I can hardly take it anymore.
I am a 22 year old female.
My skin is a disaster regardless of how much I do to take care of it.
I have very dull, lifeless and awfully textured skin. On top of that it is oily AND sensitive.
I get the monthly breakouts that take months after to heal. I have large pores, that always seem to be filled with white stringy puss. I have flesh colored comedones randomly throughout my face and those that cluster around the corners of my lips. I also have tiny red marks leftover from previous acne bumps. My face seems so aged due to this texture. It's driving me nuts. I have spent so much money since the age of 11 to try and correct my skin but nothing gives.
The thing is I've tried so many regimens.
1. Washing with only water twice a day and moisturizing (counterproductive for my oily clogged skin)
2. Steam/oil cleansing 4-7 times a week. Also counterproductive.
3. Proactiv (too drying for my sensitive skin causing me to break out more)
4. Simply washing with non comedongenic cleansers, and moisturizing with noncomodegenic moisturizers.
5. Exfoliating with natural ingredients 5-7 times a week which gives me overly dry skin while my pores are STILL clogged.
6. Vitamin C creams/Coconut oil/Glycerin/serums
7. Spinbrush cleanser
8. Face masks 2-4 times a week
9. Over the counter acids.
The list is ENDLESS.
I've been trying a combo of these things for years and my skin still does the same crap. Everything seems to equal breakouts/dryness/oiliness/ clogged pores. And I do not wear makeup.
WHAT
My current regimen is
morning: wash with LUSH natural seaweed using my spinbrush.
rose water toner
PONDS clarant dark spot correcting moisturizing cream with vitamin B&C
night: one of my face masks
cleanse again with LUSH seaweed cleanser
rose water toner
differin retinoid (been using for 5 months)
ponds moisturizer
apply tea tree oil with qtip to spots.
For whatever reason I am still a oily clogged mess with dull skin and an ugly texture. Please tell me someone has dealt with and overcome this. I'm so beyond over this.
Seaweed can pull out water out of skin and can make skin dull
take vitamins especially made for skin
take inside omega 3-6-9, high end grocery carry them
use seaweed cleanser every other day and once a day only
try retin A for large pores
also do masks with camphor ( look online for that ingredient in masks)
clay mask also can make skin really dull since it pulls out water out of skin too
avoid doing clay and seaweed mask everyday, it meant to do once a week only
apply fresh fruit on face like apples, carrots, mango, strawberry, for better skin tone
every 3 days apply buttermilk for 15 min
I wonder if a visit to your dermatologist or gp would help you find a simpler more effective routine. Excess oil in women usually means a hormone imbalance, specifically too much testosterone. I know cause I have struggled with this My whole life. There is an oral medication called spironolactone that may help some women because it acts as an androgen blocker and has been shown in some studies to help reduce sebum production. Many women find certain birth control pills to help also. Have you been told you have PCOS? Sometimes metformin can help acne in cases of PCOS. I am not a doctor, so you should definitely consult a professional. You are still very young, so take it from an older lady - don't be afraid to make notes about these things and ask your doctor about them. Sometimes I carry an index card with the questions I want to ask my doctor. Everyone's skin and body chemistry is different, so it may take some trial and error partnered with your doctor to find the right combination of things that work for you.
I am sorry to here about that and I have the same problem. I would reccomend getting a dermatologist or asking your doctor if there is anything they reccomend. Also are you moisturizing because even if you have oily hydrated skin you will still have to moisturize after washing. I wish you good luck!!
I used to havereallyoily skin until I started using a face oil. I use Maracuja Oil because it is high in linoleic acid. Linoleic acid is great for oily skin because, when you have oily skin, your skin has a defecit of linoleic acid, so putting an oil high in linoleic acid on your skin compesates for the defecit. I also use Neutrogena Water Gel with Hylarounic Acid. I used to think that in order to fix my oily skin, it would be best to dry it out. From my experience, it is the exact opposite. I've found that using nourishing products (like Hylarounic Acid, which helps that skin retain moisture) helps with my oily skin.
For acne, I used to use BenzaClin. It worked pretty well, but it dried the hell out of my skin so I switched to TruSkin Tea Tree Serum. So far, the serum works just as well as BenzaClin, but I'll give a full opinion in a month or two. I use Christina Moss face wash with a Conair Face Brush (highly recommend the brush, face was noticibly brighter after first use) and the Christina Moss works fantastic for when I have cystic acne (which only comes due to my period) and the cysts go away in three days at most. Very recently, I've starting making my own mixture of facial oils. I use 2/3 Maracuja Oi, 1/3 Grapeseed Oil, and a few drops of Copaiba Essential Oil (the amount depends on the amount of the first two oils.) Copaiba Oil is tutted as one of the greatest anti-inflammatories, which I attest to.
I know this is a lot of information, so if you have any questions about anything, let me know. Hope this help!
The best way to treat comedonal acne and clogged pores would be through exfoliation. It's very important that you find the best exfoliant for your skin type. My entire face used to be polluted with clogged pores and salicylic acid did nothing to them. Mandelic acid,however, cleared them up in a couple of days. Abottle of mandelic acid toner is the only thing I need in my entire skincare regimen to keep me zit-free.