Skin Care Products: what has worked for me has turned out to be the affordable stuff!

How much did you spend on skincare this last decade? I know I have probably spent thousands. Yes thousands. Especially on Obagi Products. To prepare for the new year, I took a hard look at my medicine cabinet, and decided to use up every single leftover tube of product under my sink. Not all at once, but over the year. As I started applying goo to my face every night, I got to thinking about which products really worked for me.

I have combination skin, uneven coloration, and a bit of acne. I've tried just about everything for the acne: Proactiv, Obagi, Retina A, Antibiotics, etc. The Obagi system ($500+) worked very well, and evened out my skin tone, but I worried about the Hydroquinone. It's use is banned in some countries, because there is some concern that it causes cancer, although there is no research to prove it, apparently. The Proactiv worked, but bleached some of my clothes due to the benzoyl peroxide, and you cannot buy the products individually (except on ebay where people get rid of the products they don't use) and you have to enroll in a monthly program. Then I came across the best solution so far:



This set above is $34, and the big bottle of gel in the midle is actually 2.5% benzoyl peroxide. The trick is you use a lot of it. It doesn't dry like higher concentrations, and I haven't had a lot of problems with bleaching. The cleanser is great, and is really gentle. I also got the 10% Alpha Hydroxy Acid for $16.

The other product that has been great is This Glycolic Acid 35% Gel Peel



They sell it in 35%, 50% and 70% on AMAZON. I got the 35% even though my skin is thick and can handle a lot. I am glad I went with that choice because this stuff burns a little. The results, just after two uses, is amazing. Whole patches of darker dead skin are gone (and I couldn't get it off with scrub!) My skin tone is more even. A whole bottle is just $18.95, and you just use a little for each application. I'll never pay $100 for a glycolic peel at a salon again!

After spending more than $50 a tube for non-acne-causing sun screen more than once, a friend turned me on to this stuff: Aveeno Sunblock Spray: $10.99! I also have it in a cream form. It smells good, is not greasy and its SPF 50. It doubles as a moisturizer for me most of the time.

do you have an affordable skin care product that works for you? Let us know about it!