In the age of “glass skin” and light, natural-looking makeup, uneven skin texture is one of the main concerns that bring skincare enthusiasts to our Care to Beauty community. It’s not the easiest concern to manage, of course, because real skin has texture: pores, pimples, fine lines, wrinkles, scars, you name it. And yet, sometimes it can be a little too textured for your liking: a little grainy, bumpy, or rough to the touch. Sometimes it’s even noticeable to the eye, as the uneven surface creates the appearance of a dull, opaque complexion that doesn’t quite catch the light. These are common complaints, and there are many skincare products that can help you fix them. Keep reading to learn more about the types of products and ingredients you can use to smooth uneven skin texture, and what you can expect from each one.
Cleansers for textured skin
If you’re on a quest for smoother, more even skin, it might be a good idea to start working towards that goal from the very start of your skincare routine. Look for a cleanser with exfoliating acids, such as AHAs, BHAs, or PHAs, and you’ll be providing your skin with a gentle exfoliating action as you cleanse:
When it comes to cleansers for textured skin, the CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser Bumpy Skin is one of the most popular. With a gentle formula that combines hyaluronic acid, 3 essential ceramides, and a star exfoliating active, salicylic acid, this gel cleanser strikes a perfect balance, moisturizing the skin while providing a gentle exfoliating effect. The formula is not only suitable for the face but can also be used on the body–it’s a great choice if you have keratosis pilaris, aka the famous “strawberry skin”.
On a slightly different note, we also love the Filorga Skin-Prep Enzymatic Cleansing Foam, a cleansing foam that begins to revitalize the skin right from the start of the cleansing routine. Formulated with papain, an enzyme with exfoliating properties, this foam cleanses and removes make-up from the skin while acting on its appearance and texture, reducing the look of large pores and smoothing out the grain of the skin.
Toners for textured skin
If you’re anything like this writer, toners are your favorite way to address an irregular skin texture: using cotton pads or simply your fingers, you can apply toners all over the face, or just to the areas where your skin feels grainy or bumpy, such as your chin, cheeks, or sides of your nose.
If there’s one toner we keep recommending to our Care to Beauty community, it’s the Pestle & Mortar NMF Lactic Acid Toner, an exfoliating toner that’s perfect for sensitive skin. Formulated with NMF, or Natural Moisturizing Factor, this toner offers a precious double benefit: it hydrates the skin while the exfoliating ingredients, lactic acid and gluconolactone (a PHA), offer a refining effect. Use this serum to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, reduce hyperpigmentation spots, and improve uneven texture, for a smooth and radiant complexion.
If you’re looking for a more complex cocktail, try the Filorga Oxygen-Peel Re-Oxygenating Micro-Peeling Lotion. This revitalizing formula features a combination of six exfoliating actives—glycolic, phytic, citric, salicylic, and mandelic acids, plus gluconolactone—that work together to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, refine the skin texture, and illuminate dull, tired skin.
Toner pads for textured skin
Toner pads have made quite an impression on the skincare world in recent years. If you’re interested in trying them out, they may be a great ally in your quest for a more even, uniform skin texture.
Let’s start with the StriVectin Daily Reveal Exfoliating Pads, micro-peeling pads that come saturated in a cocktail of powerful refining actives: AHAs, PHAs, BHAs, and tranexamic acid. Together, these ingredients work to remove dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, minimize the appearance of large pores and blackheads, smooth out the skin texture, and brighten dark spots.
We also love the Frudia Green Grape Pore Peeling Pads, formulated with Frudia’s iconic green grape extract, a natural ingredient with soothing and antioxidant properties. Designed for makeup removal and gentle exfoliation, these pads do a great job of wiping away makeup residue, all the while dislodging dead skin cells, reducing the appearance of large pores and blackheads, and refining the skin texture–all through the action of betaine salicylate, a mild exfoliant.
Masks for textured skin
For those looking to improve the skin texture a bit faster, in as little as one application, it might be worth considering a face mask. There are, of course, limitations to what a product can achieve in a single application–the secret is to look for “flash” effect masks that work overtime to produce visible results in very little time.
The Erborian Milk & Peel Mask is a favorite in the Care to Beauty office. With a creamy texture, this mask is rather gentle, but powerful enough to reveal a brighter, more even complexion in just 5 minutes. The secret ingredients? Sesame milk, which contributes to smooth out the skin texture, and exfoliating enzymes, which remove dead cells from the surface of the skin in order to create a polished, luminous appearance.
And if you’re looking for yet another iconic mask, look no further than the Esthederm Osmoclean Lightening Buffing Mask. In addition to Cellular Water, the exclusive moisturizing ingredient present in all Esthederm products, this mask also features kaolin clay and licorice root extract, ingredients that absorb excess sebum and impurities and provide a brightening effect, respectively.
Serums for textured skin
Serums are often the key products in a skincare routine, due to their high concentration of active ingredients, capable of achieving visible results in a short amount of time. If your skincare routine is focused on refining your skin texture, an exfoliating serum could be a good option for you:
We like the Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler 3x Effect Skin Refining Serum, an ultralight serum that offers three important benefits: filling, refining, and protecting the skin. While hyaluronic acid provides the filling effect, minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, glycolic and lactic acids refine the appearance of the skin, smoothing the skin texture and minimizing the look of large pores. Finally, vitamin C provides the antioxidant benefits, protecting the skin from environmental aggressions.
We’re also big fans of the Esthederm Intensive AHA Peel Concentrated Serum, a peeling-effect serum that contains 12% AHAs and BHAs: glycolic, lactic, citric, and salicylic acids. This cocktail of exfoliating acids not only evens out the texture of the skin, but also reduces the appearance of large pores and minimizes post-acne dark spots. The velvety formula is also infused with gradual release technology, which slows down the release of actives into the skin, making this serum suitable for all skin types.
Want to explore even more skin-refining products? Then make sure to drop by the shop, where we have a complete selection of skincare products designed to help you smooth out uneven skin texture and achieve a more even complexion.
