New skin care regimen

[kid1225]

I have been using Proactive for 14 years now. I had acne when i was younger and It was a life saver. I'm now 26 and think it might be time for a switch. I have pretty normal skin and want something that will brighten my skin tone. I'm also wondering if anyone can recommend a  good moisturizee? I'm using Dermalogica right now and its just not doing it for me. Any advise will be much appreciated! Thanks

 

[Andi]

What do you mean by "brighten" your skintone? Do you have an uneven skintone with some redness, or do you have freckles/sunspots or dark marks left from past breakouts? The first thing I´d recommend is a gentle chemical exfoliant you can use nightly or every other night. For your normal skintype glycolic acid would be great, and over time it will even out your skintone while getting rid of dead skin cells that can make skin appear dull. For freckles/sunspots, an over the counter product with 2% hydroquinone is a good start.

In terms of your nighttime moisturizer, I´d look for one that contains retinol and/or antioxidants. I´m 26 as well, and I think mid 20s is a good time to start an anti-aging regimen (even though those ingredients can benefit your skin at any age!). For daytime, your moisturizer has to have a decent SPF with good UVA protection of course.

 

[glitterprince]

Institut Esthederm makes a Lightening Cleansing Foam that is FABULOUS! It really doesn't "lighten" your skin but it does "brighten" things up and people will ASK you what you're doing. It's not a really frothy sudsy foam-- instead it's TONS of tiny bubbles. Plus it's WAY more gentle than Proactiv. You want to get your skin slightly damp and then use about 1 or 1.5 pumps of cleanser over your whole face- then leave it for a moment. Rinse off with tepid (not hot) water. WOW! I have more of a combination skin type, so I use this product mostly in the warmer months-- for right now I'm using a cleansing milk. But that's just me-- if you like Proactiv you can probably tolerate a foaming cleanser 365 days a year.

Good Luck!