I like the Hylunia Gel cleanser it works very well and has no harsh ingredients in it. Its not cheap and you have to order it online but its the best face wash I have ever used.

http://www.hylunia.com/products/face-care/facial-cleansers/facial-cleansing-gel

More info on them:

Our products are free of all known harmful toxins, endocrine disruptors and anti-inflammatory ingredients including parabens, preservatives and sulfates. Hylunia products are formulated to deliver results and heal the skin with powerful anti-oxidants, vitamins and plant peptides while preventing inflammation. We are proud to say that Hylunia skin care products have always been Paraben Free, Sulfate Free, Gluten Free, GMO Free, Cruelty Free and Vegan.

I like the Hylunia Gel cleanser it works very well and has no harsh ingredients in it. Its not cheap and you have to order it online but its the best face wash I have ever used.

http://www.hylunia.com/products/face-care/facial-cleansers/facial-cleansing-gel

More info on them:

Our products are free of all known harmful toxins, endocrine disruptors and anti-inflammatory ingredients including parabens, preservatives and sulfates. Hylunia products are formulated to deliver results and heal the skin with powerful anti-oxidants, vitamins and plant peptides while preventing inflammation. We are proud to say that Hylunia skin care products have always been Paraben Free, Sulfate Free, Gluten Free, GMO Free, Cruelty Free and Vegan.

Love the idea of this, it sounds amazing but alas, I'm topically allergic to coconut (from which is derived one of the first two ingredients). Oh well. But because I'm curious, have you or do you use this while using a retinoid?

I have been on retinoids in the past while using this but i stopped because all they do is make my skin red and peel. i never get past that part no matter how long i use them. i seem to have better luck with using a toner with aha for my skin than retinoids unfortunately. that sucks about being topically allergic to coconuts.

i am sure if you go into an organic grocery store like whole foods they will have something there you can use. good luck

I have been on retinoids in the past while using this but i stopped because all they do is make my skin red and peel. i never get past that part no matter how long i use them. i seem to have better luck with using a toner with aha for my skin than retinoids unfortunately. that sucks about being topically allergic to coconuts.

i am sure if you go into an organic grocery store like whole foods they will have something there you can use. good luck

I am trying retinoids for the first time, so we shall see. I'm starting every other night and since my skin is so sensitive, my derm said I might never work up to being able to using them daily. I haven't noticed anything much yet, it's far too soon to tell.

I just assume I am topically allergic to coconuts, because dabbing coconut oil on a few blemishes made me break out in angry, itchy, painful red pimples on my cheeks (where I almost never break out) and I'm still reeling a month later. I don't think it should be used on the face. Something derived from coconut could end up being fine but I'm too scared to try using anything with it now, even on my body. It's fine, honestly, I don't even like coconut, unless it is in an Almond Joy bar. And even then, now I think I'll be passing on those too!

yeah when i was younger i used retin-a for about 6 months and it always made my face super super red and shiny looking. i hated it!! then years later i tried differin on the chin area and it was always red and flaky so then i tried tazorac and that just killed my skin. last resort before i went on spiro i tried retin-a again and i got some bad cysts and was super red and flaky again so i was done with it. the derms still want me to try and use it for scarring but i hate that peeling/red looking phase and never seem to get past it. i wish my skin wasnt so sensitive!

it was probably just the oil not the actual coconuts in the oil that broke you out. i have never used any sort of oil like that on my skin i am way too paranoid but with the face wash you rinse it off so i think it would probably be fine. lol i had no idea it had that in it i never really looked at the ingredients i just knew it was a safe organic cleanser that was sulfate free -ha! well good luck to whatever face wash you choose

also if that is you in the pic you have on here you are really really pretty!! i bet you look amazing even with acne!

Haha, no that's Marilyn Monroe in my profile pic, sadly. I am no Marilyn. But I think I'm pretty in my own right. I would like to be able to go without foundation without feeling self-conscious, though!

I've used other food oils on my skin, like extra virgin olive oil, without that reaction. Coconut oil is harsh and comedogenic, even with all of its antibacterial and healing properties. I also felt like it was very drying. But you're right, a face wash could be fine.

I ended up going with Cerave after all because I needed a cleanser fast, even though it's not organic, and my face seems to be doing really well on it, so I don't know.

oh wow it is? i didnt even realize that! i need more caffeine today i must be really out of it -ha!! i am sure you are just as pretty as Marilyn that is for sure and yeah going without foundation sure would be nice. when i didnt have any acne scarring i could do that but not now. i hate it because there are some days i dont want to put on a mask ya know?

gotcha and glad you found something you like. good luck on the differin i hope it works out well for you. i will say out of the retinoids i used it was the least irritating even though i couldnt tolerate it at least my face wasnt like 10 shades on red on it -ha!

oh wow it is? i didnt even realize that! i need more caffeine today i must be really out of it -ha!! i am sure you are just as pretty as Marilyn that is for sure and yeah going without foundation sure would be nice. when i didnt have any acne scarring i could do that but not now. i hate it because there are some days i dont want to put on a mask ya know?

gotcha and glad you found something you like. good luck on the differin i hope it works out well for you. i will say out of the retinoids i used it was the least irritating even though i couldnt tolerate it at least my face wasnt like 10 shades on red on it -ha!

Do you have pitted scarring or hyperpigmentation/PIE? I mostly at the moment have red marks that I think are post-inflammatory erythmia, which the differin is supposed to address... Just a few active acne and no lesions or cysts! I have started it very, very slowly, every other night. I haven't had any dryness or flakiness yet but I've only used it four times. I do use a pretty heavy-duty moisturizing cream about 20 minutes after applying differin, so that helps.

i have a mixture of indented and raised scarring. i used to get tons of red marks before i got scarring and those were pretty easy to get rid of with ipl treatments. a few zaps on each spot 2-3 times and they were gone. i hope you have much success with the differin but there are lots of options for red marks out there which is nice they are so easy to get rid of.

I use cerave hydrating cleanser and it definitely helps to NOT dry out my skin further. If you can't find a non SLS product then i recommend it. Are you going to keep a log of your experiences on differin? I am using it too (.03) along with Aczone as I am allergic to BP.

Good Luck on your journey. Maybe at some point we can compare notes

I use cerave hydrating cleanser and it definitely helps to NOT dry out my skin further. If you can't find a non SLS product then i recommend it. Are you going to keep a log of your experiences on differin? I am using it too (.03) along with Aczone as I am allergic to BP.

Good Luck on your journey. Maybe at some point we can compare notes

Funny, I just started using Cerave. It doesn't actually have SLS but it has other things I'm not crazy about. But then again, so do both of my prescription topicals and my BP, so why get hung up on the cleanser?

I was thinking about keeping a log, maybe I will if people would be interested. I feel like my regimen (BP, Clindamycin, Differin, and drospirenone birth control) is a pretty standard prescription, so maybe it would be helpful to a lot of people.

Differin has been fine so far, a little flakiness and this morning my nose was really red (and I don't put it on my nose). I don't know if it's related. But I've started so slowly that I think that the onset of irritation will come on in about a week or two.