Aug28
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WOW you guys! I was not expecting such a huge respond to my last post about my skin care dilemma. THANK YOU!!! I wrote down 14 different brands to try from all your very helpful, thoughtfully written comments. Many of you suggested Cerave and Cetaphil. Many suggested cutting out dairy and gluten. Many suggested the oil cleansing method. And most of all, MANY of you shared that you’d had similar issues which made me feel so much better. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one my age with acne issues so it was comforting to know that others have been there and gotten past it. Thank you for sharing and empathizing!
So, I thought what I’d do is tell you what I have been doing for a while, what I recently started and what I’m going to start doing.
For at least 3 months:
- Eating dairy free
- Eating 90% gluten free (I blame Camino Bakery for the other 10% 😉 )
- Sporadically using a retinol cream
I didn’t notice a huge difference when I cut back on dairy or gluten but I wonder if the small amount of gluten is causing problems.
For the past 5-10 days:
- Starting taking 1 t. of cod liver oil 2x a day (I read on multiple blogs that it does wonders for skin)
- Taking the Balance of Naturefruit & vegetable supplements (it’s kind of like Amazing Grass but in pill form…so much better than choking down powdered greens in a smoothie!)
- Used leftover Simone France Light Milk cleanser 4 times (which has mineral oil in it)
- Used Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Controlling Astringent after the milk cleanser (Aubry recommended this to me a few weeks ago and I realized I had some in my junk closet!)
- Used Proactiv twice
- Used Garnier night serum every night
- Used Retinol twice (before the Garnier serum)
Maybe it’s a coincidence and knock on wood, but my skin looked a lot better this morning. Maybe it’s all the above changes or maybe it was all your good vibes you sent through the comments. 😉 I realized that the Light Milk has mineral oil in it and the Simone France line is loosely based on the oil cleansing method, so that method apparently works for me to some degree.
What I’m going to do next:
- I’m going to attempt to recreate the Simone France method (AM “Sandwich” method: moisturize, then exfoliate, then wash with bar soap, then moisturize + PM combo of oil-based cleanser and toner ) using products with somewhat similar ingredients, including a Cetaphil cleanser, an exfoliating scrub, a natural bar soap, and a mild toner (still TBD).
- Use up all the oil free SPF moisturizers I have in the AM. If I keep breaking out, I’m going to buy new moisturizers, probably Cerave.
- Keep using the Garnier night serum in the PM.
- Keeping using the Image Skincare Ageless Total Retinol A every 3 nights.
- REALLY try to completely cut out gluten. Sigh.
- Try this mask (thanks Jessica!)
- Find a new eye cream when I run out of the Mario Badescu one (I don’t dislike but I would just like to try something new). Any recommendations? I have fine lines.
- Remove make-up with Yes to Blueberry wipes before workouts, if necessary.
- Maybe splurge on the Simone France Instant Radiance Mask.
- Stop touching my face during the day. (Good tip HilaryJean!)
- Moisturizing when my skin feels dry (per the recommendation of Jill and Trisha)
THEN I going visit the derm. I don’t know why I’m so anti derm but I am so hopefully this will work. I do really want to try some of the other products suggested by you guys because you all gave your products such glowing reviews (especially Juice Beauty – thanks Amy!).
Wish me luck! And thanks again for all your thoughtful, helpful comments! You impacted my entire game plan going forward!
xo
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16 responses to “Next Steps with my Skin Care Dilemma”
Thanks for acknowledging all your commenters, Teri! My only thoughts about your plan is that it is a lot of different products. My friends have always harped on me for using different skin care products at the same time. They say to use the KISS rule from elementary school – keep it simple sweetie! haha. Best of luck to you!
I know this might be late but I have started using Andalou naturals brightening line. Both the Meyer lemon dash wash and the brightening daily lotion have made a huge difference to the condition of my skin.
I definitely agree with keeping it simple. The more stuff you use, the greater your chances of clogs and irritation are. I was using DHC’s cleansing oil at night (and nothing else, at all.) and my skin was smooth, hydrated, but my forehead and chin had some breakouts. I added a few products.. Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple cleanser 2x a day (after the cleansing oil at night), their Help Me retinol cream at night, and Hope in a Jar moisturizer in the morning before my Shiseido sunscreen. It’s made a BIG difference. Retinols will make your skin look terrible first as they draw all of the gunk to the surface (read: breakouts) and can be irritating if your skin in sensitive, but then my face got so much smoother and more radiant and the breakouts are 95% gone. I bought the products in a kit from Sephora and will definitely repurchase. My advice is to use as few things as possible, moisturize liberally, use a retinol every other night or so (and sunscreen! They cause photosensitivity), change your pillowcases often, and give your skin time to adjust. It takes about a month for your skin to shed existing cells and form new ones.
Not touching your face is a great tip! I have had bad skin since I was 12.5 and you can literally see where I rest my head in my left hand during the day. It’s hard to be cognizant of but can make a huge difference. Good luck!
Cerave moisturizer is the best! I use the cleanser and am/pm moisturizers and my skin is doing great!
I’m really intrigued to hear how these work for you — I’m right there with you on the skin problems!
Right now I use ProActiv, because it seems to be the only thing that sort of works, and it’s not terribly expensive….
I just want to be one of those horrible girls with flawless skin — is that too much to ask? 🙂
It’s possible you are OVER moisturizing. It seems youre using alot of different products sort of sporadically. I think maybe youre face just doesnt know what to do so it’s freaking out. Keep it simple. The best thing you can do is get a routine down. Good luck!!
Since I started using Yes to Blueberries! cleansing wipes my face has started breaking out and I actually have normally clear skin. Just an FYI!
I have the Yes to Cucumbers ones and they make parts of my totally not sensitive skin burn.
I’ve had the same problem. My skin is not sensitive at all (my skin tends to be on the oily side) and I just used the yes to blueberries wipes last night and my whole face was burning. Strange!
I know you said you’ve had this for a while, but I am 27 and developed severe acne on my back last year. For me, turns out I was taking too many supplements/eating too many foods with Iodine and B12. I took meds to help it, but until I realized that some of my favorite foods and multivitamins contained Iodine & B12, nothing helped. Once I cut back on those, it cleared up! Just another thing to try 🙂
I’m the WORST at touching my face. I need to stop -stat.
I’ve been struggling with acne all my life, too. Nothing helped. Even my dermatologists didn’t find a cure. Then I stopped eating gluten because I read about it somewhere (my doctor said it wouldn’t work, by the way), and it helped. It takes time, though. I only noticed my skin getting better after six weeks.
I fear you may be doing TOO MUCH with your face and freaking out too much about your skin. When you put too many different products on it and stress out a lot about it, that’s when acne and other problems occur. Trust me, my friend had THE WORST and I mean WORST acne I had ever seen in my entire life. I recommended she get rid of ALL of her products that she used and simply use MD Forte I or II (it’s what I use, you can get it on LivelySkin.com for pretty cheap – considering it’s a face cleanser) and then a little moisturizer… I also told her to CUT OUT sugar (she only cut back)… but I told her to do NOTHING ELSE, no masks, no extra this or that, etc… and her skin has seriously NEVER looked better! It’s incredible!! Clean diet, less stress and a little MD Forte are my recommendations to you 🙂
sounds like you are taking the right steps! you know Lori and I struggle with skin, and still do! It is a learning progress for sure. Wishing you all the best!!
Gah I have acne toooo! I keep trying various things. Right now I’m using African Black Soap (dudu-oson brand) to wash followed by Grandpa’s Thyxol Soap (leave on for a minute-three and wash) followed by Margarite’s Zinc Cream (on dry skin). Then at night I’ve been using a face wipe and a retinol night cream. It’s been working alright but nothing ever seems to take everything away. Good luck to you!