4 replies to this topic

[ildormi]

I have really easily irritated skin, that gets oily mid day. I have tons of under the skin bumps on my cheeks along with scars everywhere , and rarely get any in my T zone. Every time I wash my face with a cleanser I get a ton of flakes and dryness, which I'm starting to think is the main cause of my acne. And I use a foaming cleanser for sensitive skin for olay.
I've recently decided to cut out all exfoliants and harsh cleansers out of my routine. I've always had acne to some degree throughout my teens, but its gotten really bad in the past two or three years when I started using more topicals on my face. I really think this is where thing s went wrong. My acne was always there, but I never really thought about it much and just washed my face when it was really oily once a day and it would be fine. Anyway, I want to go back to using less on my skin.

I'm looking for a cleanser that won't strip my skin and leave me flaky, so my skin can hopefully run its own course and heal itself, as it should naturally. I've tried cetaphil and that did the job, but it seemed to clog my pores.

Suggestions or anything else I can do?

Edited by ildormi, 03 January 2012 - 10:32 AM.

[steven m jacobson]

why even use a cleanser at all? oil doesn't cause acne

[gemmyjunebug]

A couple suggestions:
1. CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser. It's a non-foaming cleanser with a milky texture comparable to Cetaphil. Though, it's not at all formulated the same. It's extremely gentle and has never caused reactions or breakouts for myself. I have skin that I swear reacts to water. Obviously that is an extreme-but some days I wonder. I'm Super sensitive as well!
2. CeraVe Foaming Cleanser. I have never tried this particular cleanser, however the formulation in comparison to the hydrating cleanser is the addition of gentle cleansing agents to remove oil, dirt, etc. Hence "foaming"
3. Free and Clear Liquid Cleanser. I just purchased this cleanser for the removal of some makeup products I'm trying. To soon to review...but so far so good.
I limit my washing routine with a cleanser to once a day. I have super sensitive skin and over-washing makes it worse. In the morning I splash with water and that's it. Exfoliation with sensitive skin depends truly on what you feel or your skin feels comfortable with in regards to exfoliation. I manually exfoliate with a washcloth 2-3 times a week. Mostly around my hairline and gently around my nose. If a washcloth still feels to harsh, you could try a baby washcloth or microfiber cloth. Both are extremely gentle with little to no irritation. Adding an AHA or BHA is beneficial to the skin. Though for sensitive skin it's best done in small doses. I find a BHA works better with my skin. A lactic acid (AHA) is less irritating to some than a glycolic acid. Again, personal preference. Usually determined by your skin type and/or formulation of product. Adding a moisturizer helps a lot! Rebuilding and repairing your skin with less products, gentle cleanser, and great moisturizer can do wonders. I agree with you, less is more when it comes to sensitive skin. Who knows, once your skin is balanced out again-you may find it's not as sensitive as you thought.

[adalyn]

Hands down the best gentle drugstore cleanser I've ever used is Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash. If the company discontinued the wash I used now, I'd go back to Purpose. It cleans your skin without overdrying or leaving a residue. I used to use Cetaphil, which clogged my pores and Purpose beats it for sure.

[naturaldoctor]

Use something really gentle. Purely Natural Skin acne cleanser is perfect. Gentle and cheap. Not sure if they ship to US.

I have tried so many cleansers and find a lot of the time they just aggravate things. My skin has never been better. Less is more