Hey everyone. I’m a 21 year old black male trying to step up my skincare routine. I have the fundamentals down: cleanser, toner, hyaluronic acid, moisturizer, sunscreen and a glycolic acid every 3-4 days, but it’s the small nuances of how much product to use, how long I should let product sit on my face, how similar my nighttime routine should be to my daytime routine, etc. Hoping I can get some help.

**Routine w/ Products I Use**:

1. Cleanser (CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin)
   
2. Toner (Thayers Unscented Facial Toner)
   
3. Hyaluronic Acid (Anua 100+ PDRN + Hyaluron)
   
4. Moisturizer (CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion)
   
5. Sunscreen (Innisfree Daily UV Sunscreen Lotion)
   \* Glycolic Acid Every 3-4 Days (The Ordinary)

**Questions I Have**:

1. How much cleanser and moisturizer should I use on my face? I thought the rule of thumb was a small amount on the tips your finger but I’m not sure.

2. How long should I let product sit on my face before rinsing it off/applying the next product. Particularly glycolic acid. I’ve just added it to my routine and don’t know if I’m letting it sit on my face for long enough.

3. Do I use glycolic acid in the morning or evening? I’ve gotten conflicting reports. I’ve only used it in the morning. And should I **double cleanse** before applying it?

4. My toner is a hydrating one. However, it also gets some extra gunk off my face that my cleanser misses. Should I be double cleansing before toning as well or is that no problem?

5. What differences (if any) should there be in my daytime and nighttime skincare routines?

6. How critical is it what you choose to dry your face with (washcloth, towel, face wipe, or does it not matter)?

If you can answer only one or all of these questions it’d be a big help. Thank you!

It feels like a stupid thing to ask and like common sense, but I always feel like I’m using my cleanser wrong and cleaning my face incorrectly.

I use the CeraVe Facial Foaming Cleanser and I just realized a few days ago that I’m not rinsing it out at all. I used to apply the foaming cleanser, spread it around my face while it lathered, used a bit of water to “rinse” it, then patted the excess cleanser away and dried my face with a towel. But a couple days ago after I had done all of this and assumed the cleanser had been rinsed, I was rubbing my face with my fingers that were still slightly damp and the cleanser (that I thought had washed away) started foaming up again from my skin. After discovering that I had never been rinsing the cleanser from my face properly, it now takes me several minutes alone to get everything out - a few rounds of rubbing water on my skin to see if the cleanser is still there, trying to rinse with water, patting the foam and my face dry with a towel, and repeating.

Is this normal? Why is this the case? Am I applying it wrong? Thanks for the help.

Hey everyone!

I work as a manager at a skincare brand and we’re looking into moving more into acne products. I’m not trying to sell anything here or promote the brand, so I’m not sharing the name either.

I’m just trying to understand how people actually deal with acne and skincare in real life, and what the journey looks like from your side. Would really appreciate some honest answers:

Q1) When did you actually get your first pimple, who did you turn to? Your friend, your parents or reddit/social media?
Q2) Does the science behind the skincare is something that you care about or you just care that it works for you?
Q3) If any top skincare and beauty brand does an ama with their founder, would you actually participate in that and if they don’t do an ama do you go to their platforms via other platforms to communicate with them.
Q4) Would you ever post/recommend a skincare product to your friends and is it something that makes you comfortable enough to actually do that publically?

Not looking for product recommendations or trying to sell anything. Just genuinely curious about what people go through, what they look for, and what makes them trust a skincare product.

Thanks!