skincare routines

Photo: Courtesy of Angela Lamb

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The One Who Can Relate to Your Breakouts
Angela Lamb, MD, an associate professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York

Her skin issue: Oil, which leaves her with blemishes. "I use acne products twice a day," Lamb says. "On the upside, people with oily skin also tend to look younger." (Gotta love that positive attitude.) That being said, she's starting to notice the signs of time on her face, so anti-aging products are now a priority.

Her Routine

Morning
1. Lamb starts by cleansing with La Roche-Posay EffaClar Gel Purifying Foaming Gel Cleanser or M-61 Power Cleanse.

2. After applying a prescription acne medication, she uses either La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Oil-Free Mattifying Moisturizer ("when I'm feeling really oily") or Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance. If her skin seems dry in the a.m., she'll switch to a heavier moisturizer, like SkinCeuticals Emollience. Here's what's not in her daily morning routine: sunscreen. (Try to contain your horror). "The only time I'm outside during the day is early in the morning when I walk to work, so I get very minimal sun exposure," she says. Plus, "I'm a darker-skinned black woman, so I don't feel as wedded to the sunscreen recommendations that I make to patients who don't have my complexion."

Night
1. She washes with the same cleanser, but this time, she uses a Clarisonic Mia brush to really get the grime of the day out of her skin.

2. Lamb applies a pea-sized amount of a topical prescription retinoid to her face, which targets both wrinkles and acne. "I always follow that up with one of the thicker moisturizers from my morning routine, either the Dermalogica or the Skinceuticals," she says.

3. In the past year, Lamb has started noticing unwelcome changes around her eyes. "I've been getting Botox on my forehead and around my eyes every six months for the past 10 years, but that doesn't help with under-eye bags, which is what I'm seeing in the mirror now." Eye cream has become a part of her daily routine—her favorite is RéVive Moisturizing Renewal Eye Cream, though sometimes she'll do an eye mask like Sisley Eye Contour Mask instead. "You want something with good moisturizers, so it can plump up the area under the eye and reduce the appearance of bags."

Extras
A couple of times a week, Lamb will use the M-61 Fast Blast 2-Minute Vitamin C Facial Mask in the shower, and occasionally she'll also use her Clarisonic to exfoliate with Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant. Both help give her skin a little glow, she says.