Hi, can anyone suggest a proper skincare routine for oily-dehydrated skin. Main skin concerns are dehydration and redness. Male(26) from India. I would like to keep it minimal (Cleanser, Serum, Moisturiser)
New to serums & recently started using a 5% niacinamide serum (indian brand) on cleansed dry skin. It brightened my skin but gave some temporary red bumps, so discontinued it. Maybe i should have applied on a damp skin.
I mostly stay at home, so barely use sunscreen.
Try something that includes soothing and hydrating ingredients! I know keeping it minimal is the easiest but if you're willing to experiment, I recommend trying to layer a toner. They're great for hydration and will help calm down your skin. Green tea and heartleaf are two ingredients you can also look for to target oil and redness. Hope that helps :)
Hi, my skin type is the same as yours, and I also have redness. Here's what I think would work well for you:
Firstly, I see you already have a cleanser, but I wanted to mention one for you since that COSRX cleanser might be contributing to your dehydration and redness. For me, it definitely made mine worse. The cleanser I use now is the Rovectin Aqua Hyaluronic cleanser (updated version of the Rovectin Skin Essentials Conditioning cleanser). It's a gel cleanser that works very well to cleanse the skin without irritation. The Torriden Cica Cleansing Gel is also really nice, but it doesn't foam up as well as the Rovectin one. If the COSRX one works well for you, ignore this, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.
Toner:
Anua Heartleaf 77% Toner -> By far the best toner for my oily--dehydrated and sensitive skin. It's very hydrating, soothing, and it makes the skin feel smooth (it's not an exfoliator, it just somehow makes the skin feel smooth, I don't know but it's great). 10/10 toner.
Serums: choose whichever you prefer. I don't suggest layering more than 2 serums
Geek&Gorgeous Stress Less Serum -> This is a serum with high madecassoside and beta-glucan content. It's one of my absolute favorites for intense hydration and redness calming. It's a Hungarian brand and it's only available from their website, but I think it ships worldwide. It absorbs instantly and leaves no residue. It's non-comedogenic. Absolute 10/10.
Skin1004 Centella 100 Ampoule -> This one is 100% centella extract. It's not quite as calming as the G&G Stress Less Serum, but it also works very well if you don't like the G&G one. It does leave a bit of a semi--sticky feeling, but it disappears once you put on moisturizer.
Axis Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum -> I saw you mentioned trying a 5% niacinamide serum. It took a few tries for me to find a good niacinamide product, and this is the one my skin likes best. I've noticed some lightening on my acne scars with this, and it doesn't irritate my skin. It's really nice and it has a gel texture that absorbs almost instantly. You only really need one pump for the whole face.
Torriden Solid-In All Day Essence -> This is a moisturizing & hydrating gel essence with 5 ceramides. Ceramides help with redness and moisture/hydration retention. This one is super great.
Sunscreen:
Skin1004 Centella Hyalu--Cica Sun Serum -> This is the best sunscreen I have ever used. It's very calming and hydrating and doesn't make my skin oily at all! Every other sunscreen I've used has made me oilier, but this one doesn't. 100/10!
Bonus:
Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil -> This has really helped smooth my skin out and helps with the appearance of pores. It's a cleansing oil that's mostly comprised of ethylhexyl palmitate, which softens the skin and is really good at breaking down sebum and sunscreen. I was worried it might be comedogenic, but it's not at all! The only concern with this product is that it has a lot of fragrance, so watch out for that if your skin doesn't like fragrance.
Also, check to see if the hyaluronic acid in the moisturizer you use might be causing you redness. Sometimes hyaluronic acid does that. Also sometimes it makes you even more dehydrated if it isn't formulated properly. The moisturizer I use is the Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer. It's the best moisturizer I've found for reducing redness and moisturizing without clogging pores. My skin is only calm when I use this moisturizer, I cannot reccommend it enough! It's my favorite product :)
Hope these work for you, good luck!
I'd say go as simple as possible - all fragrance-free, sunscreen in the morning if going outside, moisturizer with 2-4% niacinamide if not; cleanser at night followed by the same moisturizer. This simple routine should help restore your skin barrier, taking care of the redness and dehydration. Once your skin gets better, you can consider adding azelaic acid to your routine to help control the oiliness.