In this post, I share my ultimate skin-clearing regime that I’ve used time and again to get rid of my skin issues and get glowing.
Some women are naturally blessed with good skin, but as a sensitive-skin girlie myself, that’s never been me.
I have to constantly pour into my skin health to keep myself looking fab.
Some days, it’s quite effortless, but then some hormonal change happens and I end up popping pimples left and right.
I also sometimes make skincare mistakes like giving myself DIY facials that results in me breaking out.
So, obviously, I need a game plan for such situations when my skin decides to betray me, or when I do something stupid to make it all wrong.
That’s what my skin-clearing checklist is about.
Now, I know many of you would prefer faster results, but when it comes to clearing your skin, you need to be patient, my girl.
Skin issues like acne, scars, blemishes, and pigmentation are not surface-level and can be quite stubborn.
You need to build certain habits to get rid of these things, and give it at least a month to actually see positive results.
Enough chitchat. Let’s get to the actual post now:
How To Clear Your Skin For Real
1. Start a Proper Skincare Routine
Clearing your skin without a skincare routine is kinda impossible.
When your skin has been unhealthy for some time, it’s going to need a treatment to heal the damage.
So, before you do anything at all, sit down, do some research on your skin type and skin issue, and lay down a solid skincare routine.
I am going to dish out all the information I can on this to help you out.
Here is the most basic skincare routine that you need to practice every morning and every night before bed:
Step 1: Cleanser
Use a gentle cleanser to wash away the dirt and oil on your face.
And then gently pat your skin with a soft face towel (which you should change every 2-3 days).
Cetaphil has a really good range of cleansers for every skin type, so that’s what I’d recommend you go for.
Step 2: Moisturizer
After cleansing, you are going to put a moisturizer asap.
If you let your face stay without a moisturizer for too long, it won’t be as effective; moisturizer penetrates better on a slightly damp face.
Even if you have an oily skin, your skin still needs a moisturizer.
Besides hydrating your skin, it will repair your skin barrier, heal your skin, and protect it from any further damage.
What I use: Moiz LMF 48 Lotion
STEP 3: Product targeting your skin issue
To truly clear your skin, you need a product that targets your specific skin issue.
My skin is prone to acne, and I must have tried a dozen acne ointments in the past.
After years of trial and error, I now finally know the magic ingredients that work on my skin during breakouts and post-breakouts.
- For acne, I recommend 10% azelaic acid.
- For acne scars, glycolic acid would be your BFF.
- For pigmentation, kojic acid can do wonders.
You can pick your product in a gel/cream form, or go for a serum.
P.S: Usually, serums are applied before moisturizer in a skincare routine. But when you are dealing with acne, it’s better to put on moisturizer first as a protection layer as skincare treatment can be harsh and reactive.
Step 4 (AM Only): Sunscreen
Before I started using sunscreen regularly, I had pigmentation on my face and my acne never really healed properly.
It was only after introducing a sunscreen that I started seeing real difference.
A sunscreen is your best protection against the harmful UV rays that our beloved sun emits.
Without a barrier against these rays, your skin troubles will worsen, and it won’t really stand a chance.
So, pick a dang good sunscreen and put it on your face as the last step of your facial skincare.
Here is one I have been using for years: UV Doux SPF 50
STEP 5: LIP BALM
Some skincare products can be harsh on the lips, so even if you don’t have dry lips (lucky you), apply a lip balm at the end of your skincare routine to finish it off.
Wait, that’s it? Don’t you need a more detailed routine to treat your skin?
I don’t think so and don’t recommend it either.
Too many products or steps can irritate your skin. Less is more when it comes to skincare, especially when your skin is troubled.
2. Drink Loads Of Water
Okay, so once you have a solid skincare routine in place, you’re going to focus on strengthening body from within.
We often think that since skin is an external part of our body, we just need to tend to it from the outside.
But where do you think our skin gets its strength from? It’s from the inside, especially the gut!
And drinking water is a huge huge deal for our gut.
When you drink enough water (this being at least 8-10 glasses every day), your body is able to flush out toxins and stay hydrated from within.
This hydration then reaches the skin too, and so it aids the healing process.
So, I don’t care if you have to track your water intake or add fruits to your bottle to make it more colorful, just level up your hydration, and watch the magic happen, girl.
3. Have a Gut Detox Smoothie Every Day
Last summer, I dealt with the worst breakout of my life (result of a DIY facial at home, ugh, stupid me).
And while desperately looking for ways to salvage the damage, I stumbled upon a smoothie recipe for clear skin.
I drank it for a week and it was like a miracle for my skin and gut health, so I immediately added it to my diet and stuck to it for days until I didn’t need it any more.
So, you can say this is a new addition to this routine, and it absolutely rocks.
A detox smoothie does exactly like it says — it cleans up your system of toxins and makes you super healthy from within.
Here are the ingredients for my smoothie:
- Cucumber
- A small piece of ginger
- Mint leaves
- Water
Blend in a jar, and then drink up! You can add chia seeds as toppings to make it healthier (helps it weight management).
4. Quit Makeup During This Time
Makeup and skincare are two different things. The first is all about enhancing your beauty and also covering up, while the latter is all about making your skin healthy.
I love makeup as much as every blush-loving woman here, but when it comes to acne, makeup is not your best friend.
Even skin-friendly makeup products can act as irritants to an already irritated skin.
So, whenever I am on a mission to clear my skin, I steer clear of makeup.
If I have to be at an important event, the most I’d do is do my skincare, put on this hyluronic serum for minimal coverage, apply lipstick and call it a day.
See, this is going to be your personal choice, because I know it can be hard to go without makeup.
But if you are fully committed to treating your skin in just a month’s time, then say no to makeup. Your skin will love this break, I promise you.
Might help: How To Look Pretty Without Makeup – 13 Tips For a Natural Glow
5. Hold Back On Sugar and Processed Food
While we’re on the topic of gut-health and its relation to your skin, let’s get another important tip out of the way — Quitting all processed and sugary food.
Again, this can be a challenge, and I’ll admit that this is something I am not able to do as religiously as I’d like.
But if you can get yourself to quit the packed, sugary, and junk food, your skin will heal so much faster.
Food items like chips, pizza, coke, cake, biscuits, etc., are huge acne triggers. Whatever ingredients they have in them are not skin-friendly.
Instead of eating processed food, find healthy replacements and munch on them.
When you are craving sugar, pick up a fruit, replace chips with nuts, and cook your pasta at home rather than grabbing takeout.
6. Exercise (Even If It’s For 20 Minutes)
Just like junk food takes away from your skin health, exercise adds to it.
For one, it is a huge mood-booster, which means less stress (which is not good for your skin, will come to it in a moment).
And next, exercise doesn’t just kill fat or give shape to your body, it benefits all the organs and parts of your body, which includes your skin too.
Also, when you sweat from exercise, toxins get flushed from your body.
Challenge yourself to work out 20 minutes or more every day. Fast walking or jogging in nature counts too.
These are my favorite YouTube workout channels you can try:
- PS Fit
- growwithjo
- MadFit
7. Do Something Stress-Relieving Every Day
Have you ever gotten pimples on your face out of the blue, even though there has been no lifestyle change?
Yeah, me too. And the culprit in such instances is stress.
When your body is under stress, it increases its oil production and causes inflammation.
Your gut undergoes changes to cope and all of it shows up on your face in form of bumps and angry red dots.
So, another thing to focus on during your skin-clearing journey is stress-management. This may seem like a tough nut to crack, but no.
All you have to do is sit down and do something stress-busting every day. This could be journaling, reading, meditation, yoga, or any hobby that makes you feel good.
Do not dismiss this tip, ladies. I am just helping your mind and your skin be happy here.
8. Track Your Progress
At the beginning of any challenge, motivation is very high, but it starts dwindling in a few days and that leads to quitting before you even see the results.
That’s why I always track my habits from day 1 of my skin-clearing journey.
First, set a timeline, like 30 days (which is a very reasonable time to start seeing results after consistent routines).
Buy a cute little notebook, name it something motivating (like ‘my 30-day glow up journey), and on the next page, write down ‘Day 1, Day 2,…’ in a list form.
For every day when you successfully follow all the steps of this challenge, put a tick mark.
You can also do this in your journal like me:
Make up your own habit-tracker if you need to. Whatever works for you!
This will help you keep yourself accountable and not slack off mid-way.
This Will Bring You Real Results!
If you think about it, all the steps of this skin-clearing guide are actually common tips known to every woman.
But when you combine these habits together and follow them for a month straight, they turn into a miracle cure for your skin.
I use this process every time my skin needs a breather, and I seriously cannot recommend it enough to clear up your skin.
Hope you give it a shot!
