Skincare advice for mid 20s

[pouraglasshalffull]

Hi!

I am after a relatively cheap skincare routine overhaul.
I am reaching my mid twenties and I have combination skin. My forehead and nose gets very, very oily and the rest of my skin is "normal". It looks very dull though

I have quite a few freckles so my skin will never be crystal clear but I just want to inject a glow and trying to cling and prolong my youthfulness

I have been looking at The Ordinary but so confused what to get! Any other recommendations including an SPF would be great please!! And any info on a specific order of a skincare routine

Thankyou in advance

Nothing wrong with freckles.

Look up Caroline hirons cleansing cheat sheet. Brilliant advice.

At your age I’d start wearing sunblock, all over your face, eye area, neck and chest. It stops 80% of skin aging according to dermatologists.

I’ve got combo skin so I use grape seed oil to remove sunblock/make up/foaming cleanser to clean the skin.

Then you’ll need an antioxidant serum to protect the skin from environmental damage like pollution (read up on what the ordinary and garden of wisdom offer then try the one that appeals most) & the ordinary caffeine solution around the eyes to keep the eye area tight.

Cleanse tone moisturize with oil free products. Also suggest you use a clay mask on your nose once a week to manage the oil. It’s possible it’s not freckles but small blackheads.

I’m early 20s with dry/sensitive skin (slightly oily t zone too so similar to you) but I use a combination of Kiehl’s and The Ordinary along with a few others, which has transformed my skin into a normal type.

If you’re on a budget, as a cleanser I would recommend Lush Ultrabland. It’s designed not to irritate skin AT ALL, beeswax based. This will help to balance your skin - it might be dehydrated or overly cleansed, hence the simultaneous dull and oily areas so a gentle cleanser will soothe your skin. Also removes all makeup inc waterproof.

After that, you can layer TO serums to suit your needs, such as: Hylauronic Acid or Buffet (hydration and glow), the Vit C serums (brighter skin over time), glycolic acid (evens and tones skin), lactic acid (occasional use for gentle exfoliation). Obviously you don’t need these exact products- it’s just some of the products that I own as ideas but you should tailor your routine to you. You layer these light/water based first then heavy/oily products last. (I also use various Kiehl’s products but won’t mention as not cheap)

For moisturiser I also use a Kiehl’s product, but you can try TO’s (natural moisturing factors)

For SPF, I use Kiehl’s as it’s genuinely the best once that I have tried as it doesn’t ruin my skincare underneath or my makeup over by ‘pilling’. I haven’t found a drugstore one that I like, including various LRP products

With oily skin, sometimes your face produces extra oil to overcompensate for dry skin/excessive product usage to best to start off gently.

Avoid harsh exfoliators for now - NOTHING that’s foamy or has exfoliating balls. This will strip your skin and it sounds like you need TLC! Also try some face masks, I like the garnier sheet masks as an affordable buy!