Hyperpigmentation or Acne in Your 30s? 21 Strategic Finds I'd Buy at Nordstrom

Because these medical-grade peel pads have 10% glycolic acid, I'll only use them twice a week maximum. Even with biweekly use, they are excellent at treating my hormonal breakouts and slowly fading my hyperpigmentation without overstimulating my skin thanks to the formula's algae peptides that help replenish moisture.

When I see a chin pimple or two pop up (sometimes three), I reach for this beautiful blemish-busting mask from Tata Harper. It clarifies, soothes redness, and exfoliates with AHAs. For extra spot treatment, I put on a layer of this at night before bed, and my pimple is either much smaller or completely gone by the time I wake up the next morning. A little of this goes a long way, and it doubles as a physical exfoliant!

Essences are my favorite way to hydrate my combination skin without making me oily. This super formula is enhanced with 33 high-performance ingredients to brighten, even out, and hydrate the skin with ingredients like caviar lime, a new generation of alpha-hydroxy acid, Larch tree, and hyaluronic acid. (I still apply a layer of hyaluronic acid over this for added hydration, however.)

Cleansers are a make or break for my sensitive, combination skin. You'd think something that's only on your face for 60 seconds or less wouldn't be able to make such an impact, but it does. If I spend a day or two using the wrong cleanser, I'm guaranteed skin irritation and breakouts. This two-in-one foaming facial cleanser infused with French water lily and cornflower harvested from Dior’s garden is the first step in my double-cleansing nighttime routine. It rinses away extra oil, SPF, and makeup without stripping my skin. I also enjoy the delicate scent. 

This cleanser has been a mainstay in my collection for at least four years. Every time I retreat from it, I make my way back. I use this for my second cleanse in my double-cleansing routine. It keeps my skin feeling its best and ready for my next steps.

I still enjoy tretinoin, but this facial oil has now taken my derm-prescribed cream's place. The rose-hip-seed-infused oil manages to help minimize the look of my pores, keep breakouts at bay, and smooth my skin's overall texture without giving me the retinol uglies.

LED face mask therapy is a step in every facial I receive these days, and for a while, I thought at-home LED masks were a gimmick. But I've seen tried-and-true benefits. I love to use this mask, which features 62 LED bulbs (emitting red and near-infrared wavelengths) to help soothe my skin—especially if I'm dealing with irritation or a hormonal acne flare-up.

Devices and tools are at the heart of my routine, especially those with red light therapy to help calm breakouts. I use this a few days a week after my exfoliating treatments with my serums for about five minutes to help with product absorption. With tools, consistency is key! 

Having combination, sensitive skin is interesting. I spend so much time trying to keep my skin from overproducing oil while also keeping it hydrated. Because so many of my products have more active ingredients, I like to keep chill formulas infused with calming ingredients in the mix as well. This one is infused with red hibiscus from the Dior Gardens in Burkina Faso and helps strengthen my skin barrier while also staving off inflammation.

My skin loves niacinamide because it helps fade dark spots and decreases skin inflammation (think breakouts and skin irritation). So having a product made with sensitive skin types in mind and formulated with 93.8% naturally derived ingredients is a huge win! I enjoy that this serum is formulated with a mix of vitamin C and niacinamide and does it without the stickiness some vitamin C serums can leave behind. 

This gentle powder-to-foam cleanser that is also refillable is a favorite. If you have sensitive skin like mine, you'll enjoy that the rice powder doesn't cause tears in the skin as you emulsify and smooth it on the skin. For the combo-skin folks, there is also 51% kaolin clay in the formula, which gently eradicates any excess oil.

Once a week, I use a one-minute exfoliating mask while I'm in the shower. This formula exfoliates enough to slough off dead skin and smooth my skin. You might be tempted to go over the one-minute time limit, but don't. One minute is all you need! I like to follow this up with a niacinamide serum and a lightweight oil to keep my skin happy while addressing my skincare concerns.

I was introduced to this line by aesthetician Sarah Akram. My favorite among the line is the resurfacing tonic formulated to mimic a chemical peel by removing UV-damaged skin, revealing a brighter, smoother complexion. The chemical exfoliators in this tonic—lactic and glycolic acids—are mighty, and I see a difference in the morning after using this at night! Because this tonic is powerful, I only use it once every other week. I've seen a massive improvement in my hyperpigmentation with this cadence, so there's no need to overdo it.

Post-micro-needling, my skin always needs a heavier moisturizer. I usually avoid ultra-creamy formulas, but this one infused with the brand’s coveted cell-renewing Miracle Broth gives my skin the extra hydration it needs without causing congestion and helps keep any post-service flaking to a minimum.

One thing I'm learning about aging as a Black woman is that I likely won't have tons of wrinkles. However, I will start to lose volume. With that knowledge in mind, I've been using anti-aging serums formulated to restore facial volume and fullness. This fragrance-free formula is made with skin-firming biopolymers—a biopolymer matrix embedded with microalgae that provides instant skin firming and a reduction in the appearance of wrinkles—and Micro Growth Factor Technology (MGF) which helps enhance collagen production.

Getting older means more peach fuzz (and chin hair). Weird! Luckily, this handy dandy tool exfoliates dead skin cells and removes peach fuzz.

Formulated with LHAs and AHAs to gently exfoliate and tighten pores alongside argan oil to keep the skin barrier healthy, this essence offers hydration and gentle exfoliation to help remove skin cells.

Since I've been getting SkinPen micro-needling services and facials more often, mineral SPFs are nonnegotiable. With deeper skin tones, traditional mineral SPFs usually mean looking like Casper. But I've found a workaround: tinted mineral sunscreens. This one is among my favorites because of the skin-loving ingredients like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and squalane that hydrate without clogging pores. Because of my combo skin, I like to use powder with this formula, so I keep my LALAIS Blotting Compact handy to soak up any shine.

Formulated with 95.1% naturally derived ingredients, this spot corrector helps reduce hyperpigmentation in just weeks with the help of niacinamide.

This is another mineral SPF that doesn't leave a chalky white cast, and the best part is that it's oil-free and blocks and protects the skin from UV rays from the sun (in addition to blue light protection from daily digital devices).

Finding a cushion foundation for deeper skin tones is nearly impossible, so I was over the moon when I saw this one with SPF-infused skin-loving ingredients, including La Mer's Miracle Broth. On days when I don't want a heavy full-coverage foundation to smooth my skin tone, I opt for this because of its lightweight, hydrating formula and built-in SPF.