Do you have acne prone skin? Are you an above average sweater? Is your skin also dry and flaky? HELP

[Anonymous]

I have this fabulous combination of skin. Mid 30s, acne prone, super sweaty (exercise daily), but also very dry, flaky skin.

What in the hell works for you? Please help!

[Anonymous]

I use two prescription creams and still have generally crappy skin. I was thinking about a Clarisonic?

[Anonymous]

Maybe the dry and flaky is causing the acne. More oil is produced to combat the dryness but then it is staying under the dry skin and clogging pores. What worked best for me was salycilic or glycolic pads used every other day and a good moisturizer. Also cutting dairy and sugar helped a lot. Maybe also get a good facial. Good luck - I know how much acne sucks.

[Anonymous]

Retin-A plus glycolic did it for me. You need lots of exfoliation to get rid of the flaky/dry layer and then the oils won't get trapped. A peel, like a Vitalize peel, also does wonders.

[Anonymous]

Bump. Any specific product recommendations? I try to exfoliate using Burts Bees, but wondering if there are other suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Spironolactone + Retinol + Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse + Cetaphil face wash.

[Anonymous]

Play in tune with your skin cycle - oil production starts in the evening and continues during the night, and lessens in the morning and during the day. Oil is produced to protect your skin from irritants in the air, and is regulated according to whether your skin is already oily or not.

So... try not to moisturize too much (or at all) in the evening, otherwise your body will not produce protective oil in the night and your skin will be dry during the day. A vicious cycle. You have to moisturize in the morning.
Washing before going to be bed? Shower must be brief and not too hot.

Research is still iffy on nutritional impact on skin, but I know I break out if I eat too much chocolate! The culprit is the sugar (I don't have a sweet tooth for anything else). Drink water, eat less sugar.

Finally, see your derm. Adult acne is hormonal and there is nothing much you can do about it unless you take a prescription medication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Play in tune with your skin cycle - oil production starts in the evening and continues during the night, and lessens in the morning and during the day. Oil is produced to protect your skin from irritants in the air, and is regulated according to whether your skin is already oily or not.

So... try not to moisturize too much (or at all) in the evening, otherwise your body will not produce protective oil in the night and your skin will be dry during the day. A vicious cycle. You have to moisturize in the morning.
Washing before going to be bed? Shower must be brief and not too hot.

Research is still iffy on nutritional impact on skin, but I know I break out if I eat too much chocolate! The culprit is the sugar (I don't have a sweet tooth for anything else). Drink water, eat less sugar.

Finally, see your derm. Adult acne is hormonal and there is nothing much you can do about it unless you take a prescription medication.

Ugh, then why do they make heavy night time moisturizers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Play in tune with your skin cycle - oil production starts in the evening and continues during the night, and lessens in the morning and during the day. Oil is produced to protect your skin from irritants in the air, and is regulated according to whether your skin is already oily or not.

So... try not to moisturize too much (or at all) in the evening, otherwise your body will not produce protective oil in the night and your skin will be dry during the day. A vicious cycle. You have to moisturize in the morning.
Washing before going to be bed? Shower must be brief and not too hot.

Research is still iffy on nutritional impact on skin, but I know I break out if I eat too much chocolate! The culprit is the sugar (I don't have a sweet tooth for anything else). Drink water, eat less sugar.

Finally, see your derm. Adult acne is hormonal and there is nothing much you can do about it unless you take a prescription medication.

Ugh, then why do they make heavy night time moisturizers?

PP you quoted. Frankly, the whole cosmetics industry is messed up, and only wants you to buy more product. Also, heavy moisturizers are useful for people like my mother who have such dry skin (or eczema) that they need to put something on even at night - even with a humidifier etc, her skin breaks without it. Not fun.

[Anonymous]

what has worked for me:
gentle cleansers (Neutrogena extra gentle at night, Cetaphil in the AM)
Clarisonic at night
Occasionally use a witch hazel toner to calm
Coconut oil at night
Cetaphil lotion for day (Coppertone Sport if I'm going to be outside for extended time)

Acne spot treatments: Alpha Hydroxy gel, Burt's Bees Spot Treatment

Drink lots of water, minimal caffeine.

At your next physical, have a CBC. You might be deficient in some nutrients. A B12 deficiency was identified for me. Supplements have helped my skin, as well as my energy and my allergies. But your blood work might show something completely different.

[Anonymous]

Finacea at night, raw organic shea butter (0 comedogenic rating) to moisturize at night, mild cleanser and rosewater toner in the morning. Also have started using a light therapy mask. Lots of water, no caffeine, low carb diet. Still not clear.

[Anonymous]

Spironolactone. Life-changing. Now have completely clear skin after a lifetime struggling with oily, flaky, acne-prone skin. I get maybe one pimple a year now. 50 mg 2x daily. Have been on it for a decade; zero side effects. I did not have overly high androgen levels, but apparently some of us lucky gals overreact to normal androgen levels.

[Anonymous]

OP, what is your diet like? Not sure it is the end-all be all, and my dermatologists never told me there was a connection, but I do find there is a huge connection to what I eat and what causes my skin to breakout. Dairy is the biggest one. I eat more salads now and try to avoid dairy, and drink lots of water. And I use Aveda's Botanical Kinetics lotion which is super light and not greasy. My skin looks so much better now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Play in tune with your skin cycle - oil production starts in the evening and continues during the night, and lessens in the morning and during the day. Oil is produced to protect your skin from irritants in the air, and is regulated according to whether your skin is already oily or not.

So... try not to moisturize too much (or at all) in the evening, otherwise your body will not produce protective oil in the night and your skin will be dry during the day. A vicious cycle. You have to moisturize in the morning.
Washing before going to be bed? Shower must be brief and not too hot.

Research is still iffy on nutritional impact on skin, but I know I break out if I eat too much chocolate! The culprit is the sugar (I don't have a sweet tooth for anything else). Drink water, eat less sugar.

Finally, see your derm. Adult acne is hormonal and there is nothing much you can do about it unless you take a prescription medication.

This is total BS. Some skin gets oilier during the day. Mine does. I'd go with the Cetaphil wash or a sulfur based wash and follow it up with a prescription of Epiduo from your doc. Did wonders for my DS.

[Anonymous]

Yes, acne prone and also dry and flaky. No, I don't tend to sweat much at all. What's finally worked best for me is (1) Differin- I use it 3 times a week, I use a moisturizer the other nights to combat dryness and (2) I went back on BCPs even though I don't need them for birth control since my derm told me that acne at this age is pretty much hormonal.