I’ve made some changes to my routine since I wrote my first routine post back in May, and I feel like my skin has been much better for it. Certainly I’ve tried some new products, which I will be reviewing in the coming days, but I have landed on something so simple and so bland that I never would have imagined it would work for me.

If you are curious about the plethora of ingredients I cannot use, want to know some back-story on my skin, or read mini-reviews (plus ingredients!) of each product, please check out my first routine post.

Products

My routine has largely remained the same, but I’ve jostled products around, removed many, and added jojoba oil (Trader Joe’s brand, which was the cheapest I could find).

Product List

• HadaLabo Goku-jyun Premium
  • Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, PPG-10 methyl glucose ether, hydroxyethyl urea, sodium acetylated hyaluronate (super hyaluronic acid), sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid (nano hyaluronic acid), hydroxypropyltrimonium hyaluronate (skin absorbent type hyaluronic acid), sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer (3D hyaluronic acid), aphanothece sacrum polysaccharide (sacrum), hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, glycosyl trehalose, diglycerin, sorbitol, pentylene glycol, triethyl citrate, carbomer, polyquaternium-51, PEG-32, PEG-75, ammonium acrylates crosspolymer, disodium EDTA, potassium hydroxide, diethoxyethyl succinate, disodium succinate, succinic acid, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben. 
• Trader Joe’s Jojoba Oil
• Trilogy Rosehip Oil
• Clinique Take the Day Off Balm
  • Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, PEG-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Water / Aqua / Eau, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol.
• CoTZ Sensitive SPF 40 Broad Spectrum UVA-UVB
  • Active: Zinc Oxide 20% (Sunscreen). Inactive: C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, Methicone, Microcrystalline Wax, PEG-10 Dimethicone, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Chloride, Stearyl Dimethicone, Tetrahexadecyl Ascorbate, Triethanolamine, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Water.
• Finacea 15% Gel
• Tretinoin .025% Gel

Cleanser

Since writing my last post, I’ve finished a tub of Clinique Take the Day Off Balm and re-purchased. It is my stand-by, my forever cleanser.

Since my skin is dry, I’ve begun only cleansing PM with this cleanser and one of the microfiber towels resting atop the HadaLabo that is pictured above. I wipe away most of the excess cleanser with the towel, but very lightly. This exfoliates my skin lightly, and doesn’t irritate me.

Moisturizer

Swapping out my Cheryl Lee MD Lotion for a simpler routine, I add 3-5 drops of Hada Labo Premium to my palm, along with 3-5 drops of jojoba oil and 2-3 drops of the Trilogy Rosehip Oil (which I am almost out of). I massage my hands together, which creates this lovely, slippery emulsion, and spread it across my face, down my neck, and across my chest. It’s lovely, hydrating, and doesn’t leave me as dry in the AM as when I was using traditional moisturizer or when I use do steps separately (example: applying the Hada Labo, then the oil).

I feel like the real game-changer for me in this was the addition of jojoba oil. I actually wasn’t sure if jojoba oil was going to work for me, but I picked up a bottle of it on one of my last Trader Joe’s visits and began slathering it on unapologetically. To my surprise and delight, my skin took to it immediately, looking less red and feeling softer, plumper, and less flaky.

I definitely owe a whole post to jojoba in the future. I’m a convert.

Sunscreen

Still the same ol’ same ol’ (CoTZ Sensitive SPF 40 Broad Spectrum UVA-UVB). I think I’m about halfway through this tube, and it is still one of my favorite sunscreens around, instantly soothing my skin.

It can settle into my fine lines, such as around my nose and the 11s on my forehead, but this isn’t a huge deterrent for me. It just means I need to make sure to make sure to wipe it away at night with a cleanser (especially since I’ve missed the creases of my nostrils before, which has created a build-up of dead skin and sebum).

Treatments

I am still using Finacea (15% Gel), possibly until the day I die, and have added tretinoin .025% gel every third or fourth day. I only apply it to my forehead and chin (my cheeks and rosacean areas are simply far too sensitive) so it is way too early to tell what benefit this has had on my skin, but this is absolutely the most I’ve ever been able to use it successfully, without breakouts or even excessive peeling.

What My Routine Looks Like

My routine is still heavily based around what my skin looks like or feels like. Since I started to include tretinoin back into my routine, I notice slightly more peeling, for instance, so I try to keep that in check.

AM

• Mix HadaLabo Premium with Jojoba Oil and massage into face, down neck, and onto chest.
• Apply sunscreen
• Apply eye makeup
• Follow with powder, face makeup, and then more powder to set.

PM

• Work in Clinique Take the Day off Balm
• Lightly wipe away with a makeup removing microfiber towel and rinse with cool water until water runs clear off of my face.
• Mix HadaLabo Premium with Jojoba Oil and massage into face, down neck, and onto chest
• Apply Finacea to flushed spots.
• Apply tretinoin .025% to neck and chin area every third or fourth day.