The skincare industry can feel overwhelming.
New products. New ingredients. New routines every week.
“Buy this and look like your favorite celebrity.”
At some point, it stopped feeling like self-care and started feeling like pressure.
In 2017, I was diagnosed with PCOS.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant for my body. I remember sitting there asking my doctor to explain it to me like I was a child.
I was stressed, working a corporate job in the city, surrounded by constant socializing, eating out, and a lifestyle that didn’t exactly support my health. I was also struggling with my weight, which only made everything feel heavier.
And then came my skin. My acne started getting worse, especially around my cheeks.
I went as far as seeing a dermatologist in Ecuador, where my family is from. He prescribed me a high dose of Accutane without much hesitation.
At first, I thought I was doing the right thing.
But my skin didn’t get better. It got worse. When I came back to New Jersey, I saw another dermatologist. She immediately told me to stop taking it. She couldn’t believe the dosage I had been given.
What no one really prepares you for is how aggressive some of these treatments can be. Accutane didn’t just affect my skin. It affected my mood, my energy, and how I felt overall.
It felt like putting a Band-Aid on something much deeper.
My acne came back almost immediately, and I found myself stuck in a cycle of cortisone shots and temporary fixes. I remember crying at night because of how uncomfortable I felt in my own skin.
I was 27, overwhelmed, dealing with hormonal acne, and trying to understand a body that felt completely out of sync.
PCOS felt like something I couldn’t escape.
And then something unexpected happened.
After I got pregnant and had my son, my skin started to calm down.
My hormones shifted. My body reset in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time.
But looking back, I can see that it wasn’t just one thing.
I had started working out consistently. I was more mindful. I was taking better care of myself overall.
Now, at 35, my skin looks better than it ever did in my 20s. And it forced me to be honest about something:
Skincare products are not the end-all.
It’s the combination of how you live, how you care for your body, and the quality of what you put on your skin.
That’s when I started to pay attention to Korean and Japanese skincare.
Korean skincare taught me to slow down. To hydrate instead of stripping your skin and layer gently. I stopped trying to fix everything overnight and started focusing on keeping my skin calm and supported.
Japanese skincare felt even quieter. More disciplined and aligned. Less about doing more, and more about doing the right things consistently.
The products I always go back to
Hydrating Toner
I used to think toner was meant to strip your skin. Now I see it as hydration. This is the step that changed everything for me and the one I always reach for when my skin feels unbalanced.
Medicube PDRN Salmon DNA Toner
The Sunscreen I actually enjoy wearing
There’s something important to pay attention to when it comes to sunscreen, especially UVA protection. The plus signs actually matter. The more plus signs, the higher the level of UVA protection.
I love the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen because it’s PA++++, which means it offers strong protection against long-term sun damage and photoaging. And I actually enjoy putting it on, which matters.
Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Sunscreen
Sheet masks for when I feel off
Whenever my skin feels dry or dull, I reach for one of these first. Sheet masks hydrate and reset your skin barrier. When I feel overwhelmed or disconnected, this is usually where I start.
Cica Daily Soothing Hyaluronic Acid Sheet Masks
The rice mask for tired or dull skin
Japanese skincare introduced me to rice-based products, and I’ve been hooked ever since. They feel soft, nourishing, and gentle. This is what I use when my skin needs a glow-up.
IREV Face Masks Skincare, Rice And Honey Glow Mask
The retinol I use without overdoing it
Retinol changed my skin more than any serum or treatment I tried before. I stopped overloading my skin with actives. I use retinol two to three nights a week, consistently, and I keep everything else simple. That alone made more of a difference than anything I was doing before.
celimax The Vita A Retinal Shot Tightening Booster | 0.1% Retinal
My everyday moisturizer
This one isn’t exciting, but it keeps my skin balanced. At this point, that matters more to me than anything else.
Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream- Niacinamide & Freeze-Dried Hydrolyzed Collagen
When I stopped treating skincare as something to fix and started treating it as something to maintain, everything changed.
I’m not chasing perfect skin anymore. I’m paying attention to what keeps it steady.
After everything I went through, that shift mattered more than any product ever could.
