Hello from Sof

I’m reaching out to get some skincare recommendations for my skin concerns. My skin used to have a lot of acne all over my face, and I have no idea what caused it. It all appeared suddenly and spread across my entire face, especially around my cheeks and near my nose.

I went to a skin clinic before, but it wasn’t a real dermatologist—just a basic, affordable skin clinic. They recommended a gel ointment, which actually helped clear most of my acne. However, it left me with a lot of scars—some red, some dark—and worse, I now have a few indented scars (around 4-5).

I also struggle with blackheads on my nose, fungal acne on my chin, and clogged pores all over my face. My pores are also very large and visible, making my skin look dull. My skin is very oily but sometimes feels dehydrated. I live in Malaysia, where the weather is very humid. My face looks kinda old (im 21), dull and unhealthy without makeup, so I use makeup everyday, like setting spray, primer, foundation, concealer, powder and more.

Currently, my skincare routine includes Himalaya Purifying Neem Face wash, CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion, Skin Aqua UV Brightening Moisture Gel SPF50, and Hada Labo AHA BHA PHA Mild Peeling Lotion.

But I recently ordered some Korean skincare products to try, specifically non-clogging ones like SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Poremizing Fresh Ampoule and SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Nourishing Poremizing Light Gel Cream and SOME BY MI Retinol Intense Reactivating Serum Essence.

Could you recommend the best skincare products for my skin concerns? Should I replace any of my current products if they’re not suitable for my skin? I’d really appreciate your advice!

Peu

last month

Don't use retinol now... It will make you lot of purging... N You're not at age of using it...
If you have scar,,it will not recover.. You have to micro needling in some dc advice
Stop using all makeup..
If you have pimple dark spot ( i dnt remember right now what's it cl sry) use skin1004 tone brightening capsule ampoule.. Trust me its most effective in acne sopt... Nd its gentle than any other... Affordable and last Ages...
Dnt use Himalayan fwash.. Use simple kind skin f wash...its best for oily skin.. Affordable + last ages
Use illiyoon ceramide ato soothing gel as moisturiser... Its fixed my acne prone skin...one of the best moisturizer for acne skin... And its almost like Dr Althea 345 relief cream i gues....affordable + last Ages...
Nd Your sunscreen myb ok..
Stop using hadalabo peeling gel,,its for mature skin and not for every one...
Don't use actives...
Don't see stupid Internet products... They ar just trending...
Make youre skin care Basic,, it will help closed comedones, and fungal acne and White heads...
For skin barrier,,, i will highly recommend to use axisy skin barrier ampoule....
And fungal acne,,,use iunik tea tree relief serum.... Its help also breakout and others acne...and see youre shampoo...it cause acne in forehead
Love youre skin
Stop believing internet.. They ar Edited...
And Don't use too many products at a tim..atlst use any New product after evry 1 month's gape...
Wash youre face morning and night.. I'm almost youre age and hve same skin problem.. I just shared you mine one..its help me soo much... I almost use 1 lakh ( in Bangladeshi money) to try trending skincare product... Bt,they ar not Worth the hype.. Always chose not trending brands,bt famous brand affordable and last ages products...nd ignore my English.. Bc It's not my First language.. See you... Hope It's help.. And give me Update ....

Ranita

last month

Hiya! Sounds like you and I have similar skin conditions (blackheads, sebaceous filaments, large pores, looking dull and old) and weather conditions! I've been working hard to get rid of my acne scarring and my skin is much better today than it was two years ago. My pores are much smaller, I have methods to deal with my sebaceous filaments on my nose and cheeks, and my skin looks hydrated and even. Hopefully this'll help you!

Your face wash from Himalaya has parfum in it which could be irritating your skin or giving you clogged pores. Parfum could be literally anything and brands don't have to specify. A good neutral face wash is Vanicream gentle cleanser.

Your Cerave moisturizer has comedogenic ingredients in it that clog your pores! Comedogenic = pore clogging. You can find the list of comedogenic ingredients when you go to a product on this website under "can it cause trouble?" I'd switch to something non comedogenic like aveeno calm and restore oat gel moisturizer or vanicream daily facial moisturizer.

Your sunscreen has two comedogenic ingredients in it. A good non comedogenic sunscreen is La roche posay anthelios gentle lotion SPF 50.

The Hada Labo peel seems like it has zero AHA and zero BHA and a lot of PHA. PHA is good for exfoliating still but I don't understand why the label only says AHA and BHA but has no glycolic acid or mandelic acid (both AHA) or salicylic acid (BHA)... For the dark spots and scarring you're experiencing I'd recommend an exfoliant with glycolic and mandelic acids. Maybe try the one from Paula's choice 25% AHA + 2% BHA exfoliant peel. As it is stronger than what you're using, try using it only once-twice a week.

I really like the SKIN1004 poremizing ampoule. I think it has the potential to help you because it has nothing comedogenic in it and calming ingredients like aloe and centella and peptides. It does have HA (hyaluronic acid/sodium hyaluronate/hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid) in it though so be sure to use an occlusive moisturizer (like the vanicream daily facial moisturizer) after to keep the HA from pulling the moisture out of your face!

I'm less sure about the SKIN1004 poremizing gel cream. It has a comedogenic ingredient in it that I don't recognize so I don't know if it'll clog your pores or not. In general I find it to be a confusing formulation with drying ingredients like HA and kaolin in it and moisturizing ingredients like panthenol allantonin, and niacinamide. The HA and kaolin in it have low concentrations though so maybe it would be okay?

I really don't love the some by mi retinol serum. It has myristic acid (which is comedogenic) and parfum in it. Otherwise there are high concentrations of retinoids that may or may not be okay depending on if your skin can handle it. There are other retinol serums that are non comedogenic and start you off slow on your retinol journey. I'd just start with Differin as it's really good for acne and scarring.

Here's what I have found really helps me:

Washing my face with ONLY cold water and patting dry. For me, my pores are always open enough that whatever I use to wash my face gets in there anyway. Hot water only enlarges them.

For my sebaceous filaments (blackheads on my nose and cheeks) I use the Fully green tea cleanser as a mask for ten minutes only on where the blackheads are and only once a week. The Kaolin in it strips my skin of it's natural oils the night I use it so I apply as much moisture as possible after. It cleans my pores really well and I only have to use a small amount so one bottle goes a long way.

I currently have a prescription for tretinoin which I think everyone should work up to if their skin can tolerate it. I started my retinol journey with Differin and it really helped with any acne, scarring, and shrunk my pores.

I used paula's choice azelaic acid booster as a spot treatment on my darker scars and dark circles under my eyes. It did help fade my spots but unfortunately it's comedogenic so I occasionally broke out from it. I have since switched to the Cos De Baha azelaic serum but I have yet to see how effective it is (only been using it for about a week)

I use the Bliss liquid exfoliant for maybe 4 years now and really like it. Once-twice a week depending on if I need it. That or I also use La roche posay glycolic B5 serum.

Lastly, my holy grail product that is $44 a bottle...Vichy Liftactiv B3 5% Niacinamide & Aha Complex Dark Spots & Pigmentation Serum. I've been using this almost everyday (excluding days I exfoliate) for the past two years along with whichever retinoid product I'm currently using. It has tranexamic acid, 5% niacinamide and glycolic acid. I just love it and I believe the consistency of using it really helped fade my dark spots. I am testing out a much cheaper dupe in the coming weeks to see if I like it better for the price. Naturium - Tranexamic Topical Acid 5%. We'll see how it performs!

Anyway keep us updated and good luck!