I recently went to the dermatologist as I suffer from moderate-severe acne. I've got open pores all over my forehead and aninsane amount of tiny little bumps around my cheeks and jawline. Hence my skin is super oily she recommended meto use an exfoliating foaming cleanser that contains salicylic acid, l-mandelic acid, niacinamide, and tea tree oil. I've been told to use this cleanser 2-3 times per day (morning and night) and whenever my face gets dirty or oily and avoid using any moisturizer as my skin doesn't need one as it's already 'oily.' It's been over a month since I started this regimen yet I've only noticed a slight improvement. My skin's still producing loads of excess sebum and I feel like the product is fairly drying out my skin. My face definitely feels much smoothers and bumps are kinda getting smaller since I started using the product but overall my face still looks horrific. According to my research, these active ingredients should help to combat acne but I feel like my face is losing its natural oil and is still red from acne ( a bit less than before tho), why? Should I be more patient with the product or find another dermatologist?
On a side note, I've only been using face cleansers that contain salicylic acid for 5 years. No BP, no other acids, no moisturiser nor sunscreens. Could this be the reason why my face is red and i keep getting bumps and my pores are huge? Sometimes I feel like my skin doesn't tolerate SA that well ;/ What face cleansers are you using if I may know? what's your current regimen? Should I switch to benzyl peroxide?
I think you should be using a moisturizer, especially if you have oily skin. A moisturizer won't make your skin more oily, it will help to balance out your skin and prevent over oiliness. You might want to find another dermatologist because the advice from the one you are seeing seems very sketchy.
The regimen I'm using is a gentle cleanser (yes to cucumbers milk cleanser), witch hazel as a toner (thayers witch hazel), and neutrogena moisturizer. I use a few drops of tea tree oil in my moisturizer every other night, that really helps my skin. I also use a sulfur mask once a week, and a bentonite clay mask with apple cider vinegar once a week. This regimen has seriously saved my skin, I had severe acne and right now my face is almost clear for the first time in years. You should find things that work for you skin, these may not all work for your skin.
The thing with oily skin is that you shouldn't be using overly drying products on your face, you have to have some moisture in your skin otherwise your skin will stay oily, and if you feel like the salicylic acid is bad for your skin, don't use it. I hope your skin starts getting better soon!
Also wanted to add that benzoyl peroxide has never worked for my skin, I used the acne.org benzoyl peroxide for over a year and it made literally no difference except make my skin very red, so I wouldn't use benzoyl peroxide, but you could give it a try and see if it helps.