Deep-cleansing with Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore cleansing series

As a model, one of my daily priorities is taking care of my skin. When I was still living in southern California, I didn't have any major problems with my face (I did have the occasional breakout though). But after moving to Japan, my skin did a 180 on me, and at first I had no idea how to fix the problem. It took me a while to figure out what was good or bad for my skin, and I still experiment with different skincare products. Recently, I've realized cleansing is one of the most important steps in skincare - if you don't completely cleanse all the makeup, dirt and toxins of the day, the rest of your skincare routine is meaningless. Living and working in a crowded city really requires me to make sure everything is off at the end of the day. So, here are two of my current favorites that get the job done.

Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser & Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque

Both of these are made with Amazonian white clay, with exfoliating and detoxifying properties.
I actually started using the masque first, because I was looking for something that would remove all the dirt and debris from my face after a long day. It's very easy to use - just apply a thin layer on damp skin, and leave it on for about 10 minutes or until it is almost completely dry. My skin feels so smooth and clean after I wash it off, and my blemishes look significantly smaller after use (not kidding!).

I recently read an article on Into the Gloss about the benefits of clay, which explains that "because clay is formed in the river and is left out in the sunlight, wind, and rain for thousands of years, it absorbs all of those properties of nature. It takes on the energy, so when you look at it as a substance, you can say that it's the sum of the pull of nature's energy." Clay truly absorbs all the dirt and toxins from deep within, and using both the masque and the cleanser has seriously improved the texture of my skin. Since I don't want to use the masque everyday, I use the cleanser the other days as a cleanser/ exfoliator.

I'm experimenting with other Kiehl's products so I might post about those later. Hope this helped!