I didn't always have a skin that I felt confident in that's why I never sleep my skincare [Music] even if that means doing my skincare in the middle of nowhere on a field or doing it falling asleep after a night shift and this is my three-step skincare routine it's focused on keeping the skin acne free healthy and to minimize getting wrinkles with age as some of you might know I'm a fourth year medical student and I'm presenting this video as part of my doctors as teachers assessment at medical school I had acne for five years of my life but this skincare routine that I do is not how I got rid of my chronic acne for that I was on Accutane slash I search retinoline last year first day of fracture time acid reasoning capsules and if you'd find it helpful I can do a separate video about that so skincare supplements and externally helps the skin with current skincare markets there are millions of options you can go for and I've been a victim of that and spent hundreds of pounds on those but came to conclusion that minimalist simple skin care works best for me as too many products can irritate the skin that's why my skincare routine is in three simple stages cleansing moisturizing sunscreen in the morning and retinoid in the evening firstly cleansers they help remove dirt pollutants makeup that can't be removed with only water so it's for the ones that are stuck in your pores studies found that hydrating cleansers are helpful in restoring the Skin Barrier which is important in inflammatory skin conditions like acne and eczema that's why I use the CeraVe hydrating cleanser which is very gentle so even if you have oily or acne prone skin drying out the skin with harsh cleanses will only make it worse by impairing that Skin Barrier to design evolve and wash away both oil and water-based diet I double cleanse with both oil and water-based cleansers first I use this oat cleansing balm by the inkyles this gets rid of any oil-based debris on my skin like sunscreen or makeup then to remove any sweats or bacteria or dead skin cells I use this CeraVe hydrating cleanser which is a water-based product of course first I wash my hands then here is me struggling to squeeze out the last bits of the oak cleansing Bowl this is how it looks like then I gently rub it in in circular motions for a minute after I rinse the oil-based cleanser off my face then I go in with the hydrating cleanser especially focusing on where I'm prone to getting acne on my face so for me it's my jawline and cheeks again I try not to rush it and do it thoroughly for about a minute one downside of this so rehydrating cleanser is that as you can see it's not that foamy double cleansing is optional using only water-based cleanser is usually good enough to clean the skin but I love how soft and smooth my skin feels after using an oil-based cleanser as well second step is moisturizing for that I use this La Roche post per se per se Duo I've been using this for five years of my life after my dermatologist recommend it to me for my acne it helps prevent those fun people blemishes and it would even calm down my sister cackney when I used to get those I really do see a difference in my skin when I use this and the moment I stop using it I noticed some little pimples coming back one downside of this is that it's not that great at hydrating the Skin So if it's winter time or if I feel dry after using this then I use this peptide moisturizer by the inky list on top I apply the moisturizer on my eyebrows as well because I get dry and Flaky eyebrow skin there then for better absorption into my skin I slap myself on the face this gives my skin a nice plumpness and leaves me hydrated one very common mistake that is done which I was doing as well until one of the doctors I was working with corrected me is that putting moisturizer onto dry skin after washing my face I don't towel dry my face completely so I put moisturizer when my face is still damp you don't need to have literally water dripping down from your face but it should still be wet so the moisturizer locks that water in your skin if it's daytime then the third step is sunscreen you must be hearing everyone preaching about sunscreen everywhere but it is for a good reason a month ago I had my Dermatology placement at medical school and there were a lot of skin cancers due to sun damage obviously just because you don't use sunscreen doesn't mean you're going to get skin cancer but over 80 percent of skin cancers are caused by overexposure to UV radiation so it increases your risk a lot this picture went viral on the internet this lady put sunscreen on her face but not on her neck and you can see an obvious difference there it shows how sunscreen minimizes the signs of skin aging like wrinkles spotting loss of elasticity in the skin sunscreen also helps with fading of acne scars which I have some because of my acne history like you can see here and especially on this side it's more that's why I see sunscreen as an investment to My Future Self yes it can feel sticky oily it is effort to put it on but for a healthy and pressy aging skin it's worth it plus I found a sunscreen that feels good on my skin it doesn't leave a white cast it gives you a nice glow it's not sticky it is this fondy Sands SPF 50. I put sunscreen on my face neck and on tops of my ears which is the most easily forgotten area and I put the rest on my hands sunscreen ideally should be reapplied every two to three hours but honestly sometimes I forget but I'm trying to get better at it I bought another one of these just to keep it in my bag so I can red blood during the day when I'm outside as well if it's night time then the third step is retinoid it is one of the most researched ingredients in the skincare world and it has great evidence for its benefits first benefits and the main reason I'm using it for its anti-aging effects I'm in my early 20s and the American Academy of Dermatology recommend starting in your 20s so you don't need to to wait until you see signs of aging like wrinkles because retinoid is preventative it's kind of like sunscreen with long-term use it's an investment that you see the benefits of as you age second benefit is it helps with acne scars and uneven pigmentation of the skin and third benefit is it minimizes acne breakouts considering my acne history retinoid has great benefits for me and it's essentially in my skincare while all of these benefits come with some side effects especially in the first few months of starting using retinoids it can cause dry skin peeling but that helps produce new skin cells which is part of the reason why it helps with acne scars and you get a smoother skin it can make your skin sensitive red and if you're not careful you can even burn your skin like I did before I burnt my face so this side isn't too bad so it's crucial to build that tolerance to minimize those side effects I first started using a weaker form of retinoid called retinol it is this beauty pie super retinol with hyaluronic acid which makes it very gentle after a few months I moved up to a stronger form of retinoid called tretinoin there are different strengths you can go for currently I'm at 0.05 strength of acne lines with tretinoin where I went wrong before which caused me to have those little burns on my skin was that I wasn't patient enough to increase this strength first start using only a pea-sized amount for the whole face and only once or twice a week then slowly do it every other night then every night so to safely integrate retinoid into your skincare this whole process should be over a few months so very slowly male versus female skincare I've been asked to do a skincare routine that is suitable for both males and females even though in medical school we're taught about hormonal differences between male and female when it comes to Skin Care those gender specific products are mostly part of the marketing game so it's there for your money so the products that are in my skincare routine are suitable for all genders so it's actually pretty simple three-step skincare care routine I hope you found it helpful consider subscribing and I'll see in the next one [Music]