Dryness redness

[wisechhavi]

Started using Murad retinol youth night cream and started breaking out and I have dry skin so I never break out except sometimes around my periods. So had to return, anyone else experienced this? Also what other night creams my friends here with dry skin are sung especially in winters. Tatcha didn’t make me break out but was just a like greasy moisturizer for night didn’t see any reduction in redness. please halp 

[WinglessOne]

@wisechhavi  If by “breaking out” you mean acne: when retinol speeds up the creation of new skin cells, it can also push acne-causing gunk to the skin surface faster, resulting in sudden new acne. Most folks call this “purging.” It usually lasts no longer than a month; think of it as vitamin A evicting all that crud from your pores. Your retinol cream might’ve just caused a purge. 

About moisturizers: do you know what’s causing your redness? Do you use anything else in your routine (a serum, toner/essence, etc) to address redness? I have mostly-dry combo skin that’s quite reactive/inflammation-prone. I use a licorice root serum (It’s Skin has reformulated it for worse, so I can’t recommend it anymore and I’m using up my existing stash) and/or a centella asiatica serum (COSRX Pure Fit Cica Serum) to soothe redness.

My usual PM moisturizers don’t specifically target redness, which is usually fine since I use other products for that. But when my skin’s very cranky red, I use an Aveeno fragrance-free body lotion on my face as a moisturizer because they contain colloidal oats: I like the Skin Relief lotion and the Eczema Therapy one for this. Oh, and COSRX Pure Fit Cica Cream Intense is a goodie if your skin likes centella asiatica. 

[wisechhavi]

Thanks for all the info, and am new to using active ingredients and returned Murad out of nervousness of seeing acne. I started using origins drinknup intensive. It started purging a little so now I reduced usage to twice a week, but it didn’t address the redness which I think is due to dryness. Still looking for a night cream for other days. I use very light cleansers eg low ph good morning gel cleanser from COSRX during day and Cerave hydrating facial cleanser for night or when my skin is very sensitive due to wearing all day makeups for consecutive days. For daily moisturizers I switch between cerave moisturizing cream and Dr Dennis Gross dewy deep cream.Do you think any of these might be causing redness?

[WinglessOne]

Thanks for the tag, @CynthieLu ! I did miss the reply. 

@wisechhavi Redness is often a symptom of irritation and/or inflammation. For instance, sunburn and acne are famously common causes of redness. Sometimes redness is caused by a specific ingredient, or a category of ingredients, that irritates someone’s skin and causes contact dermatitis. In my case, it’s nearly all essential perfuming oils, especially lavender oil. (Actually, my facial skin hates lavender in all forms: oil, water, or “extract.” Lavender shoves my skin into a locker and steals its lunch money.) I can’t use Origins Drink Up Intensive because it contains bitter orange oil and orange peel oil, plus camphor and additional fragrance components (limonene and linalool). That doesn’t mean you can’t use it, of course. It depends on what your particular skin's sensitive to. 

Other common causes of redness: over-exfoliation (too-frequent use of cleansing brushes, scrubby cleansers, AHA exfoliants, etc.) strips away too many surface level skin cells and breaks the skin barrier, so skin can no longer retain moisture. Also, there are skin conditions that have redness as a symptom: rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, etc. 

If your redness is persistent, you might wanna get your skin diagnosed by a board certified dermatologist or other doctor if you can. A doc can help you avoid wasting money on products that might not address the cause of your redness. 

If you really think dryness is the primary cause of your redness: an effective and inexpensive moisturizer is a petrolatum-based balm applied to damp (not dripping wet) skin. Petrolatum is the most occlusive (water loss preventing) skincare ingredient, aside from things like hydrocolloid patches. For years, I’ve used Aquaphor Ointment as a facial moisturizer during the frigid depths of Chicago winter to protect my skin from chapping, wind burn, and excessive dryness. I apply sunscreen over it if I plan to go outside during daylight hours. Folks call this petrolatum balm method “slugging” these days, but it’s really a decades-old method of moisturizing very dry skin. Doesn’t have to be Aquaphor; you can use CeraVe Healing Ointment or good ol’ Vaseline (or other brand of petroleum jelly), depending on which product texture you prefer. And you don’t need a super thick layer. I just apply a thin layer to my face. I also use Aquaphor Ointment daily as lip balm under lipstick. 

[CynthieLu]

You need to tag the person you are responding to @wisechhavi , that way they will see it in thier notifications. @WinglessOne might not have seen your reply. 

Just use the @ key and start typing thier name 😄

She gives great advice and knowing more about your routine and redness will help find the best recommendations for your issues.  

[makeupjunkie65]

@wisechhavi This is a fantastic moisturizer without any fragrance which can be irritating to dry skin. I use this during the cold dry winter months and love it.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair® Cream Intense Hydration – Face and Body Moisturizer for Skin Repair 

Another great dry skin moisturizer is

Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin™ Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream 1.7 oz / 50 mL .

[ShayGlo]

Try the Dr. Jart Tiger Grass Cream. It’s for dryness and redness and I’ve heard good things. 

[princessgracie]

I was surprised, but ended up having a reaction to this line. I ended up going to the dermatologist and was diagnosed with rosacea in my 40’s.