Today I’m so excited to bring to you the skincare secrets of Dr. Yoon-Soo Cindy Bae, a cosmetic dermatologist at Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York and one of our surgery attendings at Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Bae received her B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating as a UC Presidential Scholar, and went on to earn an MD from Boston University School of Medicine, where she also did her dermatology residency. She did her laser, cosmetic and MOHS surgery fellowship at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York, where she currently still practices, and she teaches NYU Dermatology residents every Tuesday. She obviously has beautiful glowing skin as you can tell in her photos, and we are lucky to learn how she takes care of her own skin.

Morning routine:

In the morning, Dr. Bae starts off by washing her face with Neutrogena oil free acne wash in pink grapefruit. This cleanser contains salicylic acid, which is great for preventing blemishes and breakouts (none of which Dr. Bae has!). She then puts on SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF Gel or SkinCeuticals C-E Ferulic Acid antioxidant. The SkinCeuticals Phloretin gel is a new antioxidant formulation combining 2% Phloretin, 10% pure vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), and 0.5% Ferulic Acid for protection from environmental aggressors, and the vitamin C component helps even skin tone and diminish dark spots. Her two favorite high end sunscreens are Innovative Skincare Extreme Protect in SPF 30 or SkinMedica Post-Procedure & Sensitive Skin sunscreen in SPF 35. Her favorite drugstore sunscreens include La Roche Posay anthelios ultra light sunscreen fluid in SPF 45 (my new favorite as well! Lightly tinted for coverage and not too greasy!) and Neutrogena Healthy Defense moisturizer sunscreen. (If you need a refresher on the basics of sunscreen application and choosing one for your skin, check out my post here).

Nighttime routine:

Dr. Bae’s nighttime regimen includes a mix of products from high end brands and drugstore products. She starts off by using yummy smelling makeup remover wipes from Aveeno and then washing her face with Glytone acne self foaming cleanser, a salicylic acid based wash that removes dirt and sebum from pores without overdrying or stripping her skin of moisture. Then she alternates between her tretinoin cream 0.1% (prescription only) and NeoStrata lotion with alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). Alpha hydroxy acid is well known in the cosmetic world for its effects on increased collagen synthesis and increasing skin thickness. Tretinoin is the only scientifically proven product to prevent aging, by lightening dark spots and fine wrinkles, and improving overall skin tone. She alternates the two because they can independently be irritating to the skin, so it’s too much to use them together on the same night.

After the treatment, she moisturizes with environ intensive moisturizer for her face and petrolatum jelly from a local drugstore as eye cream (um, I am never going to pay top dollar for expensive eye creams after hearing this!). Some good drugstore moisturizers she recommends for the extra dry spots include Cetaphil daily moisturizer for sensitive skin and Cerave facial moisturizing lotion with SPF 30.

Drugstore vs. high end skincare brands?

Dr. Bae is a firm believer in if it works for you, try it! She doesn’t think that expensive high end products necessarily provide better results. If you are a fan of a certain product and it works well for you, keep using it.

Thank you so much for sharing your skincare regimen Dr. Bae! If you reside in the NYC area, you can actually see her in person at her office at Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter for more skincare and beauty tips!

A complete list of the products she uses: