Hey all,
I am new to these boards and just wanted to get some feedback on my current situation. So, here it goes:
Over the summer, my face really cleared up and looked normal. During this time, I used dove unscented sensitive skin beauty bar to wash my face mostly, and used an antibacterial face wash pretty much every other night instead of using the dove bar 2x that day. It seemed to be fine for me. However, since the end of summer, I have been dealing with a lot of these tiny white bumps on my cheeks and wasn't sure what caused them. I did some research and found out that even the dove beauty bar can clog pores, which is what I thought was happening. Also, I found it was starting to cause a lot of dryness after washing with it. So, I've stopped using it and just began using my antibacterial face wash 2x a day. While I feel like it has been helping with my little bumps (some have gone away while some have turned into red pimples), it has also been very drying to use twice a day.
So, I've been trying different washes to see if anything doesn't dry my skin out. Well, recently, I picked up eucerin gentle hydrating cleanser..which it says will not dry out skin. My plan is to use it once in the morning and use the antibacterial wash before bedtime. I used it today for the first time and it did dry my skin a little bit right after but it wasn't bad and was tolerable.
In conclusion, my question is this: is this little bit of dryness okay? I don't want to use moisturizer because it has only done bad things to my skin I've noticed. As long as I don't mind the slight dryness and I don't break out more, I am cool with this. So, is this normal? Is what I am doing okay? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
You could just use a pure glycerin soap to wash in the morning and the antibacterial at night, won't dry out the skin or clog your pores and it's naturally moisturizing. You should be using a sunscreen on your face daily too.
I guess I could look into that. Is what I am doing okay though? Like is it okay if my skin is just a little dry? Like i said, the white little bumps have decreased so far as I can tell..which was my main concern. I'm not too worried about my skin being a little dry as long as it won't cause any other problems (I'm a guy so i dont need to worry about putting on makeup or anything). And ANY moisturizer I have used (ones that said they wouldnt clog pores) including ones like cetaphil with sunscreen has made my skin worse with these bumps so I am trying to avoid using any.
You could just use a pure glycerin soap to wash in the morning and the antibacterial at night, won't dry out the skin or clog your pores and it's naturally moisturizing. You should be using a sunscreen on your face daily too.
I guess I could look into that. Is what I am doing okay though? Like is it okay if my skin is just a little dry? Like i said, the white little bumps have decreased so far as I can tell..which was my main concern. I'm not too worried about my skin being a little dry as long as it won't cause any other problems (I'm a guy so i dont need to worry about putting on makeup or anything). And ANY moisturizer I have used (ones that said they wouldnt clog pores) including ones like cetaphil with sunscreen has made my skin worse with these bumps so I am trying to avoid using any.
Well as long as you don't mind the dryness then I would just stick to what's working. The tiny white bumps sound like clogged pores though so if just washing doesn't get rid of them an exfoliator would be the next best bet.
You could just use a pure glycerin soap to wash in the morning and the antibacterial at night, won't dry out the skin or clog your pores and it's naturally moisturizing. You should be using a sunscreen on your face daily too.
I guess I could look into that. Is what I am doing okay though? Like is it okay if my skin is just a little dry? Like i said, the white little bumps have decreased so far as I can tell..which was my main concern. I'm not too worried about my skin being a little dry as long as it won't cause any other problems (I'm a guy so i dont need to worry about putting on makeup or anything). And ANY moisturizer I have used (ones that said they wouldnt clog pores) including ones like cetaphil with sunscreen has made my skin worse with these bumps so I am trying to avoid using any.
Well as long as you don't mind the dryness then I would just stick to what's working. The tiny white bumps sound like clogged pores though so if just washing doesn't get rid of them an exfoliator would be the next best bet.
Yeah..the bumps seem to be decreasing in number and it feels like they are drying out and shrinking..A couple did turn into red pimples and I was afraid they would all be doing that before they went away but i guess that isn't the case..I guess they are just getting cleaned out.
Smittystan,
I am using a routine very similar to the one you describe. In the past I have tried long term use of the Dove sensitive skin bar and it clogged my pores, resulting in breakouts. I also have never found a facial moisturizer that agrees with me, so I just don't use one. My dermatologist prescribed a sulfur based acne cleanser for me and I tried it twice per day AM/PM but that was too drying. My routine is to use a gentle cleanser in the AM and the acne sulfur cleanser in the PM and no moisturizer. I've used this routine for 4 months and it is the best my skin has looked in 30 years:-) I have a little bit of dryness right after washing but it seems to go away after a short period of time. My personal opinion is that the little bit of dryness is OK since the routine has been working well. The gentle cleanser I use is Dickinsons Witch Hazel Foaming Face Wash. Mostly natural ingredients w/o alot of chemical stuff in it. That eucerin cleanser you mentioned contains sodium laureth sulfate. I have sensitive skin and the SLS irritated me and caused me to have small whiteheads. As soon as I stopped the Purpose face wash with SLS and switched to Dickinsons, my face cleared right up. Consider ditching the SLS If you continue having issues with the little pimples. Peace out bro:-)
Smittystan,
I am using a routine very similar to the one you describe. In the past I have tried long term use of the Dove sensitive skin bar and it clogged my pores, resulting in breakouts. I also have never found a facial moisturizer that agrees with me, so I just don't use one. My dermatologist prescribed a sulfur based acne cleanser for me and I tried it twice per day AM/PM but that was too drying. My routine is to use a gentle cleanser in the AM and the acne sulfur cleanser in the PM and no moisturizer. I've used this routine for 4 months and it is the best my skin has looked in 30 years:-) I have a little bit of dryness right after washing but it seems to go away after a short period of time. My personal opinion is that the little bit of dryness is OK since the routine has been working well. The gentle cleanser I use is Dickinsons Witch Hazel Foaming Face Wash. Mostly natural ingredients w/o alot of chemical stuff in it. That eucerin cleanser you mentioned contains sodium laureth sulfate. I have sensitive skin and the SLS irritated me and caused me to have small whiteheads. As soon as I stopped the Purpose face wash with SLS and switched to Dickinsons, my face cleared right up. Consider ditching the SLS If you continue having issues with the little pimples. Peace out bro:-)
I don't really have sensitive skin. I just tend to get dried out so I'm not too worried about the SLS in the eucerin. It felt pretty comfortable actually.
