Erin's skin: 3, Erin: 0 Losing the battle

[euphrosyne_rose]

Just like other people on here, I feel like I'm losing the battle with my skin. Since right before I turned 30 (I'm 31 now), I feel like it's just been one big trainwreck. Long story short, my skin gets dehydrated in the winter and then starts getting oilier when the warm weather hits but this happens to alot of people. Being in Louisiana, the warm weather turns into boiling, suffocating, want to take an ice bath heat. I'm sure that doesn't help.

My problem is that while my skin seems to take no time to get dry and flaky, it's also becoming acne prone and oily too. It's like it doesn't know what it wants to do and of course since turning 30 I've heard nothing but, "oh, it's hormonal since you are over 30 now" or "lots of women in their 30's have problems again with acne" and while I'm sure most of them are right, it doesn't mean I have to like it. I went to my dermatologist b/c I was having random, painful pimples pop up in places I had never had problems with and she prescribed Differin cream which didn't seem to quite be doing the job on all the tiny little congestion bumps I was experiencing. I started using Philosophy's Purity and HIAJ for Sensitive Skin plus Help Me retinoid treatment and finally my skin started feeling and looking better plus being smoother to the touch. For the past 3 weeks or so, it hasn't been doing as well. The Help Me doesn't seem to be helping as well as it did and lately I feel like up close my skin looks like shit. It's dull and uneven, I have a few small lines here and there and my pores on my cheeks seem like craters.

I am one of those people who does believe that things always look worse to yourself than they do to other people b/c you spend so much time scrutinizing yourself and what your skin looks like and I take comfort that alot of people, especially in Sephora for some reason, that my skin looks so great. I just feel like it could look better and feel better. I noticed that the HIAJ for SS was getting to be too much so I got the Hope Oil Free with SPF 30 and it's like it's not quite enough moisture which really aggravates me. It's like I can't win. After a few days of using it, my skin gets flaky and really dry feeling.

I know you ladies do this all the time, but does anyone have any suggestions or insight, ANYTHING?? I'm feeling really down in the dumps lately about my skin and that's not like me. I am exercising and trying to drink more water just as a side note. Any words or suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
THANKS!

 

[LMD84]

i'm sorry that you are feeling down because of your skin. i understand how that feels.

i'm 25 but have had many skin issues since my teens. the phillososphy purity cleanser works wonders for me so perhaps keep using that. it never overly dries my skin (which can get very dry). as for break outs i use a cream called quinoderm... it's super cheap but not sure of it is sold ouside of the uk. it's the only cream that has ever gotten rid of my bumps and spots completely.

i also reccomend clarins skin care very highly. perhaps you could find a counter and go trhough the products with somebody? they are pricey but my skin is always in balance now rather than having dry spots and oily patches.

 

[Mabelle]

ok, so your skin is oily this time of year? Have you tried Ole Henreiksen's moisturizers? There;s one thats called the skin insulator (i think it might have spf) that ive heard is DELISH! I like Sheer transformation which is hardcore, but you might find a bit heavy. Another one worth checking out is Vitamin plus, which is nice for oily/acne prone skin. NExt time your in sephora, i would ask for a sample of the acne line's mask, which can be used as a spot treatment. Unfortunately, my sephora doesn't carry the acne line, but i hear amazing things about it.

As for your Skin "looking like crap up close", maybe you should consider a weekly peel? Something like Ole's 3 steph peel (95 USD) or Philosophy's microdelivery peel. You can totally sample that product as well. It will help with all over look of the skin, the teeny bumps, and the feel. It also gives you skin a pretty glow

I don't know what kind of scrub you use, but anyone with oily/acne prone skin NEEDS to try Lush's Ocean Salt scrub. I swear to god, it is amazing. My BF is oily/dry and very acne prone with large pores. The poor guy was forced to try proactive, and while it worked, it dried him up SO bad. He tried this scrub, and went right off of it. It's so nourishing too. Also, a friend from work tried "grease lightening" and raved about it for drying up zits.

I don't know how you feel about your skin in regards to ageing. Are you starting to see loss of firmness/elasticity? The beginnings of some deeper lines? If yes, once your done your Help me, maybe look at the miracle worker line. It's oil free, and good for every skin type, and they have a specially formulated rentoid for even the most sensitive skin. The night treatment, while pricey (98 CAD) is honestly a great product. It's a 2 month supply, and it does work. It will help with acne/acne scaring/hyperpgmentation/deep lines/fine lines/ enlarge pored/ loss of elasticity/loss of firmness and all over skin texture/tone. They have JUST come out with a daytime treatment that is really cool. It's jam packed with a concetrate tahts 500 times stronger than Vitamin E (forget the name, but its something that found in Salmon) to make skin super resilient. I would look into those products and see if you cant sample them.... the pads are kinda hard, but you can always ask for some serum in a jar with 3-4 pads.

I know there are tons of products out there... unfortunately its a process of elimination. Thankfully, Lush and Sephora give samples, so take advantage of it! Good Luck!

 

[DollyGirl92]

Avene is making a huge different on my skin, much less dry and flaky, more balanced, I'm also using Clarins toner which is helping alot, it feels weird compared to your normal toner but I like it. I've also found that the Cleanence K cream-gel works wonders too!
I'd say give both lines a try!

 

[katred]

There is a difference between the amount of oil in your skin and the amount of water. If you're having problems with flakiness and dryness in the winter, but with Acne at other times, it sounds like your skin is both oily and dehydrated. The fact that you find your skin "dull", along with the acne and flaking, would say to me that there are dead cells clinging to the surface of your skin.

The best thing to start out with would be some type of Cream with AHA. AHAs will exfoliate the dead cells on the skin and help clear pores, which will help alleviate the problems with acne, but it will also moisturize your skin and end the flakiness problems. As was mentioned above, a weekly peel is also a good idea.

There are a lot of different types of AHAs, but if you can find something with glycolic acid, that is probably the best. (Glycolic acid has the smallest molecular weight of any AHA, which allows it to penetrate deeper into skin.)

These creams generally come in different concentrations, so if your skin gets sensitive, you might want to start off with a lesser concentration, in order to allow your skin to build up tolerance. (The first time I used one, I went too strong and my skin was quite itchy for a few days.) This will mean its effect may take longer to become evident, but it will still work. A lot of times, you can find day and night versions (only difference is that the day one will have an SPF). Feel free to use both.

For a cleanser, I'd recommend getting as neutral a one as you can find- something for sensitive skin would definitely work, but definitely something free of parabens, dyes, perfumes- all of those can cause skin to react.

If you find that, after a few weeks, you still don't see an improvement in your acne, you might want to add an acne-speific toner. Something with a low concentration of salicylic acid would help really get through to those tough to clean pores. Keep in mind that aynthing targeted to fight resilient acne is going to be very drying, so you'll need to add more moisturization.

I'm not familiar with the specific treatment your derm has you on, but the name would indicate that it has Retinol in it. This will help smooth and condition skin, but it won't do anything to help with the exfoliation. An extra bonus, as far as skin care is concerned, is that Retinol is an activator for other ingredients- so anything you add will perform better than it would on its own. (Side note- If you're not already using sun protection every day all year, start now. Retinol makes the skin more sensitive to the sun.)

Hope that helps a little. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions of the cosmetician wearever you buy your skin care products!

 

[euphrosyne_rose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mabelle ok, so your skin is oily this time of year? Have you tried Ole Henreiksen's moisturizers? There;s one thats called the skin insulator (i think it might have spf) that ive heard is DELISH! I like Sheer transformation which is hardcore, but you might find a bit heavy. Another one worth checking out is Vitamin plus, which is nice for oily/acne prone skin. NExt time your in sephora, i would ask for a sample of the acne line's mask, which can be used as a spot treatment. Unfortunately, my sephora doesn't carry the acne line, but i hear amazing things about it. As for your Skin "looking like crap up close", maybe you should consider a weekly peel? Something like Ole's 3 steph peel (95 USD) or Philosophy's microdelivery peel. You can totally sample that product as well. It will help with all over look of the skin, the teeny bumps, and the feel. It also gives you skin a pretty glow I don't know what kind of scrub you use, but anyone with oily/acne prone skin NEEDS to try Lush's Ocean Salt scrub. I swear to god, it is amazing. My BF is oily/dry and very acne prone with large pores. The poor guy was forced to try proactive, and while it worked, it dried him up SO bad. He tried this scrub, and went right off of it. It's so nourishing too. Also, a friend from work tried "grease lightening" and raved about it for drying up zits. I don't know how you feel about your skin in regards to ageing. Are you starting to see loss of firmness/elasticity? The beginnings of some deeper lines? If yes, once your done your Help me, maybe look at the miracle worker line. It's oil free, and good for every skin type, and they have a specially formulated rentoid for even the most sensitive skin. The night treatment, while pricey (98 CAD) is honestly a great product. It's a 2 month supply, and it does work. It will help with acne/acne scaring/hyperpgmentation/deep lines/fine lines/ enlarge pored/ loss of elasticity/loss of firmness and all over skin texture/tone. They have JUST come out with a daytime treatment that is really cool. It's jam packed with a concetrate tahts 500 times stronger than Vitamin E (forget the name, but its something that found in Salmon) to make skin super resilient. I would look into those products and see if you cant sample them.... the pads are kinda hard, but you can always ask for some serum in a jar with 3-4 pads. I know there are tons of products out there... unfortunately its a process of elimination. Thankfully, Lush and Sephora give samples, so take advantage of it! Good Luck!

I appreciate all the comments! It makes me feel better to know it's not really a losing battle as long as I can find the right combo of products! Mabelle, I did try Ole's line back in the winter when I had seen you recommend it for someone in another thread and I tried the dry/sensitive skin kit and ended up returning it about a week later b/c I didn't like either moisturizer BUT that doesn't mean I won't try the others you suggested. Could just be that I was either using the wrong thing or it just wasn't working for me where something in the acne line might. As for seeing a loss of elasticity, I don't see that anywhere thankfully but I do have just a couple minor facial lines that I'd love to help soften if possible. I have the "parenthesis" as it's called on either side of my mouth and really the left side is a little worse for some reason.

Quote:

Originally Posted by katred There is a difference between the amount of oil in your skin and the amount of water. If you're having problems with flakiness and dryness in the winter, but with Acne at other times, it sounds like your skin is both oily and dehydrated. The fact that you find your skin "dull", along with the acne and flaking, would say to me that there are dead cells clinging to the surface of your skin. The best thing to start out with would be some type of Cream with AHA. AHAs will exfoliate the dead cells on the skin and help clear pores, which will help alleviate the problems with acne, but it will also moisturize your skin and end the flakiness problems. As was mentioned above, a weekly peel is also a good idea. There are a lot of different types of AHAs, but if you can find something with glycolic acid, that is probably the best. (Glycolic acid has the smallest molecular weight of any AHA, which allows it to penetrate deeper into skin.) These creams generally come in different concentrations, so if your skin gets sensitive, you might want to start off with a lesser concentration, in order to allow your skin to build up tolerance. (The first time I used one, I went too strong and my skin was quite itchy for a few days.) This will mean its effect may take longer to become evident, but it will still work. A lot of times, you can find day and night versions (only difference is that the day one will have an SPF). Feel free to use both. For a cleanser, I'd recommend getting as neutral a one as you can find- something for sensitive skin would definitely work, but definitely something free of parabens, dyes, perfumes- all of those can cause skin to react. If you find that, after a few weeks, you still don't see an improvement in your acne, you might want to add an acne-speific toner. Something with a low concentration of salicylic acid would help really get through to those tough to clean pores. Keep in mind that aynthing targeted to fight resilient acne is going to be very drying, so you'll need to add more moisturization. I'm not familiar with the specific treatment your derm has you on, but the name would indicate that it has Retinol in it. This will help smooth and condition skin, but it won't do anything to help with the exfoliation. An extra bonus, as far as skin care is concerned, is that Retinol is an activator for other ingredients- so anything you add will perform better than it would on its own. (Side note- If you're not already using sun protection every day all year, start now. Retinol makes the skin more sensitive to the sun.) Hope that helps a little. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions of the cosmetician wearever you buy your skin care products!

I don't use a peel of any sort but I do exfoliate once a week when I remember to. Awful, I know. I use the Cosmedicine scrub which I don't find that I care for that much but haven't researched any others yet. I also do use that Help Me retinol cream every night instead of the Differin b/c like I had mentioned, it seemed to help alot more than the Differin did. Any AHA cream recommendations? My routine now is basically cleanser, moisturizer and the Help Me with a spot treatment when I need it.

 

[Mabelle]

I know what you mean about the parenthasis.... i have those expression lines too. Is the Help me working on them? Cause it should! If not, maybe ask to sample the miracle worker. It seems like your skin is being picky, so i would really suggest sampling the hell out of a bunch of stuff at sephora. That way to don't have to waste your time by buying/returning/exchanging stuff.

 

[blondie711]

erin, i had my daughter who used to be a practicing esthetician but is now a nurse, read your post. she suggested that you start using a cleanser that contains ahas (alpha hydroxy acids). try to keep your regimen to 3 items. a cleanser, a moisturizer & a serum. it sounds like there is alot of different things going on with your skin (like mine used to be). A cleanser w/ aha eliminates the need for an exfoliator in most people.
this is my routine:
1) am: wipe off my face with a washcloth w/ warm water
apply my antioxidant serum
apply my moisturizer w/ spf
2) pm: cleanse with aha cleanser
apply night moisturier w/ aha or retinol
I have adult/hormonal/whatever it is acne, dry & flaky in other areas, just regular old pain in the ass skin. but it has improved so much since i have been following this routine. i don't try different things, because i know this works, why mess with it. i actually get a compliments or two now! lol
the products i use are all skinceuticals (except in the winter when i use a heavier night moisturizer). i know that they are not inexpensive, but it's the one area of my products where i don't cut any corners.
i wish she was still an esthetician so i didn't have to pay retail, but it is what it is.
i hope that helps, if you want specific product reccomendations let me know!

 

[euphrosyne_rose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mabelle I know what you mean about the parenthasis.... i have those expression lines too. Is the Help me working on them? Cause it should! If not, maybe ask to sample the miracle worker. It seems like your skin is being picky, so i would really suggest sampling the hell out of a bunch of stuff at sephora. That way to don't have to waste your time by buying/returning/exchanging stuff.

AMEN!! My skin is being picky! I haven't noticed a difference in the lines but I felt like I did at first. It seems like the Help Me isn't quite as effective as it was at first but it could just be me. I feel like I spend a little too much time exchanging/returning stuff at Sephora lately but I'm just glad they have the policy made where you can do that. I do get samples whenever I can but sometimes I just want to bite the bullet and try something regardless. I bought the NARS Matte foundation after not liking the Sheer Glow and I'm returning it as well b/c my skin just doesn't seem to like NARS foundation. I'm also returning the Philosophy Hope Oil Free. I'll check out some of other things you ladies suggested today though. I really appreciate all the help!