I've had acne since like, 7th grade (I'm now 27) and lately it's been even worse (personally right now I think it's hormonal)
But anyway, a few years ago I used the neutrogena pore refining cleanser and toner and it worked really well for me! Well, they discontinued it so I switched to witch hazel and sometimes use a bentonite clay mask but I still get break outs...
I discovered neutrogena brought back the pore refining cleanser/toner (same formula- I checked) and I've been using it all week but I feel like I have to use it 3-4 times a day sometimes (I used to do morning and night) because if I touch my face I can feel it's extra oily...
I'm assuming it's because it's purging the oils out (which is why my skin is sooo bad right now and am now washing so much more often) but how long does it usually take? A week? 2 weeks?
It's so frustrating!
you should wash your face ONLY 2 times a day - morning & night. when you wash often, you strip the oils of your face and it causes your face to produce excessive oil, hence acne.
trust me, when i first got acne, even i washed my face multiple times in a day until i found out someplace in google that its counterproductive.
Washing away excess sebum would not be a bad thing if it were not for the fact that washing will also remove the acid mantle and cause physical disruption of the epidermis. This is why people tend to get body acne around the areas a rucksack strap might rub, or a neck collar, or a waistband.
If you could wash off excess sebum without completely stripping the acid mantle, then your skin would be better for it.
My advice is:
- Dab excess oil from face with a piece of tissue - 30seconds
- Rinse face with warm-to-hot water until the face does not feel too slick underneath your fingers. This may be 3 times or it may by 15 times. Adjust accordingly.
- Finished. Apply whatever creams you use.
Using a soap/astringent/surfactant or anything else that uses chemical emulsification to remove oil, will also remove the delicate acid mantle, as this is composed of lipids.
Rinsing with water will act in a more 'mechanical' matter, just as you can wash off an oily frying pan with water alone. (although it would never be as stripped of oil as when you follow-up with dishwashing liquid.)