good general moisturiser in the UK

I am looking for a nice cheap, easily available from supermarkets moisturiser for extra sensitive skin (no added colours, fragrences etc) in the UK. Would prefer it to be simple with mainly "natural" ingredients. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks,

modman

my red face experience to date

I wanted to share all my experience up until now to try and help others who have the curse of a red face, mainly because tonight i've had a bad episode and i've just had enough of the whole thing.

First of all, you need to make sure you know which condition you have.. such as rosacea, keratosis pilaris rubra faceii etc.. generally doctors and even some dermatologists aren’t specialists of the subject and might misdiagnose. I'm lucky to have one of the top specialists near me, so through this I discovered I actually suffer from keratosis pilaris rubra faceii which is different from rosacea, although very similar in symptoms. Common day things which will cause flare ups are: certain foods/supplements, exercise, hot weather, sunlight, cold weather/bitter winds, intense social situations, cosmetics, physical contact etc.

Heres a run down of thinks i've found useful:

Finacea: applied topically once a day, reduces redness somewhat, still not 100% on its overall effectiveness

Johnsons baby top to toe: ultra mild cleanser, soon to try pure sea buckthorn soap because this apparently is packed full of nutrients for the skin, theres been a lot of positive reports on this stuff. Any ultra mild cleanser by a specialist brand should be good

complex 15: ultra mild moisturizer, because keratosis pilaris is also a very drying condition, this is the only moisturizer that my skin can tolerate, its brilliant stuff

Humidifier: This helps naturally moisturizer your skin if you live in low humidity (especially in cold countries using central heating a lot), I found it helped me out somewhat to reduce redness and dryness

Mild cleansing: never take baths/hot showers, only quick warm showers and pat your face gently once with a towel instead of scrubbing it. I also discovered that only applying anything to the face at night helps a lot because the skin can calm down during the night while still getting the benefit of the product, for example I apply finacea, clean then moisturize at night then everything’s settled by morning.

Anti flushing drugs such as clonidine: I found these useful but they do have side effects, you don’t fully feel yourself, a bit tired and dysfunctional, never good to take prescribed medication for too long.

Tanning: although initially it will irritate, this can really help mask the color. You can also try fake tans so as not to risk the problems associated with uv rays.

IPL and laser treatments: Won't go too into this apart from to say make sure you find a specialist for you condition, these are risky procedures and if you get someone inexperienced with your problem they could just make it much worse. For example, the only treatment which benefits me is deeper laser treatment to prevent flushing because the problem on the surface cannot be destroyed; it involved mechanisms of the skins natural proteins, not superficial redness.

Most important is to stop putting anything on your face which might be irritating it; this is the most obvious cause of skin irritation, just because it says sensitive on the bottle doesn't mean it actually will be, find what works for you.

A lot of you will know all this information already but I thought why not get a list going so new people can get all the best info straight away from the people who actually suffer from it, anyone else please feel free to add their own personal advice.

modman

green tinted products

I am considering buying Sheer Tint Redness Relief SPF15, which has a lot of good ingredients for my facial keratosis pilaris, but it has a green tint. I've never used a green tinted product before, is it very obvious that the person is using a tinted product or is it unnoticable? I would much prefer for people not to see I have something on my face.. anyone else used green tinted products? Thanks

modman

alternative to complex 15 (moisturizer)?

I live in the UK where I have to order complex 15 from america with ebay, but with paypal taking so long to process money and the current postal strike I fear I may run out before I recieve my next batch. Is there anywhere to get complex 15 in the UK, and if not is there a readily available ultra mild moisturizer which my utra sensative skin will tolerate? Thanks

modman

Who has had IPL for facial redness?

I have had horrible skin from pretty much the age of 13. I've had acne, bad facial flushing and redness, and have been rough at certain points and tried far to many products and methods to stop acne. fast forward about a decade, I am now pretty much entirely free from acne, which I mainly put down to 2.5% BP and growing out of it. I eventually stopped BP and everything, just washing with a very mild cleanser, but was still left with redness and frequent flushing. I finally got put on clonidine, which is absolutely amazing and has reduced the flushing so much, im finally at a point where I have just about manageable skin. There has been alot of good things said about finacea on this board, so I decided to give this a try as well.. and although it does help even out the redness in my complexion somewhat, its not very effective. What is you guys opinion on IPL for facial redness? I have heard a lot of possitive things being said, and worryingly a could of negative cases. It would be a complete nightmare if I went ahead and spent so much money on something which made my situation worse after finally getting somewhat manageable skin! Whats the down time as well, does it stay red for weeks afterward? I couldn't really manage that with work and school etc.. What do you guys think? I also hear getting a patch test is advised, any other advice before jumping in? Just to say also, this board is a amazing resource, it has played a major role in me sorting out my skin!

modman