CTM – My experience

CTM – the buzz word invented by Clinique has had a lot of girls enthralled. They go through the routine religiously. Over the years, my experience with this routine has taught me that this ought to be written a little differently.

It ought to be C(m)EM.

Let me explain why.

C(m): stands for cleansing, but with a cleanser gentle enough to use as a moisturizer. Faulty cleansing with highly drying/foaming washes sends the skin into a tailspin. The use of very harsh chemicals, dries out the skin, makes it feel rough. This makes you use excessive amounts of moisturizer, plus the skin tries to overcompensate by producing even more oil = clogged pores. But the truth is that an external moisturizer can never replace the oil/moisture balance of your skin.

I personally prefer using cleansers that are so gentle that they can be used as moisturizers if needed. So gentle that if left on face for 15 minutes or so, my skin won't be any worse for it.

My choice is either a cold cream, cetaphil, neutrogena or even Jhonson’s baby lotion. I apply a 50 p coin size amount and after gentle massage for 5 minutes, I wipe it off with damp cotton. I also enjoy using cleansers from LUSH, they are very gentle on the skin. This is cleansing enough to remove dirt & grime but at the same time it does not dry my skin. I generally do this at night.  

E: Exfoliation. I personally don’t find any benefit in using a toner, despite having oily skin. I would rather exfoliate. And I do on a daily basis every morning. I tend to use either my TBS Facial Buffer with cetaphil  Gentle cleanser or else just to shake up my routine, I use either Neutrogena gentle exfoliator or Himalaya Neem exfoliation scrub. Both these have very small, gentle round exfoliants that are not as harsh as walnut or apricot granules. They very effectively take off dead cells accumulated over night & reveal fresh clear skin. While some people are of the opinion that exfoliation should not exceed more than 2 times a week, I find my skin tolerates & in fact thrives with daily exfoliation.

M: is for a moisturizer. I know a lot of girls skip using a moisturizer, & I feel it is a personal choice. If you think your skin is doing well without one then by all means skip it. I personally find a lot of benefit in using a cream / lotion moisturizer in the night. It hydrates the skin well, and I don’t need a moisturizer during the day.

I generally avoid moisturizing gels (even though I have oily skin) as I find that they actually dry out my skin. Water does not hydrate the skin well, in fact it is drying. As it evaporates from the skin it actually dries out the skin further. All moisturizers need some occlusive agents in the form of oil to prevent loss of water from the skin. Gels unfortunately are rather low on occlusive agents. As a result they evaporate rapidly, I constantly feel like re-applying these gels cause of the dryness & that just makes matters worse. My all time fav moisturizer is Biotique Morning Nectar. I do drift away from it at times, when I get bored & try out newer lotions. But I always come back to it.  Another favourite is TBS Moisture White Night Cream.

What has been your experience with CTM? Do you follow it religiously or do you also have a variation on this?