Ive been suffering with acne now for 2 years started when i was 23. I have always had slightly clogged pores all over my face and my body but of recent that seems to be getting worse. They arent hard or anything but on my body very fleshy. The ones on my face feel very rough and hard if i dont exfoliate for a few days though but im having trouble with exfoliating which il explain in a minute.
Since i developed acne i started to really look after my skin (which funnily enough i didnt do prior to getting the acne but my skin was fine) id always not washed it regularly because of how sensitive it is. Splashing it with water makes it dry and itchy! Even now with gentle cleansers my skin sometimes goes itchy but not so much and isnt as dry. I have tried cetaphil cleanser which was too drying and then after not long i switched to cerave hydrating cleanser which for the most part seems ok although im not sure if over time its made fine lines appear around my eyes as thats one area i havent been over treating with moisturisers.
Ive been taking my makeup off with argan oil for a while but at the moment i only wear makeup maybe once or twice a week although reading some tips off here i read that oils high in linoleic acid are meant to be better for the skin than ones higher in oleic acid but not sure if argan oil is.
Aswell as those id been experimenting with Paula's choice BHA 1% lotion and the 5% AHA lotion. Both seem to help the bumps temporarily. But i think ive come to the conclusion i need to use a gentle exfoliant on a regular basis pretty much every other day else the bumps on my face are really obvious. I cant use the BHA or AHA every other day it would be too often and irritate my skin. Another thing that worries me is all the natural ingredients in them (I have mild oral allergy syndrome) and from previous experience my skin doesnt always react great to some natural ingredients. Honey for example i tried that on my face one and it burned, same with cucumber slices on my eyes, itched me chronically, aloe vera irritates me too slightly, so as you can see my confusion of whether to buy products with extracts of natural ingredents is great.
Someone reccommended me to try a PHA product as its meant to be gentler than AHA and BHA which led me to a Neostrata ultra hydrating cream 10% PHA. Seems to do a gentle exfolation of my skin but i think the product is breaking me out as i tried it on lower half of my face and thats the only area i seemed to be breaking out and my acne has been alot better of late (just the bumps see to be worse). So im not sure what else to try for exfoliation im really stuck as my skin cant handle rubbing, the only other thing ive thought about is a product with urea which i have been trialing on my forehead but i have a feeling its not exfoliating enough my skin looks really bumpy! Can anyone give me any advice?
Also trying to find the perfect moisturiser for my skin, think i dont want anything with too many natural skincare ingredients incase they will irritate me. I have been using some cerave pm for a while (not sure if its dehydrating me or not though) although since cutting it out i think fine lines might be appearing more on my face but i cant quite tell! Also cetaphil moisturising cream, another thing that ive worried has been clogging me and then the almond oil in it ive wondered if that could be contributing to clogs, acne or anything (i used to react badly to almonds when younger) can eat them ok now but always wondered what it might do to my skin. Like honey i can eat but obviously on my skin it burns! Im thinking of trying maybe some Laroche Posay products but not sure what to try incase of clogging.
Few facts about me...I have mild oral allergy syndrome, skin is very hypersensitive, i get heat rash in the bath or shower even if im in for just a minute or so or in luke warm water, recently my skin on my body specially around my neck and chest has been so itchy. Right now im itching my neck like mad its so itchy and im not sure why!
Always wondered if i was allergic to water, my skin doesnt seem to enjoy water what so ever. Also wondered if me drinking it actually makes me it worse funnily enough :/ Recently ive drank a fair amount of water and becauseof my skin being irritated so much it made me think isit possible its that. But i have no idea ! I need some help because i want to calm my skin down, i worry about aging alot cause my skins always inflamed. Would also like to try some anti aging creams in the future but i dont think i could until i have a better control of my skin! Can anyone give me some advice?
Included a few pictures of the bumps on my face along with some on my body. Every pore is literally clogged on my face btw even the tiniest of the tiniest.
