5 Steps to Clear Skin

To anyone who suffers from any kind of acne or random unwanted breakouts these tips and tricks are for you! Disclaimer-- everyone has different skin and food intolerances that may be causing break outs. It's important to drink lots of water throughout the day to keep your skin hydrated and avoid sebum (oil) production. Here are the 5 things that have completely improved my skin and gotten rid of my acne;

1. Double Cleansing - Whenever you wash your skin, use a pre-cleanse AND a face wash that works to rebalance the skin. A pre-cleanser is typically one that will remove all of your makeup that's very gentle on the skin. I really love the cleanser, Ultrabland from Lush. It's an oil based cleanser with a thick and creamy consistency and it completely removes all my makeup. Then to follow my pre-cleanse, I use Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing soap as my cleanser. This face wash has completely rebalanced my skin, fights breakouts, and doesn't dry my skin out. What's great about Mario Badescu skincare is that you can take a quiz to find the products that are right for your exact skin type. Just go to www.mariobadescu.com.

2. Hemp Seed Oil- Hemp seed oil is a natural oil that anyone with acne prone skin needs in their life. This oil moisturizes the skin which prevents your skin from drying out and producing oil (sebum) which in turn builds up causing clogged pores. This oil will not clog your pores because it is a non-comedogenic oil. Hemp seed oil is high in fatty acids, nutrients, and linoleic acid. People with acne prone skin are typically deficient in linoleic acid. The fatty acids also help to plump and moisturize the skin. Apply this after cleansing and toning your face as a moisturizer overnight.

3. AHA/ BHA Acid Toner- toning your skin is a key step to reducing breakouts because it takes off any dead skin cells and deeply cleans your pores. Toning after you wash your face is a good way to remove any left over dirt and promote cell regeneration. I am loving the CORSX AHA/BHA Toner. It's really gentle on the skin but I've noticed a huge difference in the brightness and softness of my skin. It has really helped clean my pores and control my breakouts. You can get this on Ulta.com or Amazon.com.

4. Spot Treating- Spot treatments are really great for decreasing the amount of time a pimple lives on your face. What I just recently learned is that you should continue to spot treat a blemish until it's gone for the best results. I'm someone who picks and pops things on my face and afterward I'm left with a mess, but spot treating really helped decrease the aftermath. I really like the Mario Badescu drying lotion to spot treat. In addition, I use the Mario Badescu buffering lotion to get rid of pimples that are under the skin that aren't fully formed. This lotion is primarily witch hazel which helps to get rid of those blemishes that you can feel forming before you can actually see them. You can pick both of these products up from Ulta.com.

5. Era-Organics Scrub & Moisturizer- Both of these products work together to completely re-balance the skin and are made with all natural ingredients. The microdermabrasion scrub is actually made with walnut shells as the exfoliant ingredient instead of plastic beads like most scrubs. It also has hemp seed oil and manuka honey which is known for it's anti-bacterial properties. This scrub helps to get rid of dead skin cells, promote cell regeneration without being too harsh or over-drying. The moisturizer has similar ingredients along with ingredients such as shea-butter which really moisturizes and repairs the skin barrier. Both of these products are available online at Amazon.com.

No matter your skin type, all of these products are gentle and effective in clearing problematic skin. Also, none of these products are outrageously priced. I hope this guides you in the right direction to having flawless skin!

-Alyssa