Life comes with many demands; the last thing I want to do is spend too much time and money on skin care. That said, I have spent countless hours and resources on finding affordable skin care products, without preservatives such as parabens and phenoxyethanol, that work. I’ve narrowed these down to a few key products. Please keep in mind that what works for me might not work for you, as we’re all uniquely different and beautiful in our own way. (Some problems that I struggled with were cystic acne and dry skin as I got older.) But I’m a believer that you do not have to spend much money on skin care to continue to look as good as you feel. So hopefully this helps some.

Products that Work

• Mother Dirt. For acne, redness, and other skin conditions resulting from overuse of products and stripping your skin of good bacteria. Mother Dirt saved my face from cystic acne and redness, which began for me around age 32. I tried everything - and I mean everything. The more I tried to resolve the problem, the more I made it worse by adding more products to my face, stripping it of its natural biome. In my obsession to cure this problem, I stumbled upon Mother Dirt, and it made a dramatic difference. At times, I’ll get about 1-2 cystic acne around my chin (versus the 6-8 I was getting before), but the number and length of time that they remain is substantially reduced (2-3 days versus 2-3 weeks). I consistently use the AO+ Mist and face wash, and, although the moisturizer does not contain the beneficial bacteria, I like to use that on top of my facial and body oils as well (see here).

• Vitamin C. To brighten your complexion. I like Mad Hippie, particularly as it combines ferulic acid and is less expensive than SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic. (If you don’t mind the cost of SkinCeuticals, CE Ferulic is a great one too.)

• Rose hip oil. For more youthful looking skin. A friend turned me on to this one. I’ve been using Teddie Organics, and it works well for me. I use this at night only.

• Hyaluronic acid. To lock in moisture and quench dry skin. I like Joyal Beauty’s Hyaluronic Acid, and in the dry winter, it keeps my skin soft and moisturized.

• Egyptian Magic. To reduce fine lines. Okay, this one got a lot of hype in the press and I was skeptical about it. But I liked the ingredients (olive oil, beeswax, honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, and bee propolis), and I had been researching some benefits of bee propolis so I decided to give it a shot. It works great around the eyes, forehead, neck, and decolletage. When I feel like my skin needs a bit more love, I use it all over my face. But I would recommend starting small to see how your skin reacts, as it can lead to small breakouts.

• Niacinamide. This ingredient is effective, and if I could find a natural brand that incorporates it in a product without Retinol (more on that below), I would love to buy it. The search continues.

• Sunscreen. I never leave the house in the morning without sunscreen on my face. I like Suntegrity 5 in 1, which is a little pricey, but worth it for the coverage (evens skin tone) and quality SPF ingredients. Zinc is my preferred ingredient. (More on sunscreens here.)

Because I don’t use Retinol (synthetic Vitamin A), I haven’t included any of those products here. Regardless of how often or infrequent I use it, it makes me break out. There are some good Retinol products out there, but before incorporating those in your routine, you may want to check out EWG’s rating (scoring a dismal 9 out of 10 for the overall health concern) and weigh the benefits (read more here).