Oily/Sensitive/Acne/Rosacea skin. Help!

[#1]

I can't find anything for my skin that works! I use Finacea Gel for my Rosacea as prescribed by my dermatologist. My face is a mess though! Red, oily, sensitive and full of aggressive acne bumps. I've tried everything and I'm beyond caring whether my routine is anti-aging or not. I just want my face back! My scalp already itches from Seborrheic Dermatitis and I have tiny bits of Psoriasis on my fingers and toes. Help me anyone! I'm willing to dip my face in acid at this point!

[#2]

My skin is the same way, I know the misery!!! When the acne bumps are really bad, it seems like wearing foundation just looks really awful!!! The topical prescriptions from the derm irritated more than they helped. I've discovered that, at least for me, salicylic acid will prevent the acne bumps and treat the seborrhea. My favorite products for that are the Burt's Bees acne cleanser and toner. I also found that, after a few months, the salicylic acid quits working. Then I treat the acne bumps with a mild benzoyl peroxide product, First Aid Beauty's Blemish Eraser, for a couple of months. Then I can go back to the salicylic acid and it works again. For seborrhea of the scalp, you can get a product called Scalpicin from the drug store and alternate between salicylic acid and hydrocortisone, so you don't build up a resistance to one or the other. Hydrocortisone can aggravate rosacea, so I don't use it on my face.

For the redness of rosacea, I find that consistently wearing a product with at least SPF 15 from zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide helps to calm it down a bit, or at least prevent flaming face during the day -- Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer and Tarte Smooth Operator tinted moisturizer are my favorites, but Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Protective Base is also really good, and includes caffeine, which also helps to calm redness. Clinique Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder also actually calms my redness down as well as neutralizing the color a bit. I actually use it at night over my moisturizer, because I'm not crazy about the way it looks with my makeup, but it is good for preventing that flaming red face that can happen and that may lead to broken blood vessels.

The other thing that seems to help keep the redness from getting worse is to treat my skin really, really gently. I find that I only need to use the salicylic acid once a day, so at night I cleanse with First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser and moisturize with Ultra Repair Cream even though my skin is oily. Clinique's Redness Solutions Daily Relief Cream is another moisturizer I've used that seemed to calm the redness down a bit. The advantage of oily skin is that you really do wrinkle more slowly (I'm in my mid-50s, so I now know from experience that that actually is true).

There are several other products that claim that they reduce rosacea redness. I haven't personally had success with the others that I've tried (First Aid Beauty Anti-Redness Serum was good on my seborrhea but irritating on my rosacea; Dermadoctor Cool Calm and Corrected made my skin flame red; I haven't tried the Murad or Sky Iceland redness-reducing products yet). Sephora's return policy is wonderful when trying to find products to address a tricky problem like rosacea, because it seems like what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else.

I hope you find something that helps. For me, just getting rid of the huge acne bumps at least makes it possible to wear makeup and look nice. I don't think anyone has yet developed anything short of medical procedures that actually gets rid of the redness and broken blood vessels, but there are some things that can help to keep it under control or cover it up.

[#3]

i had the same problem in high school! mine was excema and i had it head to toe, including my scalp. i used neutrogena tar shampoo, oatmeal baths, and a salve that was half lidex half aquaphor. but, of course my skin is very oily and sensitive. since almay is hypoallergenic i used that on my face and it didn't really infect my excema. it sounds like you should leave your skin alone, except for the things that are working! good luck!

[#4]

Another option is Mario Badescu's Rosacea line, their skincare products cover all skin types. You can get samples online or buy at Ulta.

[#5]

I understand you I have dermatitis seborrheic its a pain but well I tried everything the only thing that works for me is  fresh aloe vera I use it as a mask and olive oile as moisturizer I right now have problems with the foundation I use no. 7 it has work but i live in a humid place so it melts and comes off...

[#6]

I have the same problem!!  Clinique's 3 Step is gentle enough for me as my skincare.  For makeup, I wear anti-redness makeup base (Clinique Redness Solutions Makeup Base spf 15).  Then I use Clinique's redness solutions foundation.  To control oil, I use mattifying pressed powder.

Use everything in very thin layers though.  If you layer on globs of foundation, it could potentially be a disaster.

I hope this helps!!

[#7]

How about when you have oily face when you wake up every morning. Is there products I have to use before I go to bed every night?  

What do you recommend?

[#8]

I had the same issues (oily skin, sensitive, rosacea and breakouts), and I started using Mario Badescu products. They have very good anti-acne products (drying lotion, drying cream, buffering lotion etc.), and they give you a free consultation if you are able to visit them. As for Rosacea, ever since I bought Biotherm Skin Vivo Uniformity for combination-oily skin, the ugly redness is gone (it also helps for sun spots). The bad news is this specific Biotherm product can't be find in US. I buy mine when I go Europe, but you should give it a try on their Canadian website or Google it. Other than that,

1) washing your face morning and night is very important (less harsh products are: Fresh - Soy face cleanser, Boscia's Clear Complexion cleanser, as well as Shisedo Extra Creamy Cleanser Foam- that's a very soft scrub!). Be cautious with the toner, because most of them are very harsh; I use Boscia's Clear Complexion Tonic with Botanical Blast, but if you feel it weird on your face, I'd say go without it. 

2) make sure you don't touch your face too often during the day; hands get dirty fast and touching your face can cause irritation and breakouts

3) change the bed sheets and pillow cases oftenly, as I've read in an article about acne; it helps. 

4) use oil free moisturizers and SPF; Josie Maran's Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 40+ (UVA & UVB protection) is great, and you can find it at Sephora.

To cover up, Laura Mercier has great oil free tinted moisturizers that act like foundation, just that they're very lightweight, so they won't clog the pores. 

You can find the Boscia Clear Complexion set, as well as Laura Mercier's moisturizers at Sephora. 

Hope this helps!

[#9]

I have EXACTLY these issues.  Try Dermadoctor Wrinkle Revenge 1 Cleanser.  (I don't have wrinkles, just all the other problems you listed...and this was a LIFESAVER.)  Everything else (including from the doctor) has irritated my skin or overdried it.   I follow with just plain old non-alcohol toner (alcohol gets rid of oil...but, it will come bk double and defeat the purpose) and some 100% aloe gel (with no color added).  For drying/peeling areas...add a little ARGAN oil (yeah...I know this sounds counterintuitive, but it works).  This is the ONLY regime that has helped me (and I've tried quite a few over the years).  Hope this helps!

Btw...little bottle of oil is 14.00 )and you just need a drop or so, and it has many other uses: cuticles for ex), cleanser is 24.00 and aloe (at a drugstore is only abt $3 or 4).  So, more expensive isn't always better!

[#10]

Have you tried Murad's Redness Therapy Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum? I had rosacea briefly (now just acne) and I couldn't get to a doctor for a week, but the area around my nose was so ruddy and itchy that I had to use something. I think it really helps with the areas that are dry. I know with rosacea the area with acne is oily and then the skin around the center feels dry when you touch it. I think it really helped temporarily since I couldn't get to a doctor. Murad also has a redness therapy line, which includes a SPF that's meant to counteract the redness because it has a green tint to it. There's also a recovery gel and a soothing cleanser if you're willing to try. When I did get to an appointment for the doctor's, she prescribed desonide cream. I used this on the areas that were super itchy and the ruddy feeling, dryness, everything went away. I did read, however, that you shouldn't use desonide cream on a long term basis, so if you do get a prescription, use this sparingly and only on the rosacea areas. Keep in mind I still had regular acne, too, and desonide cream will not solve your oily and acne issues. I think the key is to solve one issue at a time and in my opinion, I would solve the rosacea problem first. Of course, always consult with a doctor/dermatologist because your combination of issues differ from mine and other people. I hope this helps and good luck!

[#11]

Thx for the input. I actually don't have any dry areas though on my face. It's all oily. I use oil blotting tissues sometimes to help control it, but it comes back shortly thereafter. The problem with adding Rosacea into the mix with my skin is that most Rosacea products are made for dry skin. I have yet to find one that isn't. If I use products based on just the Rosacea, my face becomes more oily and breaks out even more. My skin itches something horrible though when I use strictly acne and oily skin products. I really have no clue where to go from here and have in fact stopped wearing makeup most days because my skin is so uncomfortable. Sigh.

[#12]

I am so sorry to hear that. I would definitely see a dermatologist then, because it's not only your face but your scalp and other areas. Keep your head up high and always trust your instincts if a doctor is prescribing something you can find at a drugstore counter! =)