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Does it seem like you only have dry skin while at school? Or that little patch of pimples that magically appear as soon as you come back from Winter Break? Maybe you just do not trust the sinks in your shared bathroom. MADAMENOIRE gets it and, luckily, knows how to fight it.
We love the college years, especially at our HBCUs, but they do give the skin a hard time with hectic schedules and the occasional cold shower. Thankfully, this drawback can be worked around. While we’re not claiming we know the path to impenetrably clear skin, these tips and product recommendations for your shower caddy focus on keeping the face clean on the regular. The result we can guarantee is that a consistent routine on the factors you can control can yield a lifelong journey and determination to put your (literal) best face forward. If you’re trying to build a skincare routine to beat the on-campus breakout semester, this is the guide for you.
Stick To The Basics To Not Break The Bank
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Your college years are not the time to splurge on a $64 moisturizer. We are on a meal plan for a reason, we are broke! However, that does not mean that quality skincare for those on a tighter budget is impossible. Cerave’s line of facial products are tried and true, and are often the first line of defense dermatologists recommend. Abide by gentle cleansers and lightweight moisturizers as you begin building your skincare routine. These will not only keep your skin clean and hydrated, but also their usually bigger packaging will mean less trips to purchase them, and thus more money for when the cafe is closed.
Don’t Count Out Skin Care Products From The Drug-Store
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Beyond Cerave, the drugstore (and fan-favorite Target) have other bubbling brands that may suit your skincare needs. You don’t have to haul out to your closest Sephora to get products you’ve been yearning to try. From affordable, clinical brands such as The Ordinary, or cost-conscious yet still aesthetically pleasing companies like Byoma and Versed. All of these can be found outside the premium cosmetics stores, and still push the boundary when it comes to innovative yet effective skincare.
Employ A Simple Skin Care Routine
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Don’t overload on products. All those celebrity nighttime routine videos can make you believe that you are not doing skincare right if it doesn’t include jade roller and retinol eye cream. But, really, despite having some benefits, it’s not always absolutely necessary, especially as the costs of these “speciality” serums and creams run up a tab. Targeted skin care products are to fix specific issues, such as combating aging with reducing fine lines or dark spots. But we promise, at this age, you don’t need every single serum known to man, and oftentimes those are mainly gimmicks anyway. Including one or two throughout the week are fine, but its important to realize what skincare issues you really need to resolve, and some you are just prematurely preventing.
Clear Skin Depends on Consistency
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We get it, we’ve been there, it’s 3 am and you just got home from that frat party. There is a huge urge to just hop into bed with a face still full of makeup, albeit a little more sweaty. The walk over to the bathroom seems miles away, but what if your blemish-free dreams depends on making that trek and washing that smudged mascara off? Dermatologists everywhere can always agree on one thing, that consistency is key. Results don’t show up overnight, but they do from still completing your ritual on those long nights where you want to just deal with it in the morning. Taking that step to cleanse your face before you knock out will save you extra time to wake up in the long run.
The Dry Days Are Over
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A co-ed skin issue is ultra dry skin, usually due to notoriously lacking water filtration found in communal bathrooms, which can dry out our faces even more than usual. Being ashy, a cardinal sin in the Black community, is not only possible on elbows and ankles, but can also impact your face card. Luckily, it is also an affliction that can be easily remedied. Learning about what level of hydration your skin needs is the first step, and this often changes seasonally. In the winter, your skin may be on the drier side, so a richer nightly moisturizer may be needed to ensure your face isn’t dying of thirst by the morning. In the summer, the skin may become more oily given the heat, and thus a gel-based moisturizer or ultra lightweight cream should be considered to combat this. It varies, and the solution can only be found through analyzing one’s skin type and consulting a dermatologist if need be.
Yes, Black People Need Sunscreen.
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We don’t know where the myth that Black people don’t need sunscreen came from, but MN is here to dispel it. We totally get why most stray away from traditional brands, as no one wants to look like an ashy ghost with the dreadful white-cast that comes with most sunblock. However, more companies are catering to melanated consumers, thus giving us more options to protect our skin from the sun’s radiation. Black Girl Sunscreen is a fan-favorite, hence the aptly titled name, but other B.O.B.’s such as Cay Skin by Winnie Harlow and Fenty Skin carry their own moisturizers with SPF to maintain our black and brown skin’s beautiful glow while shielding it from the sun.
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