I Found A Surprising Hero For My Sweaty, Congested Skin & I'm Never Looking Back 

Friends with combination skin, you know the struggle: While winter brings gripes of dryness and flakes, summer is all about the oil-slick shine. Come warmer weather, my pores are perpetually congested, my T-zone a revolving door for breakouts: Once I finally get one cluster under control, up pops another crowd of zits. 

Quick factoid: I have an irrational fear of face scrubs. Logically, I know today's iterations are so different from the sandpaper options of the past, but the lingering memory of my poor, broken capillaries left me wary. Little did I know, a (gentle) face scrub would be the answer to my summertime skin woes. 

See, Tatcha's Deep Cleanse is an exfoliating cleanser, one that sweeps away gunk with Japanese luffa fruit enzymes, as well as ground fibers from the fruit's husk. The teeny granules effectively break up all traces of sunscreen, oil, and dirt, yet it doesn't leave my skin stripped or irritated afterward. Technically a gel cleanser, it squeezes out a pale yellow goop, but it instantly lathers up into a creamy foam that's incredibly delicate on the skin (hat tip to the silk-derived cleansing agents), so it's gentle enough to use every day. 

The Tatcha scrub accompanies me on my nighttime wash: After splashing my face damp, I'll massage the gel in light, circular motions to work up the product. I'll take my time, making sure to tend to my T-zone and clean the crevices of my nose, right where those pores become blocked in humid weather. 

After rinsing and patting dry, I'll follow up with a niacinamide serum and moisturizer, topping it with an oil around two to three times per week, or whenever my skin feels dehydrated. I'll use the face wash daily, save for the one night a week I swipe on an exfoliating toner—you don't want to use both physical and chemical exfoliation at the same time, even with a formula that feels like silk.