How I Cleared Up My Adult Acne

You may recall this time last year, a few months after we moved to California, my skin started acting up, in a really bad way. It may have been due to the change in air humidity, the different water (California has “hard” water, New York has “soft” water), or probably a combination or both.

If you don’t recall the particulars of my skin saga, I completely forgive you — I hardly expect you to follow the captivating ups and downs of my skin journey. So I’ll give you the gist: before we moved away from New York, I essentially had perfect skin. Barely any acne (maybe a tiny pimple every now and then), super even texture and no noticeable dryness or red areas. After we made the cross country move, my skin was drier than ever before, but also oilier (fun!) and I started breaking out like crazy. I was waking up everyday with at least one new pimple. Something my former clear-skin-self hadn’t experienced since puberty. The before photos below don’t even illustrate how bad my skin really was. These were taken on a “good day.”

Serendipitously, a few months ago my friends at Curology reached out to me about trying their customizable skincare line, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get my skin back on track (and honestly, at that point I was ready for a real intervention).

Before I started on the Curology system, I cut out nearly every single product I was using — all extra serums, toners, creams, etc. I did this so that I could really hit restart on my skin. And so that I’d be able to slowly introduce new products into my routine to see how they effect my skin.

Now, for my updated nighttime skincare routine:

1. I use a makeup remover as the first step in my nighttime skincare routine. Rather than relying on my face wash to remove my makeup AND clean my skin, I broke up my cleansing into two steps. I currently use the Garnier micellar water and a cotton pad before I wash my face. I find it super gentle and non irritating, and it’s quite effective in removing my makeup and sunscreen. I haven’t quite figured out the re-useable cotton pad thing, but I’m all ears if you have a recommendation for an eco-friendly product.
2. Next, I use my Clarisonic cleansing brush with my Curology cleanser. I use a soft brush head (too much exfoliating is a bad thing), and gently brush/cleanse for about 2 minutes. My Clarisonic was about a hundred bucks, but if you’re on a budget, try cleansing with a soft wash cloth for a few weeks to see if it improves your skin. Basically, this step in my routine is turning up the dial on cleansing to really make sure I’m getting a deep clean every night.
3. After cleansing I apply my custom Curology night cream — this product is created specifically for me and my unique skin issues. When I first signed up with Curology, I filled out a skin quiz and uploaded a few photos that showed my problem areas. Curology assigned a dermatologist to my account who formulated my specialized cream. And like magic, a few days later my custom formula arrived.
4. After my night cream I apply a moisturizer. Sometimes I use the Curology moisturizer, and sometimes I use a the SkinCeuticals Hyraluronic Intensifier Serum. It depends on how dry my skin is feeling.

That’s it! It’s so simple really. And I could not be happier with how my skin is doing. I never, ever wake up with blemishes anymore. It’s kind of crazy. One of the things that I really love about the Curology system, is that you can use it in addition to other products that you love. It’s not mandatory that you use all and only the Curology products.

Curology offers a free trial to everyone, you can sign up here. This is not a special offer through my blog, this post is not sponsored.

This blog post was not sponsored by Curology. But I did receive 3 months of the Curology system gratis. As always, I never endorse a product that I do not stand behind.