Dryness in T-Zone? Combination skin reversed?

[Anonymous]

Hi there!

I have always had very acne prone, combination skin. My pores are the size of Texas on my nose and under eye area. To counteract this I wash my face twice a day with a salicylic acid medicated face wash and a salicylic astringent (I use the astringent all over, not just on my t-zone). I moisturize with a mattifying day cream in the morning and a richer night cream at night. I also use eye cream, a serum, and about twice a week use a clay mask.

Normally this routine works wonders for me, it results in a mildly dewy and clear complexion. However I have begun to notice that it seems like my combination skin has suddenly reversed??

I have a super super dry t-zone to point of my skin flaking off and my cheeks and chin area feel greasy? I have tried to look this up everywhere but have had no help. WHAT CAN I DO? I still am getting breakouts on my nose and forehead as per usual but also on my cheeks and chin now. Makeup on my nose won't stay on and it all flakes off but my pores are still engorged. Around my nostrils has been very red too and using my astringent seems to burn these areas so I don't use astringent on my nose anymore.

Is it possible my skin type could have changed and my typical routine is damaging it. I know using an astringent twice a day is harsh but my acne still fights through it. What can I do and how could this happen?

Thanks so much

xx

[ellie50]

Your skin type could be changing due to a number of things, weather, hormones, age etc.  But you might have over-sensitized your skin with some harsh products. 

Try being gentle and simple with your routine for a couple weeks to see if your skin barrier repairs.  Use a gentle cleanser (pH balanced), a moisturizing toner (instead of astringent), and a lightweight lotion moisturizer (you can always use more or go heavier if lightweight isn't enough).

Once your skin comes back to normal, introduce a leave on (0.5-1%) mild salicylic lotion (instead of a medicated wash) applied after cleansing and toning (if very dry skin in places, use this only in areas of large pores, oiliness). This keeps pores from getting congested. If your skin tolerates it, introduce a mild % AHA as part of your weekly treatment to break down dead skin cells on the surface (typically glycolic is used but I'd start with an enzyme AHA or lactic acid instead). Continue with just these until your skin normalizes.