I would like to know what your routine is in general, but I'm also specifically curious about what products you use, if you use them, and what the rationale is behind each product.
My routine:
Morning
- Rinse face with warm water.
- Scrub face and neck with warm, wet washcloth.
- Apply facial moisturizer with SPF (I use CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30) to face, neck, and hands.
Evening
- Shower.
- While in shower, scrub entire body with an exfoliating mitt (ie this one).
- Apply a retinol (I use Retin-A (tretinoin 0.05%)) to face, neck, and hands.
- Apply facial moisturizer (I use CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion) to face, neck, and hands
- Apply body lotion (I use CeraVe Moisturizing Cream) to whole body, excluding hands, and face.
I have used, and considered continuing using a BHA (also AHA?) liquid exfoliant (I have read that it shouldn't be used at the same time as retinol due to PH requirements, ie use it in the morning and retinol in the evening) (I previously used Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, but I no longer because I have lost trust in Paula's Choice overall due to their borderline false advertising regarding their retinol product [1]), but I am unsure of what a good product would be, and the rationale behind it. I have also heard about Vitamin E, though I've never used it.
References
- "[Research] Study: The Ordinary and Paula's Choice retinols are unstable". toa20. r/SkincareAddiction. Reddit. Published: 2023-01-26T17:49:01.223Z. Accessed: 2024-10-29T05:16Z. https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/10lxshy/research_study_the_ordinary_and_paulas_choice/.
You have answered your own epiplexis.
You missed the word "some". The human body had millions of years to evolve to a point where companies seem to think they can replace essential functions of it? Where is the logic in that? Some people (I'll make sure to emphasize it) have skin issues yes, because nature isn't perfect. They might need some product to help out. But by far the majority will be just fine without them.
No, I didn't.
That's partially the purpose of modern medicine [1].
References
Nah, we didn't evolve to live to 90, and people are maintaining so much better now. I think some intervention is appropriate. Everyone agrees you should brush your teeth, right? Not just rinse your mouth with water. The body is self maintaining only to a certain point and I can tell (from the way my mom and her mom, and my dad's parents and brothers) that the stuff I am doing is helping.
I do agree it's not ideal to exfoliate mechanically every day though, or to put cleanser all over you every day.
This is conjecture.