Some Skincare Products I Currently Use Part 1: Cleansing and Exfoliation

I thought I would do a Current Skincare Routine post, but I realized it was going to be too lengthy, so I've broken it up into parts in the order in which I would normally use them. I don't always use all of them every single day, but I do use them fairly regularly. I hope you find this helpful.

1. On days that I use makeup, I go in with a makeup cleanser first. My current favorite for makeup removal is Banila Co.'s Clean it Zero, which you might have heard of since it is one of the most popular products in the Asian beauty world.

It looks like a balm, and you massage it onto your dry face. It takes off makeup like magic. Once you're done massaging it, wash it off with lukewarm water and it turns into a watery consistency that washes off easily. As you can see, I've almost finished the tub, and I will definitely try it again later, but I want to try other cleansing oils once I am done with this tub. It also comes with a spatula which I should use, but never do because I always misplace it.

[Mizo: He product hi makeup tih reh nan a tha khawp mai. Chhah deuh tup angin a langa, hmai tih huh hma in hnawih a, massage tur a ni. I nuai na lai apiang chu makeup a reh duak duak mai ang. I duh tawk i nuai tawh hnuah i kut in tui lum pep pep nen han phih la, amah hi a rawn tui (melt) a, awlsam takin a fai leh mai a ni. Ka hmang zo tep a, lei leh pawh ka duh tho naa thildang ka hman chhin chak avangin a zawh chuan ka chawl hrih ang].

2. Makeup Remover Wipes: On very lazy nights when I just do not have the stamina, I clean my face with a wipe, but I don't recommend using this unless as a last resort. It might come in handy while travelling. There are not many makeup wipes in the Indian market, so I am currently using whatever I found in my local supermarket. It's quite drying and not very effective. I used the Sephora one and the Innisfree one, and those were by far, much better.

[Mizo: Thatchhiat zual changin engmah dang ka tih peih thlawt loh chuan wipes hian ka hru thin, mahse a pawnlang tak tak bak a tihfai lem loh avangin hei chu chin fo chi a ni lo. India ah hian Makeup Wipes lei tur a tam lo hle a, ka hmuh hmasak sak ka lei a ka hmang mai. A hma in Sephora leh Innisfree siam ka hmang tawh a, an tih tlak deuh, tuna mi  hi chu a huh tawk lova a fai duh em em hranlo.

3. Facewash/ liquid cleanser: Since I like to do a double cleanse, I usually follow up with a cleanser or facewash. Currenty I am using two very simple products which I alternate in the morning and evening. The first is Patanjali Rose facewash, which is an ayurvedic product and is quite okay. To be honest I hardly ever see too much of a difference on my face based on my facewashes, so I am not very particular. The only time I complain is when a facewash leaves my skin feeling dry and stripped of all moisture, or when it has an overpowering scent. The other product I am currently using is a Vitamin E facewash by fabindia, another very natural product with no harsh chemicals.

[Double cleanse ka duh thin avangin hemi zawh ah hian ka hmai ka phih leh thin a, facewash emaw, cleanser phuan thei chi ka hmang thin. Ka hmai phih na a ka hman hi ka khirh vak lo, vun a ti ro emaw a rim a chhe viau a nih loh chuan a huat tur awm lo lo anga ka rin ka hmang tawp zel. Patanjali hi ayurvedic brand a nia, India siam, a tlawm a, a tha ve khawp mai; chu lo leh ah chuan Fabindia siam Vitamin E facewash ka hmang bawk a. An pahnih hian engmah vun han huat tur ang chi a awm lova, a tha ka ti ve reng mai. Zingah leh zanah ka hman chhawk thin].

4. Exfoliation:

               Since we need to get rid of dead skin and other unwanted gunk that has accumulated on our faces, we've been told regular exfoliation is a must. I don't exfoliate everyday, but when I do I am currently using Skinfood's Black Sugar Mask, which is a scrub + mask in one. I love it, and try to use it at least once a week. It's not too harsh. You can adjust the strength of the scrubbing effect by using it either on dry skin (for rougher exfoliation) or wet skin (for a gentler experience). In any case, one should not scrub the skin with too much enthusiasm - gentle, circular motions work best- or the skin will be more damaged than benefitted with these exfoliations. Try exfoliating for a couple of minutes, leave it on the face for at least 5 minutes, and then wash off.

[Mizo: Vun chhia paih nan leh tih mam nan exfoliate thin a ngaih vangin Skinfood hi kar khatah vawi khat tal hman ka tum thin. Nasa deuh hlek duh chuan vun ro ah scrub tur a nia, hmai sensitive deuh leh dim deuh a ti duh tan hmai tih huh hmasak in a nasa lo deuh. Hmai reng reng hi na taka scrub tur a ni lo hrim hrim a, zawi te a scrub loh chuan kan ti chhe zawk thei a ni. Minute hnih vel emaw i nuai hnuah i hmai chiah nan hman zawm nghal a, minute 5 tal dah la, chuan i phih fai leh dawn nia.]

All About Simple Cleansing

Hello beautiful people, and welcome to my brand new blog! Before we go into our topic, first, a little introduction. I am by no means a medical doctor or a professional aesthetician, but am simply a skincare and makeup junkie. I do it for the love of it, and do NOT claim to be an expert. Much of what I will share here is from my own personal experience, and what works for me.

For reference, I have skin that is on the dry side which turns into combination (oily in some areas) once in a while. My skin is also sensitive, and my major area of concern is hyperpigmentation caused by sun exposure, bad genes, and most recently, pregnancy! I rarely have breakouts and acne unless I have been stressing or not sleeping well, or it's that time of the month. So let's get started!

PS: The blog will be bilingual (Mizo and English) for now as far as possible so that I can reach out to more readers who might be more comfortable in either language. Let's see how it goes.

So, I thought the first post should be on cleansing routines. Now, most of us might already be aware of this, but to put it simply, our skin needs to be thoroughly cleaned before anything else. No matter how many wonderful products you use, you need to cleanse first for the products to work effectively. Makeup also looks much better on a clean and refreshed canvas, which is your face. Again, makeup by itself does not often cause skin problems (unless you are allergic to some ingredients, which we will talk about in later posts), but makeup that is left on the skin due to improper cleaning is often the culprit. Cleansing does not only refer to cleaning off the surface dirt or makeup, but actually cleaning deep into the skin so that your pores are not clogged. Clogged pores, of course, cause acne, dullness, and myriad other problems, not to mention the fact that minute amounts of makeup and dirt trapped in your pores cause them to enlarge in the long run, thus causing large and unsightly open pores which, experts sadly say cannot be minimized once they are enlarged.


I don't want the post to be too long, so let's jump right into our basic skin cleansing routine, which may comprise of:
1. Taking off makeup with a makeup remover. (For example: Neutrogena Eye makeup remover, available in India)
2. Washing the face with a facewash or cleansing foam suited to your skin type, using lukewarm water.
3. Toning: This is an important step because washing your face does not remove all impurities, and some toners also help to close the pores that have opened up whilst washing. Alcohol-free toners are usually recommended since they are more gentle on the skin. Toners may be applied with a cotton pad (to wipe off leftover dirt) or with your open palms, patting the product in gently.

Cleansing must be done at least two times a day, once in the morning and once at night.

Additionally, you might want to deep cleanse your face once or twice a week, using facemasks that have ingredients like clay, charcoal, mud, etc.

Again, for the more committed person, exfoliation is an important part of the cleansing routine, which you might want to incorporate. There are chemical and physical exfoliants, but in India physical ones (such as scrubs) are more easily available. Exfoliation gets rid of dead skin and encourage fast cell turnover (read 'new skin') so must be done at least once or twice a week. Try to find gentle scrubs with smaller granules, so that you do not damage your sensitive facial skin!

Have special face towels reserved ONLY for your face since using the same towel for your hair, body, and face may cause breakouts. For instance, hair product residues such as shampoo and conditioner may be left on the towel, and if you dry your face with this, those residues could be bad for your skin. Try to have at least two or three face towels so that you can wash them after every two days or so. It is important to PAT your face dry rather than rubbing the skin vigorously.

This is applicable to all you handsome men too, not just the ladies! :)

Lastly, it is important to know your skin type and skin concerns so that you can use products specifically geared towards your needs. There are so many products in the market for dry, oily, normal, combination, acne, sensitive, etc skin types.

[Mizo]
Vun hrim hrim leh hmai tihfai tluka vun enkawlnaah hian step pawimawh hmasa a awm lo awm e. Eng anga product tha pawh i hmai ah hnawih la, i hnawihna vun a fai that loh chuan a thawh tur ang ka thawk tha thei tak tak dawn lo a ni. Hmai tihfai tih hian a pawnlang bal leh makeup lang thei phih fai ringawt hi a tawk lo a, mit in a a hmuh theih si loh kan vun kua (pores) a tang tam tak a awm thei a. Hei hian pores lian te, hmaibawl te, hmai thim leh nung lo te leh thildang harsatna tamtak a siam thei a ni. Tin, makeup hnawih dawn pawhin lemziaktu in a lehkhapuan fai leh var sar a thiam taka a ziak ang hian, i hmai kha fai taka i lo dah kha a pawimawh a, chuan makeup hnawih pawh a mawi duh bik bawk a ni.

Hmai tihfai dan awlsam thei ang ber chu a chunga step 3 ang khi a ni a. Hetiang hian ni khatah zing leh zan mut hma in tih hram hram a tha.

Duh chuan facemask hmai tifai tura siam bik (a tlangpuiin mud, charcoal, clay tihvel a siam) hi kar khatah vawi 2 emaw tih tel a tha.

Vun thi leh a chung langa vun hlui tawh tih tlak hi a pawimawh a vangin exfoliate peih tan chuan kar khatah vawi hnih khat tal tih a tha. Chemical leh physical a awm a, physical hi kan hre lar zawk maithei a, scrub kan tih ang chi ho hi an ni a, vun hlui tih tlak nan leh vun thar insiam nan a pawimawh a ni. Hmai i scrub reng reng in a scrub a mu awm kha a hraw leh thap lutuk hman loh a tha, chulo chu i hmai vun kha i ti chhe zawk ve thei a ni. Na taka scrub tawk tawk loh tur a ni bawk.

Towel hi hmai hrukna hran neih hram hram tur, duhthusam chuan pahnih- pathum tal neih a, suk zung zung a tha. Sam leh taksa hrukna nen a hmanpawlh loh a him. Sam hrukna phei chu towel ah khan shampoo leh conditioner bang nawi  a lo kai chuan vun hi a bawl duh lutuk. Tin hmai hi dep (deh) hul tur a ni, hruk hul tawk tawk loh tur.

A tawp berah chuan i vun in a mamawh product i thlan fuh a ngai a, vun mawm, ro, bawl, sensitive, normal leh a dang tamtak tana siam hman tur a to ber atang a tlawm ber te pawh a awm a, miin a tha an tih ang lei ngawt lova i vun nen a inmil i hman hram hram khan i ngeih bik dawn a ni.

There is so much more to say, about cleansing routines, but let's stop here for now. Next post: Korean skincare routine! Until then, stay beautiful :)

Below are some recommendations for cleansing:
some products available in India