I've dabbled in skincare for a while but often just bought whatever Reddit said was good. I never really did deep research on what would move the needle. On a flight back from Taiwan, I spent a few hours researching what an optimal, evidence-based skincare routine would look like.

The Most Important Ingredients

Before picking out products, I wanted to learn what ingredients would have the most impact based on current skincare research. ChatGPT deep research mode using the O1 model helped me do this digging. Here's what I came up with:

Helpful for anyone:

  • Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) - gentle, all-in-one ingredient for hydration, anti-aging, acne control and redness reduction
    • Look for: 2-5% for effectiveness; higher may irritate
  • Retinoids (Tretinoin) - powerful, evidenced backed active ingredient for acne and anti-aging benefits
  • Vitamin C - fights aging, fades discoloration, and reduces inflammation
  • Hyaluronic Acid - gentle hydration superstar
    • Look for: multi-molecular weight or 0.5-2% total HA
  • Ceramides - healing and protecting barrier for the skin
    • Look for: 0.5-1%
  • 50+ SPF (physical or chemical ok) - protects against aging and sun damage
  • Omega 3 supplements - calms skin inflammation (2-3g per day from most studies)
  • Collagen Peptide supplements - helps maintain skin firmness and combat aging (5-10g per day most effective in studies)

Specific for my skincare concerns (sensitive skin, redness, acne):

  • Green Tea Polyphenols - boosts skin’s clarity and calms redness
  • Azelaic Acid - clears acne, evens skin, and reduces redness
  • (Maybe) Salicylic Acid - clears pores and helps with acne but trades off with redness and irritation

Routine & Products I Picked

Picked products with glowing Reddit recommendations that crossed off all the ingredients in the above list. Tried to keep it as simple as possible. Here's what I settled on:

AM:

  • SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic® with 15% L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
  • ISNTREE Green Tea Fresh Serum (Green Tea Polyphenols)
  • Cerave PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion (Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, Ceramides)
  • NIVEA SUN Protect Super Water Gel SPF 50 PA+++ (SPF50, PA+++)

PM:

  • ISNTREE Green Tea Fresh Serum (Green Tea Polyphenols)
  • Cerave PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion (Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, Ceramides)
  • (Every Few Days) Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA (Salicylic Acid, Green Tea Polyphenols)
  • (Every Other Day) Curology (Tretinoin, Azelaic Acid)