I am 27. When I was younger I battled acne using a variety of solutions - acne cleansers, proactiv, excessive face washing, toothpaste, scratching, popping, etc! My acne has mostly cleared up as I've aged (aside from blackheads all over my nose).

For the past 5-6 years, I battle a new problem: any time my face comes into contact with water (or even touching), my skin breaks up, becomes chalky, and white. The most affected areas are my nose, mouth, chin, and between eyebrows. I have dry skin on other body parts but this is different, it's almost like someone drew on my face with chalk. I have survived with constant use of moisturizers (neutrogena), avoiding public water contact, etc.

For treatment, I was prescribed some sort of anti-inflammatory steroid cream which did nothing. I have tried green tea moisturizers, I tried quitting using moisturizers. Nothing works.

I am wondering if I permanently damaged my skin when I am younger? Is my use of moisturizers stopping my body from producing natural moisturizers? Or am I suffering from something else? Any help is desperately appreciated.

Seborrhoeic dermatitis, maybe? Extremely dry skin? It's difficult to tell from the picture.

The skin automatically produces natural moisturizing factors (NMF), regardless of applying lotions. Some humectants in lotions can actually pull out water from the skin, causing dryness.

Use sunscreen and use a heavy-duty bland moisturizer like Aquaphor (if you haven't already). I think you should get this checked out by a dermatologist.

I have a similar problem. I have very dry/flaky skin that appears from anything such as eating and opening my mouth too wide, smiling and water. When I wake up in the morning my whole face is very dry, I guess from rubbing it into my pillow while sleeping. Some areas, like my nose, peel away in large pieces of skin almost like sunburn. My face is red and discolored and also very oily (with blackheads across nose). Moisturizers and oils just cover the dryness, never prevent/help it. I too think it is from using too many topicals during my younger years (22 now). I heard the Oil cleansing method is very good for dry skin. I haven't tried it because I am afraid it will irritate my rosacea.

I have a similar problem. I have very dry/flaky skin that appears from anything such as eating and opening my mouth too wide, smiling and water. When I wake up in the morning my whole face is very dry, I guess from rubbing it into my pillow while sleeping. Some areas, like my nose, peel away in large pieces of skin almost like sunburn. My face is red and discolored and also very oily (with blackheads across nose). Moisturizers and oils just cover the dryness, never prevent/help it. I too think it is from using too many topicals during my younger years (22 now). I heard the Oil cleansing method is very good for dry skin. I haven't tried it because I am afraid it will irritate my rosacea.

The OCM is...tricky, to say the least. A lot of the oils will just sit on top of the skin, and while occlusion itself works, it's not as good as ones with petrolatum + glycerin. It also depends on the kinds of oils you use and its purity. So, no, I wouldn't use it for rosacea.

You could try an antifungal like Lotrimin Ultra (not AF) cream, and Nizoral 1% shampoo to see if the chalky skin is seb derm induced by malassezia. Think of the problem as an allergy to this commensal fungus (which means it's part of the normal skin flora), where the very upper part of the skin (stratum corneum) becomes sticky from reacting to malassezia, and your skin cells don't flake off microscopically like they should. Instead they clump up. Adding a moisturizer makes the sticky skin biuts even more adherent. It's treable but not cureable, so find a routine that works and use it every day. You should see results in two-weeks, and then you have a positive differential diagnosis for a malassezia allergy-type condition.

If the diagnosis is positive for a malassezia allergy, you could then include the only oil that malassezia cannot metabolize, which is MCT oil, sold at many web stores and at Whole Foods. It has a carbon chain length of only C8 and C10. Pure MCT oil will be too greasy (therefore not aesthetic), but you could make a temporary emulsion with 20% MCT oil and 80% water, and then shake it up each time you use it, and spray it with a mister onto your face so you don't apply too much oil. It will help soften and remove the flakes, and it won't cause any harm like all other oils, but by itself it doesn't cure anything. Keep it in the frig or make small one-week batches because this simple emulsion has no preservatives. (The accepted rule is anytime you add water to have refrigerate or use in one week.) There's a commercial product very similar to this called CapriClear, which is much more expensive but it's a much better emulsion so it's more aesthetic.

Everyone's skin is different so it's hard to say what will and will not work from you but I can share my experience with my own skin. For me I dry out my skin by using too harsh of cleansers, using too warm of water, washing for too long, using other irritating products. What has helped me with my dry skin is to simplify my routine and wash twice a day in a medium temp shower, quickly with a small amount of gentle cleanser. I also apply a small amount of Jojoba oil to my skin after showering to help keep the moisture in my skin (dry winter months just pull all of the water out of your skin). I also use a humidifier when the air gets really dry to try to combat skin water loss as well. I would NOT recommend a thick moisturizer to anyone who has acne issues. If you have acne issues then you have oily skin and putting a heavy layer of anything over your skin even if the label says it will not clog pores IN MY OPINION can increase your chances of getting clogged pores. I have had no issues with Jojoba used in small amounts. Hope you find something that works for you.