Skincare Snapshot, November 2019

Skincare snapshot time. These are the skincare products that I’ve been using, more or less, for the past month. Ready for the quick run-down?

AM 🌞

Wash face with water only.

ALLNA Organic Natural Lotion

NIOD Survival 0

ALLNA ORGANIC Natural Milk

ANESSA Perfect BB Base Beauty Booster SPF50+ PA++++

PM 🌛

Banila Co. Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm Original

SEKKISEI White Powder Wash

ALLNA Organic Natural Lotion

Retin-A 0.025% Gel (every other night): The benchmark/gold standard treatment for photoageing, non-inflammatory acne (e.g. clogged pores, blackheads), and discolouration.

NIOD Survival 0

The Ordinary Pycnogenol 5% + The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% + The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 30% in Silicone (on nights I’m not using Retin-A): I  mix all 3 together in my palm before applying. I talked about the first two products in my previous ‘Top 5’ blog post on the Deciem sale.

ALLNA ORGANIC Natural Milk

16 Comments

  1. Guest

    Hey Ratzilla, I noticed that it’s been about a year since you started using Retin-A. Are you still using it, and have you noticed any positive effects so far?
    Also, are you still using Azclear? I would be interested to know if it had any positive impact on your skin, and if you recommend azelaic acid products.

    1. G. Haruka

      No, I finished the 2 tubes of Azclear I had and that was it. I didn’t continue using azelaic acid because I didn’t notice it did anything truly tangible for my skin.

      I use Retin-A more for maintenance mainly because I don’t have wrinkles to smooth out or acne to treat. For me, I just notice that my skin is smoother, clearer, and more refined in general. Life cycle of the occasional pimple is dramatically shortened as well.

      1. Guest

        For Retin-A, are you still using 0.025%? Have you started using it daily, or are you still using it every other night?

        1. G. Haruka

          Yes, Retin-A 0.025% Gel (the brand name not the generic form) is what I’ve been using. Sometimes nightly, sometimes every other night depends on what else I’ve going on that particular night.

          1. Guest

            Are you planning to work your way up to using 0.1% Retin-A?

            I’ve heard that’s apparently the best for anti-aging, but I do wonder if that’s truly the case.

          2. G. Haruka

            0.025% is the strongest available for the Retin-A gel. I don’t intend on switching to a different formula or opt for a generic. Work my way up? For me, anti-ageing is just a nice bonus benefit to Retin-A. So I personally don’t see the point of using a higher concentration simply for the sake of using something stronger.

          3. Guest

            You mentioned in a previous post that you were “not using tretinoin to treat any skin issues” and were instead “banking on its long-term effects”. Which long term effects are you most interested in? Prevention of pimples/discoloration? Prevention of skin aging (since you said you use Retin-A for “maintenance”)?

            Apologies for the myriad of questions, I just really enjoy hearing your thoughts on different ingredients/products!

          4. G. Haruka

            Keep pores clean, hasten healing and help prevent scarring and hyperpigmentation (should a pimple occur), and help prevent dark spots. Wrinkles aren’t something I’d terribly concerned about right now.

            BTW, East Asian skin has a much thicker and more compact dermis (which means naturally more collagen and elastin) than Caucasians so there are fewer signs of pre-mature ageing. Dark spots are what develop first — fine lines/wrinkles typically don’t develop until a lot later in life. This is why Japan (and other East Asian countries) is all about dark-spot preventing products.

          5. Guest

            That makes sense, thank you for answering!

            I’m curious what the best course of action for anti-aging and general skin maintenance is for brown “people of color” – in other words, people who are neither white nor East Asian. (Besides sun protection, of course)

            I want to start retinoids for general maintenance, pretty much for the same reasons as you described above.

            Even though I’m not starting retinoids primarily for anti-aging, I do wonder whether someone of my background would even experience the long-term anti-aging benefits that (mostly white) retinoid users rave about.

          6. G. Haruka

            When people talk about long-term effects of tretinoin (such as Retin-A) on skin-ageing, they generally mean a reduction in the appearance of wrinkles. (Since it builds up and thickens the dermis, the deeper layer on the skin where collagen and elastin are). Most, if not all, of the studies on using retinoids for skin-ageing were done on Caucasian skin (which has the earlier onset and greatest skin wrinkling than other skins). I personally doubt the same long-term visible benefits will manifest on other ethnicities.

            I think the best course of action regardless of ethnicity is sun avoidance. Retinoids treat photo-ageing. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, is quite damaging to skin since it causes inflammation and breaks down collagen and elastin.

          7. Guest

            Thank you for your straightforward and concise answer.

            I’ve noticed that beauty enthusiasts online are strangely hesitant to acknowledge the differences in ethnic skin-aging (and the general trend that non-white people age better than their white counterparts). This makes it difficult for me to discern which treatments are genuinely useful for me as a brown “person of color”. I appreciate that you always share your honest opinions, even though I’m sure you must catch flack for them at times!

            I suppose the best anti-aging protocol for someone of my background (besides sun avoidance/protection) is reducing stress, eating well, exercising, etc. (Of course, all those things should be done for general health reasons, not just anti-aging!)

          8. G. Haruka

            I think that’s because the majority of the beauty enthusiasts online don’t realise that the effects of skin-ageing vary depending on ethnicity (and gender). There is plenty of truth behind the cliché about ethnicity and ageing like “black don’t crack” and “Asians don’t raisin” but political correctness and cancel culture make speaking candidly about certain topics difficult without somebody getting offended.

            White people often say Asians look younger than their age but that’s an unconscious bias based on wrinkles/fine lines. Asians can judge other Asians’ ages. In Japan, we say westerners look much older than their age.

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