I sometimes get curious about random things, so I have a question for the comm:

What's the best product/routine you've found for your skin?


For me, it's been using witch hazel as a toner, and treating blemishes with salicylic acid or sulfur products. I'm more into the cosmetics part of product addiction than I am skincare, so I've never really had a skincare routine. I don't often go buy skin products until it's necessary, but I'll almost always try something new when I need them.

That's how I found that sulfur works for me, by trying e.l.f.'s mineral blemish powder (active ingredient: sulfur 3%) on a whim and finding that it soothed my eruptions, sometimes even making smaller spots disappear overnight. Having had luck with that, I tried their Zit Zapper (active ingredient: salicylic acid 1%), figuring that since it was $1US, it wasn't a big deal if it was a dud. It also makes many of my small spots disappear, though it's a tossup on larger ones; sometimes it diminishes them, sometimes it brings them to a head.

The witch hazel was sort of a roundabout discovery. I had seen it recommended as a toner for ages, but I initially bought it in hopes of it soothing some chronic itching on my legs (which it has helped with, a bit). Once I started using it regularly as a toner, though, I suddenly saw a marked improvement in my skin. I used to have a lot of small, random breakouts, but after a couple of months of witch hazel, those stopped almost entirely. Now I only tend to break out right before my period, or when I can't keep my hands off my face.

My next notion is that when I run out of the commercial cleansers I've been using, I'll give oil cleansing a go.

So what about you all? Any successes, or are you still searching for the right things?