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I am so frustrated with this issue. I am 41 and I have had acne prone skin since I had my second child at 25. I fought cystic acne for a few years after having him so I am very very careful what I put on my face.
I tend to not wear much makeup, certainly no heavy foundations anymore. Usually I just wash with aveeno acne prone foaming wash, then I use a BB cream that has a light tint to it and a sunscreen but I think I need something a bit more moisturizing. The BB cream is moisturizing but not quite moisturizing ENOUGH in problem areas. When I have used anything heavier in the past though, I break out. I exfoliate once a week. Oh, and I drink a ton of water every day. A TON.
The issue is, I still get blackheads and whiteheads on my cheekbones and chin, but I get flaky and dry skin on my brows and forehead. To make matters worse, I have developed wrinkles in the "parenthesis" part of the face (from the nose down to the mouth corners, technically called "nasolabial folds" I think). Like this (in the before picture):
It wouldn't be the end of the world except where these lines are is a strange combo of dry yet prone to little blackheads. WTF really!? I will get dry, flaky skin nearer my nose but little blackheads nearer my mouth. It's also super sensitive so if I use the wrong thing on my face (like if I use hair remover cream for my light "mustache", it irritates the hell out of my skin, joy), I get redness in those "folds" and I just want to take a big vat of acid to my whole face by the time I am done trying to solve this and that. I wouldn't care if the lines looked like this woman in the before photo, it's just when they are red and irritated or flaky that they stand out and look awful.
Anyway I THINK I need a good moisturizer but one that won't break me out. Preferably tinted so I don't have to put more than one thing on my face.
I recently found the revlon colorstay whipped foundation and I absolutely LOVE it! The texture and application is almost identical to BB cream, except that it provides a more matte finish.
I use to only be able to use physician formula powders and still get breakouts not to mention flaky dry skin and it didn't coverup my blackheads. I really am surprised that the whipped foundation doesn't break me out... the texture is rather lotion-like so it keeps your skin moisturized as well as provides coverage. It blends really well too (check out tutorial vids of it online)
I recently found the revlon colorstay whipped foundation and I absolutely LOVE it! The texture and application is almost identical to BB cream, except that it provides a more matte finish.
I use to only be able to use physician formula powders and still get breakouts not to mention flaky dry skin and it didn't coverup my blackheads. I really am surprised that the whipped foundation doesn't break me out... the texture is rather lotion-like so it keeps your skin moisturized as well as provides coverage. It blends really well too (check out tutorial vids of it online)
Thanks, I will check into that. Drugstore stuff is a plus for me! I don't like to spend a lot on fancy stuff then decide I don't like it. I have some $30 lip balms and so forth as reminders of doing that! It's silly when I am not even much of a "makeup person". I just want to look fairly smooth is all and not have to borrow my 15 year old's acne meds after!
I have similar issues and have switched to some natural solutions because I find that many times it is the fragrance and other chenicals that aggravate my sensitive skin. Honey is a great mask - it draws moisture into your skin and is antibacterial. For the areas with blackheads, I use a paste of ground aspirin (salicytic acid) and honey . For a deep moisturizer, I use coconut oil found in the grocery store. It looks like crisco but melts quickly and is easily absorbed. On a daily basis, I use oil of Olay because it is light and won't cause issues. For exfoliation in the summer when my face is greasier on my t zone, I use baking soda but in the winter I need something milder so I use sugar and go very gently! When I was young I was much too abrasive to my skin and I dd not understand until later in life that my skin compensated by producing more oil which resulted in more clogged pores.
I know this all sounds hippy-ish but it works for me and saves me a ton of money. If you research natural skin treatments online you will find a ton of easy recipes.
I am almost 56 and am told I look around 40.
I have similar issues and have switched to some natural solutions because I find that many times it is the fragrance and other chenicals that aggravate my sensitive skin. Honey is a great mask - it draws moisture into your skin and is antibacterial. For the areas with blackheads, I use a paste of ground aspirin (salicytic acid) and honey . For a deep moisturizer, I use coconut oil found in the grocery store. It looks like crisco but melts quickly and is easily absorbed. On a daily basis, I use oil of Olay because it is light and won't cause issues. For exfoliation in the summer when my face is greasier on my t zone, I use baking soda but in the winter I need something milder so I use sugar and go very gently! When I was young I was much too abrasive to my skin and I dd not understand until later in life that my skin compensated by producing more oil which resulted in more clogged pores.
I know this all sounds hippy-ish but it works for me and saves me a ton of money. If you research natural skin treatments online you will find a ton of easy recipes.
I am almost 56 and am told I look around 40.
Nah, I am okay with hippy-ish! I prefer natural options, actually. I make sugar scrubs for rough areas on my feet, and oatmeal face wash and so forth for my kids, and we use lavender oil for itch issues, so it only makes sense to go that route. I find I am just clueless about my own skin though, even though I do lots of this for my family. I was wondering about coconut oil because I recently bought some to give to my dogs as a supplement and I was wondering what other things it might be useful for.
I have just always been SO afraid of anything oil-like on my face that I am always scared to try for fear of a breakout.
So when you use the aspirin and honey do you leave it for a certain amount of time then rinse or how do you do it?
I use the honey/aspirin mask about one a week - more if I need to. I buy generic, uncharted aspirin and put it in the blender until it is powdered then before I shower, I add about a tablespoon of honey to about a teaspoon of the powder. That ratio works for me but i don't think you can make a mistake.Mix well and apply to the blackhead areas. The rest of my face just gets plain honey. I then shower as usual washing my face last, using a soft washcloth to help exfoliate. The steam seems to help it work better and it really is a no fuss, no muss treatment. There is nothing worse then having your face all goopy and have to answer the phone or the door. You can also heat the honey first if you like and leave the paste on for 10 to 15 minutes then wash off. You may see an increase of breakout for the first few weeks until your skin is purged but it should improve quickly.
Olive oil is another option to hydrate your skin. It is also an antibacterial so as scary as it sounds, it won't cause your skin to break out. I discovered coconut oil about 1 year ago, I use it for everything now! I hope it works for you.
Have you tried any beta hydroxy moisturizers? BHA's sound like the ticket for you. Look up BHA in Beautypedia -- and Paula Begoun has a number of products that are reasonably priced. BHA is like aspirin in a more skin friendly version.
You sound like I was with my skin. While I never had breakouts, if I treated my skin as if it were dry, it would go oily, buy stuff for oily and BANG -- it's dry. Treat it normal and it didn't like that either.
After I went to the doctor and found out I had rosacea, I realized I went beyond sensitive.... and I started treating it like a china doll.
I've settled down now -- and my routine is CeraVe hydrating cleanser, MD Formulations toner applied with a cotton pad, Neutrogena retinol cream on my wrinkly bits but not on my rosacea bits, my Metrogel on my rosacea bits, and then CeraVe facial moisturizer.
As crazy as it sounds, those cotton square pads aren't nearly as abrasive on my face as cotton balls -- why there is a difference I don't know, but there is for me. Maybe it's in my head...
Lush brand stuff has been the best stuff I've found for my skin. It's a little pricy, but well worth it. If you have a store near you they are great with recommendations.
1. Oil doesn't hydrate skin. Oil oils skin. Your body excretes sebum, which is an oily substance, but is -not- oil. If you are prone to cystic acne, then you are prone to infections of the sebaceous glands - the glands that produce sebum. The infections show up as pimples and red, "angry" looking skin. The more you try to dry it out, the more the glands will strive to replace what you stripped away. So don't try to strip the oil. You're already doing that, which is why you have flakes. The flakes are dried sebum mixed with dead skin. Exfoliating will just create more dry sebum and mix it with more dead skin. Stop exfoliating.
2. Change your cleansing product to a mild cleansing milk or cream. Non-foamy. Get samples from Clarins of their cleansing milks. The one with the Alpine Herbs is gentle. Use a dime's sized dollop and smear it over a wet face. Then wipe (not scrub) it in circles over your skin with a wet, tepid washcloth. Rinse and wring the washcloth, and wipe some more. Rinse and wring and wipe again, and repeat until the cleanser has been rinsed off your face, taking the surface dirt with it. Use a q-tip with a little olive oil to loosen mascara and eyemakup prior to washing your face, if you wear them.
3. Put that "BB" cream in a cabinet for a few weeks. Get a real actual moisturizer - a lotion if you prefer a light touch, but NOT one with a sunscreen. This - in my opinion - is just a really bad idea, to rub sunscreen into the pores of your face, when you already know you have problems with acne. Instead, get a foundation with sunscreen in it, and use that OVER the moisturized face. Again, you can use a foundation lotion, or if you want to give it a try, get a sample of Bare Minerals foundation powder with the SPF 15 or 20 or whatever it is (I don't use sunscreen on my face at all, ever, it makes my eyes water, and my nose drippy, so I'm not sure what the SPF is on the Bare Minerals that has it).
IF you use a toner, just swipe it with a 100% real cotton ball or cotton pad.
Avoid anything with mineral oil/petroleum in it, and avoid anything with lanolin. Petroleum/mineral oil are water-proof, which means they coat your skin so that nothing can get in, and nothing can get out. Which means, any dirt in your pores will stay there and fester. Lanolin is one of the most common allergens in the cosmetics industry - it's basically the dander off sheep's wool. These are "emollients" - which means, they temporarily soften the skin. But they ultimately cause more problems than they solve, so I'd just stay away from them entirely if possible.
If you are able to find an unscented moisturizer, you could try adding 2-4 drops of pure essential oil of lavender to the bottle (1 drop per 1/2 ounce of moisturizer) and giving it a good shake when it's new. Lavender, besides smelling nice, soothes enflamed skin. It's considered a "specific" for first and second degree burns, in the medical aromatherapy world, and it's often included in natural acne treatments.
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I prefer natural options, actually. I make sugar scrubs for rough areas on my feet, and oatmeal face wash and so forth for my kids, and we use lavender oil for itch issues, so it only makes sense to go that route. I find I am just clueless about my own skin though, even though I do lots of this for my family. I was wondering about coconut oil because I recently bought some to give to my dogs as a supplement and I was wondering what other things it might be useful for. 
