Budget Friendly Acne Routine.

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and having a good day. This post is meant for all my fellow acne prone skin people who want to start a routine but are on a budget and don't know where to begin with. I hope you readers find this post helpful and do comment down below or dm me your thoughts and ideas or suggestions. 

Disclaimer: This post is meant for educational and review purposes only and I am not a dermatologist or skincare expert. These are products which have worked well for me and I do not recommend any prescription product here. If you have any skin issues please go visit a dermatologist and get the help your skin needs :) 

    For me, my routine can be divided into two parts. First comes a base where it comprises of three essential products- a basic gentle cleanser, a basic moisturizer and a good sunscreen. The next group consists of serums which includes hydrating ingredients, exfoliators, anti-acne ingredients, anti-oxidants, retinols, etc. The first part is the most important aspect and it cannot be skipped and you cannot remove a product from it as it forms the base for your routine and also protect your skin and preserve your moisture barrier. Whereas, the second part can always be excluded fully or you can just select those serums which you feel will suit your skin better. In this post, I will try to minimize the routine and keep it simple while adding products which are simple, affordable and which promise great results.

1. The Base:

    When we talk about a good skincare routine, you need to have a base routine which will be there for you when your skin is irritated or you went a little overboard with your exfoliator and now you have a compromised skin barrier. I prefer to keep my base routine free of exfoliators and retinols as I like to have a simple routine but also a single facewash, moisturizer and sunscreen which I use everyday and not different products on each day. I also find that having exfoliators in facewashes take a long time to work as you might use this facewash for maximum 60 seconds and it is a wash-off product. It is totally upto you to use a BHA based cleanser, but I personally prefer to use a cleanser without exfoliators. You can read my posts on Facewash, Moisturizers and Sunscreen to see how to select products which you think will suit you better. 

Facewash: 

1. Simple Facewash: My current favorite cleanser, which is so mild and removes basic sunscreen without being harsh on your skin or stripping your skin of its natural oils. They do have three variants which you can check out. I am not sure of their purifying range but I do know that this cleanser is meant for oily to normal skin type and this is meant for normal to dry skin type. This cleanser is affordable, lasts long and you can always find it on discount on nykaa. 

2. Re'equil Oil Control Facewash: This facewash is also one of my favorite cleansers and it comes in a big bottle which also lasts for a long time. It is very gentle and it has ingredients like zinc which is very good for oily acne prone skin. 

3. Cetaphil Cleansers: You get a variety of cleansers from Cetaphil and it is a very well loved brand which many swear by. I have spoken about the gentle cleanser in my facewash post which you should check out if you want more recommendations.

4. Deconstruct: They recently came out with three new cleansers out of which their Brightening and Hydrating cleansers caught my eye. The brightening cleanser contains ingredients which help with pigmentation which is great for anyone who is on a budget trying to keep it minimum but get good results and their hydrating facewash has amino acids and HA, which is amazing for dry skin types and anyone looking for a gentle cleanser. 

5. Cleanse Me Gentle Facewash: From the reviews I have read, this cleanser is very similar to the Cetaphil Gentle Facewash and is a great facewash for people with dry skin.

(You can also get the Himalaya Facewash if you do not mind them not disclosing their full ingredients. As someone who has used this cleanser, it is decent for the price because it is a wash off product BUT I would rather look for other cleansers than this.)

2. Moisturizer:

Another important step in a skin care routine is a moisturizer. You can read about the basics of moisturizer and how to select one from this post. I, personally again prefer a no exfoliator and no retinol moisturizer because I use only one moisturizer and do not like to change it everyday. For Oily Skin a gel based moisturizer suits the best and for dry skin a cream based moisturizer works well. Here, are some of the moisturizers which I love or have grabbed my attention.

1. Ponds Gel Moisturizer: This moisturizer is my current go-to moisturizer and it suits my oily skin very well. It is very light weight and feels almost like a watery cloud and it sinks right into my skin. It has fragrance, so if you are someone with sensitive skin you might want to skip this. But if you are like me who does not mind fragrance, then this moisturizer is super budget friendly and works very well. 

2. Minimalist Oats Moisturizer: This product will suit those with normal to dry skin type and it is a beautiful cream based moisturizer. I did use it during winters last year and it soothes your skin very well. 

3. Minimalist Moisturizers: I have been waiting for my ponds moisturizer to get over so I can get my hands on this! This range has two moisturizers, one for dry skin and one for oily skin. It looks like a good calming moisturizer and at a very reasonable price. 

4. De-construct moisturizers: Again a launch which made me very happy because these moisturizers come packed with GOOD ingredients and those who are looking to simplify their routine these are for you. Like the facewash, the brightening moisturizer comes with good ingredients like niacinamide, kojic acid, vitamin c, etc. which are great for those who are looking to target pigmentation and hydrating facewash which is good for hydration and broken skin barrier. 

3. Sunscreen:

1. Minimalist Sunscreen: They have two sunscreens- spf 50 and spf 60. The spf 50 is very affordable and it suits all skin type and spf 60 is a bit more creamy. I enjoy both these sunscreens and this is my current to go sunscreens.

2. Re'equil Sunscreen: I absolutely love the Re'equil Oxybenzone and OMC free sunscreen. It works very well and suits all skin types. 

Now that we are done with the base routine, let us move on to step 2 that is serums.

Serums: In my opinion, if you are on a budget then getting a hybrid serum is your best choice. While individual ingredients work wonders too but if you want a minimal routine or you are on a budget then getting a two in one serum is your best choice. 

For this I would prefer to get the Deconstruct Salicylic Acid Serum  as this has both 2% BHA and 3% Niacinamide which will do wonders for you and you wouldn't need to get individual serums. 

Most times for acne, a salicylic acid serum is enough and people incorporate Niacinamide to control the excess oil and sebum production but with products like this you get both the goodness without having to invest separately. 

So, if I had to make a budget friendly, yet effective routine I would select these products:

1. Cleanser- I would prefer the Deconstruct Brightening Facewash as this would help with pigmentation.

2. Serum: The Deconstruct BHA Serum which I would use twice a week. For more on exfoliation, read this. 

3. Moisturizer: Depending on your skintype, you can go for any moisturizer, but I would prefer for oily skin- the minimalist moisturizer for oily skin and for dry skin the deconstruct brightening moisturizer as it has niacinamide and kojic acid which will help with pigmentation. 

4. Sunscreen- You already know my current favorite which is the Minimalist spf 50 which is so affordable and leaves no white cast. 

    I hope this post was helpful <3 I know skincare is scary and as someone who did not have anyone to guide me through this and tried a bunch of product which ruined my skin more to now finally having a very simple yet effective skincare I hope you are able to find the same :) 

Let me know if you guys liked this post and send me your suggestions and anything you would want me to write about.