve created over the years to tackle that.

Before we dive deeper, it’s important to understand what the different acids and formulations are and what they can do for your skin.

AHA/BHAs
AHA/BHAs are non abrasive exfoliants for your skin. They absorb into your skin and help renew it from the inside, unlike a physical exfoliant which would only address the superficial layer. They tackle acne scars, acne, skin texture, dullness and hyperpigmentation. A popular form of AHAs is glycolic acid. Glycolic acid is derived from sugar cane and helps remove dead skin cells for more radiant and even looking skin. It also thickens your skin and stimulates collagen growth. Another popular form you may have heard of is lactic acid. Lactic acid helps keep your skin hydrated, improves skin tone and signs of aging, reduces your pores, and firms your skin. A well known form of BHA is salicylic acid. Salicylic acid works in the same way as AHAs in the sense that it removes dead skin cells and promotes skin renewal, but it is really good for unclogging your pores, controlling oil production and deeply cleaning and purifying your skin. This is why it’s usually perfect for someone with oily/combination skin. Both AHA/BHAs are a great addition to your routine and will help address many skin concerns.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a legitimate holy grail for your skin. It is a real game changer and essential to all skin types. Vitamin C comes in many different forms – some are less irritable (such as magnesium ascorbyl phosphate) and therefore more suitable for sensitive or dry skin types. Other forms are more potent and effective (such as l-ascorbic acid), but better for oily or normal skin that isn’t sensitive. Whichever you end up choosing, I can assure you it will be quite beneficial to your skin. Vitamin C adds a youthful radiance to your skin, fades hyperpigmentation & dark spots, diminishes fine lines & blemishes, promotes collage production, and protects your skin from free radicals since it’s an antioxidant. Vitamin C has proven to be so beneficial for our skin that it’s recommended we take it in pill form daily to ensure healthy skin.


Retinol
Retinol, also known as retinoids or vitamin A, is quite literally a wonder drug. It’s one of the best skin care products in the market today and can be prescribed by your dermatologist or bought over the counter in the form of a serum. Though not as potent as retinoids, retinol is still very effective and helps reduce wrinkles and fine lines. It increases the production of collagen and even stimulates production of new blood vessels in your skin. It will also help reduce your acne and any scarring by increasing cell renewal production. You should definitely incorporate this into your routine as you hit your mid-twenties as a preventative. Start with a low percentage and build your way up slowly.

Niacinamide
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B-3, an essential nutrient for your skin & body. Niacinamide is great for anyone who has sensitive skin, redness, acne, large pores, or oily skin. It increases your skin’s resiliency, minimizes any redness or blotchiness, regulates oil, treats hyperpigmentation and minimizes pores. It’s also anti-inflammatory so it will help treat any acne. You can layer this under your retinol product for added benefits.

Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in your body and retains water to keep your tissues hydrated and moist. So it’s only safe to say it’ll definitely hydrate your skin. In addition, it reduces the visibility of your wrinkles/fine lines and creates smoother looking skin by helping increase skin cell production. This is the one skin product that every single person can use (yes, even if you have oily skin, it needs to be hydrated) and it’s the one product that you can layer with any other acid without causing harm or unwanted side effects.

If you choose to add different acids and formulations, remember that many acids don’t mix well with one another. So here’s a little cheat sheet for you:
vitamin c + retinol = 🚫
retinol + aha/bha = 🚫
aha/bha + vitamin c = 🚫
niacinamide + retinol = ✅
hyaluronic + aha/bha = ✅
hyaluronic + vitamin c = ✅
hyaluronic + retinol = ✅

So simply put, using any of the acids with one another will offset the ph balance of your skin and make it super sensitive. It will cause acne, redness and can even ruin your skin’s barrier. Refrain from using vitamin c, retinol and any aha/bha formulations (glycolic acid, lactic acid/salicylic acid) with one another in any kind of combination. Hyaluronic acid can be used with almost every other acid since it’s super hydrating and will only help balance out the dryness caused by the aha/bhas. Niacinamide (form of b3 which helps balance oil production, improves texture and minimizes pores/redness) can be layered with retinol, which is what I do every alternate night.

The technique I’m about to share with you guys next will basically solidify my foundation as a psychopath in your eyes, but it’s something that has truly helped me get my skincare down to a T. And following it has done wonders for my skin. Of course, you don’t have to follow this to achieve your skin goals, but if you’re experimenting with different acids, it’s a good way to see how they can be incorporated in your routine at different times of the day and week.

My routine:

Daytime:
Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun: non-alcohol toner, vitamin c serum, moisturizer, SPF, vitamin c facial oil (on dry days), eye cream
Tue, Thur, Sat: AHA/BHA toner or peel pads, hyaluronic acid, moisturizer, SPF, eye cream

Nighttime:
Mon, Wed, Fri: essence, non-alcohol toner, aha/bha serum/peel pads, moisturizer, facial oil, eye cream
Tue, Thur, Sat: non-alcohol toner, niacinamide serum, retinol serum, moisturizer, facial oil, eye cream
Sun: non-alcohol toner, moisturizer or sleeping mask, eye cream

Like I mentioned, you absolutely DO NOT have to follow this routine. I just wanted to show you guys how you can time out and place different acids & formulations into your skincare routine without having them clash with one another. I also do a mask once or twice within the week and use a physical exfoliator (such as the Tatcha rice enzyme powder or Kate Somerville’s exfolikate) once a week during my non-aha/bha nights.

If you’re just starting your skin care routine, I would tell you to keep it extremely simple. Don’t overcomplicate your routine and introduce your skin to too many different products right from the get go. The key to a good regimen is starting slow and building up to certain acids and formulations. If you’re a beginner, start with: a toner, a serum, a moisturizer, SPF (in the day) and an eye cream. This allows you to get into the habit of applying skincare daily and nightly and with limited products, you’ll be able to easily gauge what works for your skin and doesn’t.

Use a serum that is absolutely essential to your skin concerns. So if you’re looking to tackle acne scars, dark spots, or hyperpigmentation, I would recommend going with a really good vitamin c serum in the day (and even night in the beginning) and eventually switching & building up to a glycolic/lactic acid at night. If your concern is acne, I’d recommend a serum or spot treatment with salicylic acid at night. If your skin is super dry, just a good hyaluronic would be a great addition to your routine. If you’re looking to prevent/treat anti-aging, I’d suggest retinol. Really try to tackle your main skin concern first and then start adding other products in slowly.

I’ll be sharing more of what I use product wise on this blog and on my Instagram stories. It can be super complicated and I want to simplify it for you as much as I can. Please feel free to message me and reach out to me for any questions! I hope this article helped a little and I’ll be back very soon with more skincare tips!

Stay well!

xo, S

It’s summer! This usually translates to trips the beach and day drinking at a rooftop bar. Though those trips aren’t as frequent these days, there’s one thing you should NEVER step out of the house without. No, no I’m not talking about your face masks, though they’re just as important as this item. Any guesses?

Yup, some good ol’ sunscreen!

Is there really a better way to define summer than the smell of sunscreen and ocean in the air? Summer is obviously not the only time you should be applying sunscreen. I apply it every single day no matter the weather. Sunscreen is the one product, if you wanted to forgo everything else, that you should be using on a daily basis when stepping out.

When people think sunscreen, they mostly think of lathering it onto their body before heading into the pool or tanning on the beach. However, many people still don’t think it’s necessary on a day to day basis — especially on their face.

In fact, studies show that fewer than 15% of men and 30% of women use sunscreen regularly on their face and other exposed skin when outside for more than one hour. Sunscreen is known to reduce the chances of skin cancer and is such a great preventative for many other skin conditions. But despite knowing this, many people still question its effectiveness and don’t quite understand what “SPF” means. Don’t fret, I gotchyou!

So what exactly is sunscreen and why is it so important?
Sunscreen protects you from the damage of sun rays. Basically, the sun gives off two different kind of UV rays and both of these can be extremely detrimental to your skin. UVA rays cause great long-term damage and are the main cause of aging and wrinkles, whereas UVB rays are the ones that cause sunburn and skin cancer. Sunscreen shields you from these rays and degrades their effect.

So then what’s SPF all about?
SPF is short for “sun protection factor” and measures just how well the sunscreen can protect you from the UVB rays. Basically, however long it takes for your skin to burn times the SPF will equal to how long it’ll protect you in the sun.

Example: It takes your skin 10 minutes to burn under the sun. You put on SPF 50.
10 minutes x SPF 50 = 500 minutes. According to the calculation, the SPF should protect your skin from sun damage for about 500 mins or approximately 8 hours.

However, due to sweating and swimming, SPF wears off much faster than it should. Many experts believe its efficacy is lessened and it’s necessary to reapply every two hours.

Umm… what amount of SPF should I apply?
I would say anything with SPF 30 and above is a safe bet. SPF 15-30 tends to be mild and will protect you from 93% of UVB rays, whereas anything from 30-50 will protect you from 97-98% of UVB damage. Anything above SPF 50 will still give you about the same results and most studies show they end up being just as effective as SPF 30-50.

I’m melanin blessed. I don’t need to worry about sunscreen, right?
Wrong. While melanin helps protect against immediate sunburn, it doesn’t mean your skin still can’t get burned eventually. Also, you’re still very prone to sun-spots, wrinkles, and cancer.

But I hate the feeling of sunscreen on my skin. What do I do?
I totally get it! When asked why so many are hesitant to wear sunscreen, they say they don’t like the consistency and texture of most sunscreen products. And I’m definitely one of them! Well, to ensure that you all use SPF on a daily basis, I’ve compiled a list of great options that are totally non-greasy and have a “barely there” feel. Check out this list below and let me know if you have any other recommendations!

For your face:
1. Anthelios Ultra Light Fluid Facial Sunscreen SPF 60 – La Roche-Posay
2. Invisible Shield SPF 35 – Glossier
3. Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 – Supergoop!
4. Sunforgettable Brush-On Sunscreen SPF 30 – Colorescience
5. Urban Environment Oil-Free UV Protector Sunscreen SPF 42 – Shiseido
6. CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ – It Cosmetics

For your body:
1. Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen SPF 100+ – Neutrogena
2. Activated Sun Protector Water-Light Lotion For Face & Body SPF 30 – Kiehl’s
3. Ultimate Sun Protector Lotion SPF 50+ – Shiseido
4. Classic Body Organic Sunscreen Spray SPF 50 – Coola
5. Ultra Boat Sunscreen Spray SPF 100 – Banana Boat

Hi, my lovely glam goddesses (and gods)! I’ve been feeling a bit out of funk lately and I think everyone can agree with me that this quarantine has turned our lives upside down. The last three months have really been about discovering new things that are good for my mind, body and soul — including my skin! I have always been a diehard skincare junkie and got into it at a much younger age than everyone else I knew. From my early 20s, I’ve made it a point to incorporate great products into my skincare regimen. However, I haven’t always been consistent with it which is the major key when it comes to taking care of your skin. I can also attest to the fact that it hasn’t always been pleasant or gone my way, but finding the right products for you is truly about trial and error. Today, I want to share some great products I’ve been using during this quarantine and how they’ve really helped turn my skin around. I hope this list aids you in any sort of way and possibly introduces you to something you end up loving! Click on the name of the product below for its Sephora/website link.

So, what do you think of this list, my beauties? Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for me? What have you been trying out for your skin lately? Leave a comment below and also feel free to message me on Instagram – @sassysherni. Looking forward to hearing from you!


xo,
S