I have always been fortunate to have fairly clear skin my entire life. I got a few pimples here and there but never too noticeable. It wasn’t until this year around March when I started noticing bad break outs along my cheek bones and chin. While I know maskne is a thing, I knew there was some under lying issues. After some research (and a few phone calls crying to my mom), I concluded I was developing hormonal acne.
I started to feel very insecure about my skin and was searching for a solution. I tried daily hormone balancing pills, cut certain foods out of my diet and consistently washed my face and did weekly face masks. Nothing seemed to work until I found Hyram’s YouTube channel.
Hyram is not a dermatologist but rather a skin care specialist. He researches products and ingredients which have benefits for your skin. Hyram is extremely knowledgeable about the scientific part of ingredients and it is so helpful when trying to create your own routine. I absolutely love that he suggests products that are affordable and easily accessible.
Within a month or two, I started noticing such a big difference in my acne when I started switching my products and understanding what to look for. So, here are some products and ingredients that are Hyram approved and worked for me!
Salicylic acid
This is such a powerful ingredient! It is a beta hydroxy acid, also know as BHA. If you’re like me and have no idea what that means, it basically is an exfoliant which aids in shedding dead skin cells and reduces redness / inflammation. It is known to decrease the number of pimples formed and speeds up healing. CeraVe has a great cleanser which contains salicylic acid which Hyram recommends.
Niacinamide
This ingredient is a form of vitamin B-3. It works perfectly and more beneficial when used with salicylic acid. It reduces pigmentation/ acne scarring over time while reducing the production of facial sebum. It also reduces redness and pimple inflammation. Hyram suggests The Ordinary niacinamide.
Next, you have to lock in those great ingredients with some moisture. Living in Hawaii, it’s pretty hot and humid so I tend to look for a lightweight facial moisturizer. I have been loving the one by CeraVe which is also great for my eczema.
If there is one thing, I’ve taken away from watching Hyrams channel, it is to ALWAYS use sunscreen every single day. It doesn’t matter if you stay inside all day, sun still comes through the windows and can be very damaging for your skin. I always try to go for a mineral sunscreen to get the most benefits- Krave beauty makes a great no cast sunscreen!
Another incredible product that I swear by is The Ordinary’s peeling solution. I always used to do physical exfoliation, but I realized it was more damaging to the surface of my skin. I upgraded to doing weekly chemical exfoliation to really rejuvenate my skin. It does burn just a little bit but nothing too unbearable! I seriously started seeing results after a couple of uses.
One more tip I’m going to leave you with is to constantly wash your mask!! It seems like washing it daily is obviously the best option but sometimes that’s not the case. I always use this alcohol-based spray after I take off my mask to disinfect it.