Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hey there SCA!! I've lurked this sub for a good two years now and it's done a world of wonder educating me on how to better identify and treat my skin; however, I feel like I need some second opinions on my routine. This is my first time posting here so you'll have to forgive me if I make a mistake.There's a lot to my skincare history of products I've tried and things I've discovered about what does my face more harm than good. To make a loooong story short, at this point in time I operate under the assumption that these things don't play well on my skin:Cetyl alcohol, or anything with a lotion consistency (probably thickening agents altogether, I have no idea, lotions and creams have just never played nice on my face)SiliconeAlcohols/SLS (stripping agents, essentially)FragranceMentholSugarMilkTea Tree oil?? But I think the carrier I was using with it spoiled and that was the real problem...Heavy oils (coconut oil in particular, but dry oils seem to be alright. I experienced no negative reactions from jojoba or rose hip, but also reaped no benefits if I had to evaluate it critically)There's literally probably tons more. God though, everything seems to sting my face, my life is blood and fire.Me: 24/F, active and fairly healthy, not on birth control, has dealt with acne their whole life. Used to be a chronic stress picker, not so much anymore. Haven't seen a doctor about my acne, and haven't gotten to that point of desperation yet (gettin there tho)Skin Type: I've got dry/dehydrated skin with lots of closed comedomes, clogged pores, PIH, active breakouts along the seven seas of my jawline that I'm sure are hormonally related. I felt like an over-complicated and irritant-heavy routine that I dove into headfirst without patch testing or adding product to one at a time might have been the cause, so as of the last four-some-odd weeks I've whittled my routine down to this and am starting to see the best positive results:AMNeutrogena Oil CleanserEvery other day or every third day, Paula's Choice 2% BHA LiquidHada Labo Gokujyun lotionIf I'm feeling particularly dry, a thin layer of vaselineNeutrogena UltraSheer Dry Touch SPF 55PMNeutrogena Oil Cleanser, if I wore makeup or feel dirty I'll double cleanse with Hado Labo's foaming cleanser and gently wipe with a microfibre clothRinse my whole day off in the showerTwice/ three times a week, typically when I haven't used the BHA that morning, Paula's Choice 8% AHA gelHada Labo Gokujyun lotionHere I've been infrequently experimenting with moisturizing masks, I got my hands on a "snake venom essence" mask that's SUPER boosted the moisture content of my skin only having used it twice, damn.Vaseline (but the summer has been moist, as I'm in the northwest, so I haven't had to be as religious with this as I need to be in the winter)So far, I think changing to an oil cleanser has made the biggest difference in how my face feels. Even the gentlest of cleansers I could get my hands on still left me feeling stripped and dry if even just barely, but with an oil cleanser my face feels fresh and from what I've read that's how it should feel. Yay! Although I'd like to swap this oil cleanser for one without fragrances.Up until this point I had been trying to repair my moisture barrier since I was pretty sure it got stripped from all my past trial and errors, it had been feeling dry, rough, bumpy and gross, and no matter what I did to just "wash and moisturize" it, it never got better. Adding back in the AHA+BHA has already shown positive textural results.Here's my problems though, that I would adore opinions on:In my past adventures, I suffered a horrible, HORRIBLE breakout upon starting the beginner's routine that continued for almost a year despite swapping out products, so it's hard to say what may have been the main culprit, but at that time I swapped out stridex and alpha hydroxy gel for PC AHA and BHA. I mention this because the breakout I'm dealing with now is damn near identical to the one I suffered back then:Two years ago upon starting the beginner routineTwo weeks ago on my current routineMy face didn't look like it does now the weeks before I introduced my actives again- in fact, my face cleared up dramatically within the last year due to moving from a dirty environment to a much cleaner and less stressful one- and they're the only constants in this equation. I added them in again because my skin texture had started to get so rough and felt caked or layered, almost, in skin cells from just trying to focus on moisturizing it. I could feel bumps deep under my skin when I pressed my cheeks, and my closed comedomes seemed to have increased. I knew based on past experience PC AHA+BHA worked really well in resurfacing my skin and purging these imperfections, which I'm noticing it has been, but they almost seem to, like.... work around the acne. And that's the bit I'm trying to treat here.Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe I need to wait longer, but honestly I'm not quite sure how to make sense of it since it's too much of a coincidence, and I'm wondering if I should try swapping for a different AHA and BHA that would do better in treating the acne as well? I've been curious about peels but the jury seems to be split on whether or not these should be used on active breakouts, despite the advice that they're meant to help get rid of acne.Here's a list of products I've used in the past, and have discontinued using due to poor reaction or no noticeable benefits:CeraVe tub cream and lotion // Broke me outAlpha Hydroxy gel and lotion(*)Neutrogena Rapid Clear acne defense lotion(*)CeraVe for Oily skin // Stripped my natural oilsCeraVe for Dry skin (gentle) // I think the cetyl in this contributed to keeping my acne around, but it was also lightly strippingStridex in the red box // AAAAAAAAAAAUGHQueen Helene's Mint Julip Mask // AAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHCoconut oil // Clogged my pores yikesEucerin Healing Lotion // Broke me outEucerin AHA Healing Lotion // Broke me out and STUNGGarnier Dew Over Moisturizing Gel (green) // This actually seemed to work super well for my skin so I may start using it againNivea Creme // I really can't tell what it was doing but it felt sort of gnarly on my face, and not because it was greasyJojoba Oil // Saw no positive or negative effectsDr Lin's Moisturizing Gel // I like this moisturizer too, but I like the Hado Labo one MUCH betterCosRX AHA+BHA toner // Saw no positive or negative effects, and I'd rather have a more bare bones toner anywayCureology/Pocketderm - for acne, was on a tret prescrip for a while before stopping(*)Mario Badescu Sulfur Powder // Saw no positive or negative effectsMario Badescu Rosehip oil // Saw no positive or negative effectsClean+Clear Benzoyl Peroxide 10% // I can boldly scream again, if you'd like, but I think we get the picture. Honestly I don't know if it was truly causing harm because 10% is high for someone with such sensitive skin, may patch test further in the futuretimes.I might also add that the things with an * indicate a product that was working well when I started it, and then seemed to just stop doing anything after a short amount of time, like my acne is a virus that's learning how to become immune to vaccines.......I search this sub on the daily for answers to a lot of my questions, but I just need some direct advice.Bonus info: I wash my bedding in fragrance free wash weekly, change my pillowcase often, sleep on my back, and when I don't the side I like to sleep on is the side least broken out. I don't ever talk on my cell phone and don't touch my face. Trust me, I've exhausted the variables, and boy do I wish any one of them were the solution I needed...EDIT: hey im bana and i've clearly never posted to reddit before so let me just try to fix these formatting mistakes, gee wiz
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by banavalope
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