Acne.org Products
Hi, I am new to these boards and wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts or advice for how I currently take care of my skin. Here is my regimen:
AM:
Wash face with CeraVe Foaming Face Wash in shower
Moisturize with CeraVe moisturizing lotion right out of shower
Bare Minerals PrimeTime Primer (when I wear makeup) followed by all Bare Minerals products, sometimes Smashbox BB Cream
PM:
Wash off makeup with CeraVe Foaming (if I wore makeup that day)
Wash with Clarisonic and a bit of CeraVe Foaming for 1 minute (I just started this yesterday)
20 second gentle wash with Sodium Sulfacetamide/Sulfur Cleanser
Wait 15 minutes and apply full strength Retin-A Micro
Supplements:
Zinc, Probiotic, Fish Oil, Magnesium, Biosil, Vitamin D3
I have been using the cleanser and Retin-A for years. I have a red face with oiliness and some occasional dry flakes. My skin is quite sensitive. I have lots of clogged pores, blackheads and pustules all over my face. I only get about 3-5 papules per month and no cysts (I took Accutane years ago). My chest and back also break out quite a bit. I am almost 30 and I am kind of at a loss for what else to do. I don't want perfect, I just want to have skin that is less congested and less red. I have used the acne.org regimen, and I think it is great for some, but it did not work for my very sensitive skin (my face was red, hot, and very dry from the BP).
Anyone have thoughts on what I'm doing? Is there anything I could add or change?
iteach,
My face skin is highly sensitive med-oily too. I also use a sodium/sulfur cleanser and have found it can cause dryness/flakiness just on its own. I could see how immediately following the cleanser use with retin-A application could result in irritation/redness. Have you ever separated the two product uses....use sodium/sulfur wash in AM, retin-A in PM ? Another thought might be to reduce sodium/sulfur wash use to every other day. That's what I had to do.....2 X day (way too drying), 1 X day (a little too drying), 1 X every two days (good). Hope you get an adjustment worked out.
Thanks for the feedback. My diet has been crappy lately, so I know that can be part of the problem. I had some decent results last year when I cut out dairy and wheat for a while, so I'm actually planning to do that soon. I am a regular exerciser, and sweat contributes to my breakouts, unfortunately. I avoid alcohol and caffeine because they both cause breakouts for me. I quit taking BC pills a few months ago, and I am wondering if that's part of my problem. I may consider going back on them.
Torque- I agree about cutting back on the wash. I'm going to cut back to once per day and see if there's any improvement.
Also, I noticed my problems becoming worse when I started using the CeraVe products again. I remember this has happened in the past when I tried to use them. I just always have such high hopes for CeraVe because it gets great reviews, but I just don't think it agrees with my skin.
The other posts give a lot of information- I used to use bareminerals because my derm recc it. Got the whole kit and everything and used for about a year. But everytime i wore it i felt weird and my face would slightly itch. My face got these tiny red bumps- and i would breakout. I honestly couldnt think of what was wrong with me. My derm referred me to an allergist. I thought i wouldn't find anything- but it turns out i have many sensitivities to foods, animals, and plants.
Foods- Oats, bakers Yeast, Peaches, Bananas, Lemons, oranges (The oranges are really bad for me) Among many more. And it turns out i have sensitivites to dog, cat and of all things horse hair- odd. Turns out the bare minerals brushes are made of horse hair.... anyways you may not be allergic or sensitive to things i am. Im just showing you that sometimes the littlest things could be the culprit.