The most fundamentally skin-damaging mindset is not trusting your skin enough. Remember, your skin is smart. It knows how to restore and repair itself! Mistake #1: Aggressive Cleansing Habits Aggressive cleansing habits include cleansing your skin too often, for too long, and using harsher cleansers. What do these habits have in common? They can all damage your skin barrier. Mistake #2: Physically Abusing the Skin Even though it might feel instantly gratifying, overusing cotton pads, makeup wipes, and cleansing cloths can really hurt your skin. If you have to use cotton pads, be as gentle as possible. Also, if you can, skip towel drying! Mistake #3: Leaving Cleansing Water on the Skin Remember to gently rinse cleansing water off your face after you use it! Even though cleansing water contains milder detergents than a typical foam cleanser, it’s still a surfactant that will dissolve the natural oils and lipids in your skin that you want to protect. Mistake #4: Treating All Areas of the Skin Equally Understand the different areas of your skin, and tailor your skincare according to what your skin needs. For example, only apply clay masks and drying ingredients where you’re oily—no need to use it all over your face! Mistake #5: Using a Full Range of Active Ingredients A lot of people with acne believe that every single product in their routine should be geared toward acne-prone skin. Use active treatments here and there only when you really need it. From your teens through your early 30s, hydration and moisturization is most important! Mistake #6: Not Moisturizing Oily Skin Though it may seem counterintuitive, hydrating and nourishing oily skin actually brings it back into balance. If you’re scared of moisturizing your oily skin, a great place to start is a lightweight, refreshing gel moisturizer! Mistake #7: Using Way Too Much Acne Medication It’s true that acne medication such as salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide can work and deliver results overnight. However, rather than using these products every single day, try giving your skin a little bit more time to repair and recover on its own. Mistake #8: Using Way Too Many Products Than What Your Skin Needs Identify what your skin craves. Your routine doesn’t have to be minimal, but do make sure that each skincare product serves a specific purpose and function. More is not necessarily better! Mistake #9: Starting Anti-Aging Skincare Way Too Early Starting anti-aging skincare too early can unnecessarily stress out skin. The best way for people in their teens and twenties to maintain their youth, bounce, and glow? Make sure your skin is hydrated and use sunscreen every day! Mistake #10: Using a Cotton Pillowcase Switch your pillowcase to silk! Silk pillowcases are more hygienic and regulate temperature better. It’s great for your skin, hair, and overall health.

It’s hard to figure out just exactly what is going on with your skin. Those small raised bumps - could it be fungal acne or whiteheads? What is that and what really is the difference? Let’s see if we can help figure this out with you. If you’re unsure about how to spot the difference between whiteheads, milia and fungal acne, then read on to see how you can self diagnose and treat your skin properly! *Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that the most accurate way to diagnose your condition is for your physician or doctor to look at your skin under a microscope. We are not doctors and encourage you to do your own research according to your skin & health concern. Also we are including images, so anyone with severe trypophobia, click away.* Whiteheads What’s the Deal? Whiteheads are a closed comedone aka. a closed pore that has sebum trapped under a thin layer of skin. When the oil mingles with dead skin and the pore is not open, this can cause a small white bump (aka those pesky whiteheads!) on your skin. You can identify whiteheads because they are ‘poppable’, which means they are extractable (yay!) TLDR: it’s essentially clogged pores under skin! But Why? The most common reason why you might experience whiteheads is due to excessive sebum production. This happens when dead skin cells build on top of the pores and blocks the oil from being released resulting in whiteheads. Another cause for whiteheads might be that your skin is too dry or that you are using a product that is heavier or greasier than what your skin needs. So, What Should I Do? When experiencing whiteheads, you can improve skin texture by incorporating chemical exfoliators like AHA’s (glyolic acid, lactic acid and mandelic acid) and BHA’s (salicylic acid). These chemical exfoliators act as a personal trainer to your skin and gives it that extra push to shed that gunk! If the whiteheads are caused by dehydration, you should deeply hydrate the skin with something light, like an aloe mask! Milia What’s the Deal? Milia is when skin protein is trapped under your skin. It isn’t related to your pores or sebum, but is actually a keratin overgrowth issue! This might sound scary, but this condition is actually not harmful to your skin. It often happens around the most delicate parts of your skin such as the eye area. It’s usually pretty easy to spot because it has a pearly, white sphere appearance. But Why? Milia occurs when your skin turnover slows down! It can be caused by using heavy and greasy products, like an eye cream that’s too thick for you, which allows the keratin to keep growing and appear as white humps if there is not enough skin turnover. Milia can also be associated with your genetics or sun induced damage. So, What Should I do? Milia can be cleared up by itself overtime, so you could let your skin turnover on it’s own. However you can always give your skin a helping hand by using glycolic acid or retinol products to speed up the turnover rate! Dab a cotton swab with the product to apply around the area. If you are looking to extract your milia we definitely recommend you to visit an esthetician or dermatologist as they might even laser it off. Do not try to pop these guys on your own! Fungal Acne What’s the Deal? Malassezia folliculitis and pityrosporum folliculitis, otherwise known as fungal acne, is basically a yeast overgrowth or infection. Imagine that your yeast became a super mario after eating the ‘mushroom’, this ‘mushroom’ is a food source for your yeast to grow and thrive. Fungal acne can be pretty tricky to self diagnose, but it is usually associated with itchiness! These bumps are often seen in a cluster and are typically uniform in size. But Why? The yeast that causes fungal acne often grows in a warm, humid climate. Because this yeast enjoys an occlusive environment, fungal acne can be exacerbated by sweat and sebum. Over moisturizing along with a humid climate can create a warm and cozy home, which allows the yeast to thrive and grow even more! Some specific skincare ingredients and oils, like avocado and olive can aggravate the symptoms. So, What Should I do? Fungal acne does not work well with antibiotics and in order to treat it properly you should remove all the problematic ingredients in your skincare products. Treating fungal acne can be pretty tricky so feel free to check out this video for fungal acne safe skincare products! You can also use Nizoral, Azelaic Acid or a sulfur product to help as well. Although all of these skin conditions might look similar at first glance, we hope this guide helps you identify what you might be experiencing and how to treat it :) If you have any further questions, please feel free to leave it down below or reach out to us via email or on socials!

  Hey! I’m Ellie and I’m a recent college grad who loves all things beauty, especially skincare. I’m excited to share a bit about myself and my #PressReset journey, since selfcare is so important to me! I’m a long-time viewer of Liah’s channel and I’m so excited to be a part of this series! Full Name: Ellie McDearmanOccupation: College Student and Freelance PhotographerLocation: Columbia, SC but soon New York, NYAge: 22Skin Concern: Oily/Combo, Acne-ProneLife Motto: Hard work = successFun Fact: I’m allergic to a ton of foods – don’t even try to take me out to dinner My Skin Journey Since I was around 14 years old I’ve struggled with lots of different skin concerns, but mainly acne. I used to be super self-conscious about it and would coat my face in foundation, never letting my skin and breathe. And I used harsh scrubs and products targeting my acne from the drugstore. I really had no knowledge of what my skin actually needed. I would see a product with the word ‘acne’ in it and would use it right away. This ultimately ruined my skin barrier and caused my rosacea to be even angrier and resulted in even more acne. Flash forward to high school, around sophomore year I discovered the world of skincare Youtubers. I started to watch Gothamista and Liah Yoo (the amazing founder of KraveBeauty). They both had SO many videos on how to properly treat acne in a gentle way; and soon because of Renee and Liah I started learning more about skincare and how to actually treat my skin properly. I started researching on my own and learned about all the different ingredients and how they could help out my skin. From that moment on, I started making some changes, such as, using more gentle products, truly taking care of my skin barrier, using a low pH cleanser and switching from physical exfoliants to chemical ones. I even incorporated oils like Rosehip Seed Oil that Liah recommended for oily and acne-prone skin - it ended up working wonders for me! It’s incredible what happens when you truly learn what is best for your skin! In the past you would never, EVER catch me ever skipping a step in my skincare routine, but now I mix it up to use what I need and I’ve never looked back since! Products I Can’t Live Without I definitely can’t live without these products... Oils: As for oils, I specifically love the Indie Lee Squalane Oil and Leo Oil from @leowithcancer on Instagram.   Serum: I love the KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief because the tamanu oil heals my skin (I’m going to be needing a new bottle soon, that’s how much I love it).Chemical Exfoliator: Other than the serum, I also LOVE the KraveBeauty Kale-Lalu-yAHA since glycolic acid seriously works wonders for my skin! This has the perfect percentage of AHA and doesn’t over-exfoliate the skin yet still helps to even out skin texture.Vitamin C: I’ve been enjoying the Youth to the People Dream MaskCeramide Products: The Cosrx Ceramide Cream is amazing! Current Skincare Product My skincare routine definitely changes a lot! I do a weekly #routinerotation where I try to switch out some of my products each week so I can use up everything I have. But here are some stand out products I use in my AM and PM routine! AM: Cleanse with water The Ordinary Caffeine Solution The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum Saturday Skin Wide Awake Eye Cream Saturday Skin Essence Mist FRÉ Protect Me Moisturizers SPF 30 mixed with First Aid Beauty Coconut Water Cream Pixi DetoxifEYE Undereye Patches (if I have time) PM: Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser KraveBeauty Kale-lalu-yAHA Youth to the People Eye Cream Fourth Ray Beauty Rainfall Hyaluronic Acid Serum KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief Serum First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Indie Lee Squalene Oil mixed with Leo Oil Bite Beauty Agave+ Nighttime Lip Therapy What #PressReset Means To Me I think for me #PressReset is a way of refocusing my energy. I’m a full-time student, with a photography job and I run my own beauty account. I could be stressed out, doing a million things at once and doing the bare minimum in the self-care department and just constantly going. But then I take a moment to pause, catch my breath, do some self-care, and take time for myself. That’s #PressReset to me. Once I start forgetting to do things for myself and am not making time for things that are just fun, that’s when I know it’s time to reset. In terms of beauty, it means even just adding a face mask and taking that extra 10 minutes in a day to just treat myself and not do any work in that moment. How I #PressReset Beyond Beauty I think I really need to apply this mentality more. I’m finishing up school and about to move to NYC (yay!). With so many changes happening in my life, sometimes, I forget to just take a minute and appreciate what’s happening in the moment and breathe. I’m going to try to always keep this in the back of my mind as I get busier and busier. Sometimes you need to take a vacation or a mental health day and watch mindless TV or take a nap. And it’s when I forget to do these small things and #PressReset on the noise that I see it in myself and in my skin – I’ll start to get pimples, stressed/red skin, dry skin, etc. I think #PressReset is like a mini new beginning that transcends across all aspects of your life. What I’ve Been Loving Makeup Nudestix Nudies Matte All Over Bronze Color in Sunkissed is THE perfect all over shade –blush, bronzer, eyes, lips. All of it! Music MARINA new Love + Fear Album Places I went on a study abroad trip to Denmark and Copenhagen is my favorite place on earth. It was the happiest and most at-peace I have ever been when I was there. Fitness I love Blogilates! She has the best workout videos and they’re free since they’re on YouTube! Lifestyle My Nespresso Machine is my baby. I’m basically an at-home barista now.   Want to learn more about Ellie and her skin journey? Follow her on social media: Instagram: @breakfastatellies

We all know that shopping for acne skincare products can be a little tricky! There are just so many products and treatments out there, so it can be hard to know where to start. But no worries we’ve got your back! Here’s a quick guide to help you navigate this sea of acne treatments to determine which one might work for you:   Your Dermatologist’s Favorite: Benzoyl Peroxide How Does It Work?This ingredient is crazy effective in preventing the growth of acne-causing bacteria (P. Acnes). When applying a benzoyl peroxide treatment it immediately breaks down into benzoic acid and oxygen, killing the white blood cells that cause the inflammatory response. I know what you’re thinking... how does oxygen kill bacteria? Also, aren’t white blood cells the good ones? Bacteria can thrive in an oxygen-less environment, so when your pores are clogged they can flourish. This is when your white blood cells save the day to fight this bacteria, but this causes an inflammatory response aka. acne! TL;DR the oxidizing action of benzoyl peroxide is what destroys the bacteria and is anti-inflammatory! How To Use It?There are tons of treatments that contain benzoyl peroxide with a concentration ranging from 2.5-10%. We recommend starting with a lower percentage because it could easily irritate and dry your skin. Benzoyl Peroxide is best for inflammatory acne, but just make sure you only use it on the spots you experience acne! The Secret Agent: Salicylic Acid (BHA) How Does It Work? Salicylic Acid is a pore cleaning exfoliant that is derived from Willow Bark Tree or nowadays created synthetically! BHA is oil soluble so it has the ability to get down and dirty into the pores to clean out all the gunk. It’s known to also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Salicylic Acid also acts as a keratolytic agent which allows the scaly, thickened plaques of your skin to shed more easily. Since it is a chemical exfoliator it increases cell turnover, refreshes the skin and helps kill the bacteria. How To Use It? In your conventional skincare products you’ll usually find a maximum concentration of 2%! With this low percentage, you may find it might not clear up your acne directly, but it will definitely help unclog your pores! This ingredient is most useful for those with oily and clogged skin because it can relieve inflammation and redness. Due to its low concentration Salicylic Acid is typically well tolerated, but it could potentially be drying for your skin. If you experience rosacea, allergies to aspirin or are pregnant/breastfeeding, we do not recommend you to use this. The A+ Ingredient: Retinoid   How Does It Work? Retinoids are part of the Vitamin A family, one of the most powerful active ingredients to help your skin. It comes in several forms, but tretinoin and adapalene are the most commonly used for treating acne. Retinoids help with regulating cell turnover rate, think of it as a personal trainer that helps get your skin in shape and moving! It creates a healthier environment from keeping your pores clogged and targets acne before it starts. It normalizes keratinization aka. prevents dead skin cells from sticking together and clogging pores. Vitamin A can help regulate the sebum, helping your pores stay clear! How To Use It?Adapalene can now be purchased over-the-counter in the US and tretinoin can be prescribed by your healthcare provider. Just like how you would start with lighter weights when first working out, make sure you start from the lowest percentage possible and ease your skin into it! Using retinoids is best for those with inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne, we wouldn’t recommend this for pregnant and breastfeeding mamas.   The Underrated One: Azelaic Acid   How Does It Work? This is an awesome underrated ingredient for fungal acne and rosacea skin! The exact process of how it works on the skin has not been fully studied, however some research shows it seems to have a similar effect as retinoids. Azelaic Acid helps regulate skin cell turnover and has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. It has also been shown to have skin brightening properties! How To Use It? Azelalic Acid is known to be used with a concentration of 10% and above. It’s safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mamas so it’s a great option for those that are unable to use benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid or retinoids! One of the Elements: Zinc How Does It Work? Who would’ve thought that this element you learned about in chemistry class would become so important?! Zinc is a mineral that is naturally present in our bodies.Now you’re probably thinking ‘how does this relate to acne?’There are studies that show acne patients are actually deficient in zinc! You can take zinc supplements to help with this deficiency, however over the years topical skin products with zinc has become more popular. There has been research showing that applying zinc can create a soothing effect and has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties! The most prominent feature of zinc is that it sucks up excess sebum and regulates the production of oil. How To Use It? There are several skincare products out there that now contain zinc in many forms such as zinc oxide, zinc PCA, zinc acetate. This ingredient is best used for extremely oil or inflammatory skin. The Universal Ingredient: Green Tea How Does It Work? No surprise here! Green tea is a wonderful ingredient that works for a lot of different skin concerns-specifically acne, inflammation and bacteria. One study showed using 3% Green Tea cream reduced sebum production by 70%, crazy right? Another study tested using two different topical green tea formulas with 2.5% and 5% extract respectively, both lotions showed a  30% reduction in sebum compared to a placebo! Green Tea contains Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) which is a potent source of antioxidants. You hear us talk about antioxidants all the time, but they’re so important! Acne happens because of clogged pores which is due to the oxidation of bacteria; antioxidants can prevent this process from happening. There has been some evidence showing that EGCG can suppress the growth of acne causing bacteria on the skin! Clearly, green tea is amazing for reducing oil production plus preventing and treating acne! How To Use It? You can find Green Tea extract in an array of skincare products. They are best for oily-combo skin or sensitive acne-prone skin. The Yummy One: Honey How Does It Work? Honey is also another amazing natural ingredient for preventing and treating acne. It is known for soothing and moisturizing sensitive, scarred skin and has anti-bacterial effects! Honey has a humectant property so it adds hydration to the skin while treating the acne. It is close to our skin’s natural pH level so you don’t have to worry about irritating your skin. How To Use It? You can use honey by looking for products that this tasty ingredient in skincare formulations or medicated Honey Ointments! This ingredient is great for all skin types, but especially sensitive skin. The Age Old Ingredient: Tea Tree How Does It Work? Tea Tree is a powerful anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredient that can be effective in preventing acne. Studies have shown that it’s capable of treating acne to a degree compared to traditional alternatives like benzoyl peroxide and prescription topical antibiotics. Although it may be effective, Tea Tree can cause irritation, worsen acne and the overall skin condition especially if you are sensitive to essential oils. Tea tree is very sensitive to change based on the environment and therefore is not the most reliable acne treatment. But if you know that tea tree works for you, then by all means go for it. However if you are a little hesitant we would recommend trying other ingredients.    How To Use It? You can use tea tree by looking for a product that already has it in the formula, we recommend to not use 100% tea tree oil! It’s best for those with inflammatory acne and oily skin, we would not recommend this for sensitive skin. Phew, done! Who knew there were so many ingredients out there to help with acne?! We know it’s a lot of information to take in, but we hope this has helped you learn more about acne treatments and what to look for when treating your acne.  

So you’ve been seeing the same guy or gal for awhile now and it was all rainbows and butterflies, but lately have you started to feel like you’ve lost that fiery spark? It’s called relationship plateau and it happens to the best of us. But more importantly does that happen to our skincare routine? Have you been noticing lately that your favorite beauty arsenals aren’t providing you that extra glow that they used to? Before you go switching out all your products, give this a read. What’s the sitch? The short answer: No, your skin doesn’t really ‘get used to’ your skincare products. We know that might not be the answer you were looking for, but at least now you don’t have to buy an entirely new routine. Now the real question is: why isn’t your skincare working like it used to? Here are three possible reasons why your skin is no longer showing signs of improvement: 1. The Inside and Out All kinds of factors from the seasonal changes, hormone imbalances, sebum creation, the food you’ve been eating, your lifestyle, and even climate can truly affect your skin and how it reacts to your products. Who would’ve known! 2. The Dirty Work is DONE! Most treatment products that contain active ingredients aka what we classify as  ‘supplementary skincare’, like our Kale-lalu-yAHA, do one of the following: Help your skin normalize its pattern or cycle. Replenish the nutrients that your skin is lacking so your skin can be in a happy and balanced state.  Our body is incredibly smart and a genius at regulating and maintaining itself. If you happen to be low in Vitamin C and use supplements, it will help your body get back to a healthy state. If you over-supplement on Vitamin C, most of it gets flushed away. Our body has no need to hold on to all the Vitamin C. This is just like how AHA’s can work! Their mission is to remove dead skin cells and they will push your skin to go the extra mile to do so! Think of it as someone telling you to do 10 push-ups on a regular basis when your original capacity is only 5. By keeping up this streak you of course notice a huge difference in the beginning! Supplementary items, such as Vitamin C and AHAs, are used to help boost your skin not something you should depend on. The goal is to eventually have your skin and body run on it’s own without the extra help (unless your skin and body is rapidly aging or constantly inflamed). This may be a reason why you no longer see those intense changes in your skin. 3. Something Old ≠ Something New A freshly made Vitamin C serum versus the one that’s been sitting on your shelf for 6 months really makes a big difference in terms of effectiveness. Once a product is opened, the integrity and the efficacy of the product will slowly become compromised. If a product does have active or natural ingredients it could be easily affected by air or UV exposure. Think of it as unopened almond milk! Yes it will last a while, but once opened it is best to keep it in the fridge and drink it sooner rather than later. The Only Exception While your skin won’t get used to certain products, it can definitely become accustomed to some potentially irritating ingredients, such as glycolic acid and retinol. This is why many dermatologists recommend people to start of with low doses of an exfoliant then gradually increase the potency to avoid potential irritation. Our Kale-lalu-yAHA contains 5.25% of glycolic acid for this very reason: so it is mild in concentration for beginners. Keepin’ It Spicy We advise to commit to your Core Series products (a cleanser, moisturizer and SPF) for minimizing any unnecessary skin irritation. However, always listen to your skin and create adjustments to your supplementary products based on what it craves! It’s definitely fun to switch things up every now and then to find a serum or toner that works for you (if you need it). Your skin may not be showing immediate signs of improvement like it did in the past, but the best skincare product is one that protects and maintains your skin to help it function at its best! Use skincare that works with your skin, not against it.