Ooookay.. well, my gf works for a dermatologist, and this is what he told me. Now, keep in mind that this is just his opinion as expressed to me, and that he has not seen any of you so this is not consultational advice.
First off, he says you should wash your face twice a day with soap and water. No, not some fancy 'soap-free skin wash' or such and such brand facial cleanser, but just plain good old soap and water. He does say to stay away from harsher soaps such as Ivory (even though it it 'pure', it is a very strong soap) and you should instead stick with a milder soap such as Lever 2000 or even Dove. He says that it is important for good skin health that sebum and dead skin be removed from your face, and washing with soap is the best way to do it. Yes, the soap will remove some of the 'good' oil along with the bad, but it is more important that 'bad' or excessive oil, and the dead skin, be removed.
He then recommended using a daily chemical exfoliant, something with Alpha Hydroxy Acid in it. Right after cleansing, the AHA exfoliant should be applied in a very thin layer, and left on. I do this in the evenings. After that, he recommends a moisturizer. As my skin tends to be slightly oily, I use a very light oil-free moisturizer in the evenings, and the same thing with sunscreen at least SPF 30 in it for the mornings. If you have drier skin, you might want to use a slightly heavier moisturizer.
The funny thing is that he says that moisturizer has exactly zero benefit to the health of your skin. Well, it helps the skin LOOK better because it adds artificial moisture to an outer layer of dried dead skin that we all have, but it has no theraputic benefit to the long term health of your living inner skin tissues. He says the most important thing is to use a sunscreen, and to make sure you clean your face thouroughly with soap and water. He thinks the AHA is important too, because the daily use of the AHA actually prods the facial skin cells to turn over more rapidly, which helps keep skin youthful and this DOES have a long term benefit to your living skin tissue health.
Thats it. Its actually a very simple routine.
