Originally, this was titled “Why I Think the Skincare Industry is Completely Bogus.”

Over the short four days that this post sat in my drafts, I guess I’ve had a little change of heart.

During this day and age, wearing masks should be a norm. However, as we approach the hottest months of the year (for the northern hemisphere), the humidity and breath trapped by the mask can cause some serious acne on your face.

If you’re anything like me, you never really bothered with skincare to begin with. I’ve always found that skincare routines are really troublesome and nothing seemed to work. Why waste hundreds of dollars on a bottle of wash and cream when you can just achieve the same thing with diligent face-washing?

Like every teenager ever, I’ve also experienced a phase in my life where I suffered from acne. I never had a problem with it after my hormones balanced out and I only ever used water to clean up. So, I’m led to believe that water works.

I guess this is not the case.

I still clean my face every morning and every night, but I guess the constant going-outside-with-a-mask-on-in-thirty-three-degree-heat takes its toll on your skin. It doesn’t matter how often I clean my face because all of that hard work is undone just by going outside for a few minutes.

I never really cared about my appearance – and I still don’t really massively care now, but there comes a point where you realize you have to start taking care of yourself – but I have been receiving some concerned expressions from my friends and family and I wanted to do something about it. If I can fix it, why not try and fix it?

So, I asked for help.

My mother ended up getting me a liquid wash and a jar of cream for moisturizing. She also invited me to use her cream for pimples because “it works really well.”

After about a month of using the skincare stuff, I didn’t really spot a difference. I was going to write about that, how skincare routines doesn’t seem to do anything other than waste your money and time, but I recently discovered differently.

My cousin noted that my skin looked better, and the cluster of red acne spots on my right cheek has become less eye-catching. I still have pimples, but I think that is due to me eating chips, rather than it being the mask’s fault. I also stopped using the moisturizing cream after a while because I thought it didn’t work, until I noticed that my skin was literally flaking after about a week of not using it. I resumed and the flaking has almost completely disappeared.

See, I think the problem is that people just haven’t found the right stuff for their skin. Everyone’s skin is different and there needs to be a wide array of combinations in order to tackle each need. I have a really oily forehead, but the area around my nose is very dry. I tackle this problem by not using the cream on my forehead and only focus on my nose and cheeks.

Also, the cream for pimples really works wonders. I’ve only applied it for less than a week and a painful pimple of mine is already gone.

In the end, it’s really about finding what works best for you. It might take a while, a lot of trial and error, but it all comes down to being diligent and sticking to the routine once you have one. You won’t see the results immediately because it’s not miracle water, it’s just some cleaning products to wash out the dirt in your face. Have a little patience and maybe, next time you see a friend after a month or two, they’ll notice something you haven’t.

I also want to say that it’s not weird to want to take care of yourself once and while. Sometimes, it’s good to have personal hygiene, regardless of gender. If you don’t want to clean yourself up, then you’re just disgusting, not gay.