Skincare help
 

Hello. So what do all of you women on here use for a good cleanser, toner and moisturizer? I am having the worst cystic breakouts ever and cant figure out where its all coming from. I have normally dry skin and use the biomedic line of products and Kinerase lotion but I dont know if its making my face too dry and causing it to breakout worse or not.
I have been through every antibiotic and topical prescription medication out there but all they do is make my face more dry which causes it to break out worse. Any of you out there ever taken accutane? I might start taking it in December if Bactrim doesnt start to work for me along with Yaz.

I am not a woman, but I will overlook the sexism in your post. (kidding) I was having the same problem and a friend told me to to try products from Mario Badescu. I can honestly say that it is the best stuff that I ever tried. Everything cleared up in three days and has stayed that way using the products.

Just informational...in the meantime...here is a thread with a lot of skincare tips...
makeup/skincare

i have had a similar problem lately~ i usually have the clearest skin that i don't even use a base make-up much, but holy crap what's up w/ the breakouts?~ i haven't changed anything~ one of my daycare parents who used to have awful skin, who now has peaches and cream skin saw i was freaking about my face & she gave me the pro-active line yesterday~ the cleanser, toner & repairing cream~ i have used it 3 times so far & i can't believe the difference in my skin~ it is nearly all cleared up w/ no redness~ i am going to keep using it til it's gone & if this improvement keeps up, i will surely join their club & use it faithfully~

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the tips. I will have to try that Mario Badescu product line. I have heard good things about it. Its odd that I used proactiv for years and then one day it just stopped working for me. I gave it a break for a while and tried it again with no luck. I then tried that AcneFree line and it helped for a bit and then my face went crazy again. Its very frustrating to be 31 and still breakout like a teenager, LOL! I have even tried chemical peels which seem to clear my skin up for about 3 days or so and then it goes back to breaking out again. Have any of you tried a facial brush? I heard that helps with exfoliation.

If you are having a problem with the dryness, I would suggest Johnson & Johnson Purpose facial cleanser (it works for all skin types). It's extremely mild and does the job to clean your face without stripping it. Stripping causes your face to produce more oil to compensate for the stuff most cleansers strip off. As a toner Dickinson's Witch hazel is wonderful after cleansing because again, it won't strip your skin and leaves it refreshed. I would also suggest not using a moisturizer at night because overnight your skin produces oil naturally, no need to add to that and face more breakouts.

My regime currently:

Cleanse: Aveeno Ultra Calming Foaming Cleanser

Tone: Dickinson's Witch Hazel

Moisture: Aveeno Positively Radiant Triple Boosting Serum with soy only for day

And for the occasional blemish: pure tea tree oil

Once a week exfoliation: add 1tsp of superfine sugar to your favorite cleanser

The only thing that has worked for me is the skincare from the Philosophy line.

http://www.philosophy.com/web/store/...57_44051_66507

Good skin products are great and needed, But don't forget to nourish your skin from the inside out. Drink plenty of water and take your
oils such as omega 3's. These oils are great for skin issues, the heart and mood. If you are on blood thinners then don't take them.

Thanks again everybody for the information. That is good to know about not moisturzing at night. Sometimes I wonder if I put too much lotion on my face since it is always so dry. I get so frustrated with these derms always telling me to use various prescription topicals and all they do is make my face worse. Do you guys think makeup really adds to breakouts? I use that bare minerals and I dont know if that breaks me out more or not. It does tend to dry my skin though so I should probably switch to something else.
I drink a ton of water everyday but I dont take anything with Omega 3's in it. When you are talking about oils do you mean Fish Oil?

I am in the same boat - I had a medication change (BC pill) and my skin started breaking out about 6 months later. It's bad - really bad. Cystic, painful acne on my lower sheeks & jawline. I always had acne as a young teen, but I never EVER remember it being this bad. My MD has had me on 2 different regimens so far with no luck. They say you need to give them a chance to work, but after 8 weeks there was no improvement with the first thing - now it's been almost 6 with the other option & I see no change. Before that I tried several different OTC products for 4-6 weeks each - no luck. Lush, Cetaphil, Vita-Clear (compares to Pro-Activ), Neutrogena Advanced Solution pack - nothing has worked. It sucks.

^Can you switch your pill again? I know that's a pain in the ass cause I've been dealing with that for years now. Switched to lower my cost with health insurance covering it and haven't found one that was as good as my original. But Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo is supposed to help with skin break outs. I've had problems on my chin that I can't seem to clear up. It'll be clear for a week or so and then I'll get a new break out. I never had this issue before. Part of my problem is that I mess with it and make it worse. It might be just hormonal changes/aging. Who knows? But it is annoying.

Fish oil (salmon oil), krill oil is a good source of omega3s.
Don't forget that your skin in the largest organ your body has.
Most cases the condition of your skin is telling you what is going on inside your body. Check the foods that you are eating, if your skin is worse after eating something. Having a healthy bowel also makes healthy looking skin. Most people consume way to many bad oils, to much omega 6 oil.

What? No ones sugested la mer? :shocked: Hello. Its times like this we need ask ourselves WWSS. What would Stevie say.

Hello everyone!
So i ended up having an allergic reaction to that Bactrim I was taking and had to go to the doctor yesterday and then now I have to take steroids for 6 days. No fun there but glad that things seem back to normal now. If any of you ever have to take this antibiotic beware because I was on it for almost 2 weeks before the reaction occurred. Freaky stuff.
To answer camchristo, I just did change my pill. I was taking trinessa and I would break out really badly the 2nd and 3rd week into my pack of pills and then realized that, that particular pill increases estrogen every week so I think too much estrogen was causing all those breakouts. So thats when i went to my derm and she suggested Yaz. I have only been on it about a week so its too early too tell if its going to work but so far its been fine. I recently started getting a lot of cysts on my chin and jawline and had to go to the derm and get 5 of them injected. No fun there but they are starting to heal so things are good there. I find the hardest part is finding really good concealer to cover my acne scars. I have so many of them that is tough to cover those up. Any ideas from anybody on that?
Alison, I will have to start taking Fish Oil. I have heard great things about it. I just started taking a really good multi by Multigenics and I do eat pretty well but my derm did say to avoid milk because of the hormones. I might try to eliminate some things from my diet and see if that helps. I had great skin once for about a year and it was when I was on Atkins. I dont know if it was eating all that fat or what but my skin glowed during that time.
Phoenix, so is that La Mer the best stuff ever? I almost broke down and bought it the other day and then got cheap, HA!

For me, the best ever is the Clinique 3-step system. I use the set for combo skin, because my skin is schizophrenic, and it's been a life-saver for me. It's expensive at the outset, but the bottles are huge and last a long, long time, and if it works for you, then it's absolutely worth it, no?

http://www.clinique.com/templates/products/3step_landing.tmpl?ngextredir=1

I also use their thermal pore stuff for any stray blemishes that crop up. http://www.clinique.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY4919&PRODUCT_ID=PROD8358

And I use the City Block sunblock stuff on my face, and some other things.

Oh, Clinique, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I grab a washrag & scrub, scrub, scrub.

Plenty of fish oil capsules daily keep my skin looking fresh & vibrant.

I use Clearasil acne scrub, and then the acne vanishing cream. I am 23 and I still am in a battle with zits! :mad: The sad thing is, I have to be very careful about what I use, because I am allergic to the main ingrediant in acne meds, which is benzoyal peroxide (sp?). One time I used Mary Kay's acne cream, and I rubbed it all over my face and the next morning I woke up with a red swollen face! My mom made me go to the doctor, and it turns out I was allergic to benzoyal peroxide. So I don't get to use the good stuff. :(