For context, I have chronic acne (as seen on my Before pictures), so my Doctor prescribed me Isotretinoin, also known as "accutane" in the U.S. Without delving much into it, it is a controlled medicine meant to stop acne by drying your skin.
My skin before the medicine was mixed (oily to normal), I have been taking it for almost six months now, and I've tried a lot of products on my now dry skin so far; so here's my recommendations on what worked for me and what might work for you if you're in a similar situation.
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Double cleanse: I use a mexican brand, so I won't go too deep into this. I do double cleanse, but I don't use balms or oils in fear it might break me out; so I stick with a Biphasic Oil-Free cleanser.
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Round Lab's Birch Juice Cleanser: very gentle, very light foam, not drying at all. I love it, it has become my favorite korean cleanser, she's my GOAT.
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Purito's Centella Serum: the one I had was the old packaging, it is the same formula (as far as I'm aware) of their Scented Centella Serum (the one with the dark green cap). It is very thick, hight percentage of centella, very calming. I kinda miss her, I feel like it was more hydrating than the one I am using now.
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SKIN1004's Tone Brightening Ampoule: I bought this one because I wanted to target my red marks post acne (visible in my After pictures) and it worked! However, it is a very slow progress. Its Centella percentage is very low, same with their Niacinamide; I would recommend it for beginners, not for someone that has super dry skin as it is very light and watery. I liked that it's cheap, but now I believe it's more worth it to buy a more expensive one that may have higher concentration of ingredients.
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Dr. Althea's 345 cream: I bought it before taking the isotretinoin and it broke me out. Horribly bad. So after starting the medicine, I thought I'd give it another chance. Wrong. Broke me out again. Personally, do not recommend.
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Round Lab's Birch Juice Cream: very soft and moisturizing too! I loved it; I really don't have any complaints about this one. I used it even before starting the iso and it also didn't break me out. Very gentle.
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Round Lab's Birch Juice Gel: I started using this one because it's summer and I live in a desert. It's sticky! If you don't like that, steer away from this one. Personally, I love that feeling because it makes me feel #moisturized. Not the most hydrating tho, after a few hours I start feeling the dryness on my skin and I have to reaply (which I don't mind, as this gel it's pretty cheap!). Definitely a gel best suited for those with oily skin or live in really hot areas.
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ETUDE's Moistful Collagen Deep Cream: ngl, I bought this one only because it was on sale. It was like 8 USD and I thought it would help with my really dry skin. And it did! Very heavy, very hydrating. However, as it is very heavy, it made my skin sweat a lot the moment I applied it. Maybe it's best to use only during winter. I started using it only lightly on top of my dry skin in the morning (after the Birch Juice Gel has worn completely and I start feeling dry again).
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Purito's Bamboo Panthenol Cream: this one's sticky too! I don't know if other people will agree, but it left me feeling sticky after applying it at night. Veryyy glowy. I don't have anything bad to say, really, I really liked it; might buy myself another bottle because it is that good.
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MISSHA's Aqua Sunscreen: I used to LOVE this one, because for some reason I thought it was waterproof. Turns out it's not? So now I don't think it's worth it. It's very hydrating, and very light too! Overall nice texture and cheap; however, it has a very heavy scent. I don't mind it, and neither does my skin, but I still wouldn't recommend it because I know some people hate scent in skincare.
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SKIN1004's hyalu-cica sunscreen: there's a reason this is the OG. The one and only, a lot of people's HG. Very moisturizing, light, leaves a beautiful finish. What else can I say about her? I love it! I just wish it was waterproof so it didn't come off with my sweat, but still! Very good sunscreen.
by mexicanphobia