My Skin Regimen

Before I saw the dermatologist, I had the following regimen:
Wash with Oxy Face Wash and moisturize with Olay Sensitive SPF 15 Cream. I use Neutrogena Skin Clearing Concealer and Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation. I love these two because they don't clog my pores or make me break out. It's pretty light coverage though.

I've thrown out the Oxy Face Wash because all it did was dry my skin out. Now I use DermaDoctor Born to be Mild cleanser in the morning and Neutrogena Fresh Foaming cleanser at night. My dermatologist recommended the Neutrogena wash. I found the DermaDoctor cleanser by accident while I was surfing the net. I love the DermaDoctor because it makes my skin feel very smooth and even. It has a very luxurious feel. Definitely worth the hefty price. The Neutrogena face wash is great at night because it gets rid of makeup. I usually scrub my face in the shower with my fingers in a circular motion to get rid of the peeling skin. It actually works without irritating my skin and gets rid of the "peelies" and clogged pores.

Hope this helps anyone who is looking for great cleansers. I know I have been personally looking forever and I've finally found a great combo.

Success with Retin A & Duac

I'm 27 and I finally decided to visit a dermatologist for the first time in my life about 3 weeks ago. Best thing I ever did.

I've been on the birth control Yaz for about 4 months and although it did get rid of my hormonal acne, I got a sudden outbreak of clogged pores (little zits) everywhere on my face about a month ago. I think the combination of oily skin and humidity just drove my skin nuts. Like hundreds of little zits everywhere, which I had never had before. I've always had mild acne but this was crazy. My face felt like sandpaper and I looked like a red mess.

The dermatologist prescribed me generic retin a cream (.025%) and duac. It cost me $20 total since I have insurance. I've been using retin a about 2-3 times per week at night and duac on alternate nights about 2-3 times per week. In just 3 weeks, I have cleared up tremendously (50-75%). I really doubted my dermatologist when she prescribed retin a and duac because I've never used anything other than benzoyl peroxide face wash (which used to work but wasn't enough at this point).

The only downside is that retin a makes me peel but there is no way around it since that is how it works. You skin peels so that you are revealing new skin while at the same time, washing away clogged pores. I still have some red marks on my face.. mostly on my chin from past hormonal breakouts so let's see how I do. I am supposed to see the dermatologist in about 3 more weeks as a follow-up.