How I Fixed My Damaged Skin With Fewer Skincare Products
I cleared the worst breakout of my life and fixed my damaged skin—not by adding more skincare products to my routine, but by eliminating most of them.
When you look at the image on the left, you might find it hard to believe that up until this point, I had gone through most of my life with relatively unproblematic skin.
“Sensitive” was not a term I had ever used to describe my skin type before. I had tried more skincare products, hacks, and trends than I care to remember, and yet aside from a few adverse reactions, nothing had come close to what I was seeing in the mirror now.
How Things Got so Bad
I can’t say for sure how things got so bad, but I’ve boiled it down to 3 main factors—I had gone off the pill after years of consistent use (a.k.a. hormonal hell), I was going through an extremely stressful period at work (a.k.a hormonal hell, now with 2X the hellishness), and I had just started using a prescription retinoid for the first time (hellish timing, I know).
This unholy trinity of factors wreaked havoc on my skin’s moisture barrier, and led to a breakout unlike anything I’d experienced before. Now, don’t worry, this story has a happy ending, because the image all the way to the right was taken about 4 months (and a healthy vacation tan) after the first one on the left. Yes, it’s not flawless, but it’s a major step forward. And, the journey to get there has changed my whole approach to skincare.
From Bad to Worse
When things started getting bad, I started feeling the pressure to fix it right away. Like any self-proclaimed skincare expert, I couldn’t bear the thought of having bad skin. So, I attacked the problem the only way I knew how—with as much acne-fighting firepower as I could muster. I doubled down on my prescription retinoid and threw in some exfoliating acids and benzoyl peroxide in the mix for good measure. I thought I was doing everything right, and yet, my skin was only getting worse.
It got to the point where skincare was torturous, every application causing painful burning sensations. That’s when I knew I had to stop everything and let my skin just breathe, even if it meant living with acne for a while.
The Simpler Routines That Saved My Skin
Things had come to a breaking point, and I just knew that the burning sensation I was experiencing every time I applied my skincare was not a good sign. So, I pared back my skincare routine to a few essentials. No strong strong actives, no exfoliants, no acne treatments of any kind. I expected my progress to slow down to a crawl, but to my surprise, the opposite happened.
Within a couple of weeks, my skin start feeling–and looking—much better! Gone was the sensitivity, the dryness, and itchiness. And the acne, which had refused to budge while under attack from my multiple treatments, even started to calm down with this gentler approach.
I realised then that this was no ordinary breakout, what I had done was damage my skin’s moisture barrier. And the only way to save it was with a minimalist routine focused on barrier support and hydration.
My 4-Step Morning Routine
Both my morning and night time routines contained only 4 products (which might still seem like a lot, but is a far cry from the 8-10 step routine I was used to). My morning routine consisted of:
1. Optional Morning Cleanse
In the beginning, when my skin was especially dry and damaged, I would just skip the morning cleanse and opt to give my face a generous splash of water instead. As my skin recovered, I would use a gentle, non-stripping cleanser in the morning on days I felt I needed it. Some I recommend are:
2. Hydration & Calming
I had to get rid of all my actives in the morning (I miss you, Vitamin C!). The only treatment step I included was a serum that helped calm and repair my skin. On days when I was extra dry, I would choose to add on a hydrating toner as well. Products that really helped me out at this point (and some new ones I reach for today are):
3. Moisturizer
Then all that was left to do was lock in all that hydration with a soothing moisturizer (my favorite being the Purito Oat-In Calming Gel Cream, but I’ve also heard great things about the Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer)
4. Sunscreen
And of course, we never, EVER skip the sunscreen. My favourite was the Skin1004 Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum because it’s formulated with skin soothing centella asiatica. But it is a chemical sunscreen, which can cause a little stinging sensatiom if your skin is very sensitive. In that case, I recommend choosing a mineral sunscreen like:
My 4-Step Night Time Routine
My night time routine followed the same principle, but with a few different products.
1. First Cleanse
While a morning cleanse may have been optional, an evening cleanse most certainly was not. Double cleansing was extremely important to get my acne under control, but my skin was too unpredictable for cleansing balms and oils. Sometimes a balm would feel great, and the next day it would break me out. So in these unpredictable times, I reached for my good ol’ OG Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water.
2. Second Cleanse
For my second cleanse, I just used whatever gentle cleanser I used previously in the morning.
3. Barrier Repair
Similar to my morning routine, no active ingredients made an appearance in the evening either. Instead I focused on getting my skin’s moisture barrier back to optimum health. Some of the products I love to this day for repairing a damaged barrier are:
Mixsoon Bean Essence (has a very mild exfoliating effect as well)
4. Moisturizer
If you sleep in an air-conditioned room (like I do), you may want a richer night time moisturizer to prevent your skin getting dehydrated at night. I love the Dr.G Red Blemish Clear Soothing Cream with 5 different types of centella asiatica, but if you want something even more nourishing, you’ll love the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream.
Re-introducing Actives, Slowly and Mindfully
After about 2 months of this simplified routine, my skin barrier was healthy, my breakouts had mostly calmed down and no new ones were appearing either. Unfortunately I was left with some pretty bad post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and the soothing ingredients were not enough to get rid of it. I wanted to re-introduce targeted actives into my routine, but I had to make sure I didn’t take one step forward and two steps back.
This is how I did it:
I only introduced one new product at a time. I knew I wanted to get back on my vitamin C, azelaic acid and retinoids, but introducing everything at the same time was going to put me right back at square one. Instead, I introduced one product at a time, let my skin get reacclimatized to it (usually a 2-3 week period), before introducing the next one.
I started low and slow with strong actives. When I did reintroduce my actives, I exercised some self restraint. Retinoids were only 2 nights a week, vitamin C was only on alternate mornings. I even started using the skin cycling technique to incorporate products in moderation. As my skin got used to these, I could increase the frequency as needed.
Barrier health remained a priority. I realised that my skin’s moisture barrier is its first line of defense and it shouldn’t become a priority only when it’s damaged. After all, prevention is better than cure, so a barrier strengthening serum now has a permanent place in my skincare routine.
Final Thoughts: A New Approach to Skincare
This may make me sound incredibly vain, and I realise that people have much larger problems in their lives than acne, but what the heck, I’m going to say it anyway—the few months when I had my acne breakouts were HARD. Coming to terms with my skin not being perfect was a journey, but along the way, I’ve unlearnt everything I thought I knew about skincare, and arrived at a new approach to healthy skin.
Today, 10-step routines are a thing of the past. I use fewer products in my routine and I use them less frequently as well. Yes, I have a morning and night time skincare routine, but I’m also much more intuitive about what my skin needs on any given day. If it’s dry, I’ll add some additional hydrating toners or serums. If it’s stinging, I’ll scale back my skincare and use only barrier-friendly products.
Don’t let my newfound enlightenment fool you though. I’m still not immune to the temptation of a new product, but when I do introduce a new product into my routine, it’s always done mindfully. First off, I make sure I really, really need something before I buy it, and it’s always only one new product at a time, never a whole new routine. If the product has any active ingredients, it’ll only be featuring in my routine 2-3 times a week at the start. Finally, I think about any current products I can replace with this one, so I’m not over-complicating my routine.
If you’ve had a similar experience with a damaged skin barrier, I’d love to hear how you fixed it in the comments below.
About The Skinimalist
Hi, I’m Mal, a 30-something recovering skincare addict, and this is my blog. A space where I attempt to de-influence you from chasing trends and buying more skincare products you may not need.
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