Closed comedones on dry cheeks

[cassandraw91]

Hi everyone! Seeking any and all help if possible! Sorry in advance for the novel...

For the past few years I have had closed comedones on my cheek/jaw area. I went off of hormonal birth control last year and am on a non-hormonal IUD. I thought hormones from BC were causing the acne. Nothing changed. In fact, it probably got worse.I have tried Korean beauty products, cutting out dairy/gluten/sugar/etc. Nothing has helped. I recently started taking Flaxseed oil pills, probiotic, and zinc. Haven't yet seen results, too early to tell. 

Things I have done throughout the past few years with no change(I tried each for about 5 weeks). When testing out everything, I would start at a baseline of cleanser and spf or cleanser and moisturizer and see how my skin was. I would then add a product at a time and test for a couple of weeks. 

AM:

rinse with water

  - also tried micellar water then rinsed off (always felt a film left on my face)

   - water based cleanser (I think caused my t-zone to get more oily throughout the day)

vitamin c (used for 5 weeks then off for 5 weeks, no difference in PIE)

  -skinceutical ce ferulic (too expensive)

  - melano cc(felt like I was wasting so much of it)

moisturizer

  -drunk elephant protini(makes my breakouts worse and causes cystic acne to appear)

  - Hada Labo perfect gel(caused my skin to burn, read reviews that urea cured acne for people thought I would try it out)

  - no moisturizer(caused my cheeks to get super dry throughout the day)

SPF

 - Krave Beauty (good)

PM:

Balm 

  - Emma hardie (hate how hard it is to get completely off my skin)

  - Deviant skincare balm( love love love)

Water based cleanser

  - Vanicream(eh, its a basic cleanser)

 Chemical exfoliator (I tried a physical one, but my skin hates that)

  - BR P50 1970(1/week or 2/week burned my skin and caused it to react)

  - Deviant chemical exfoliant( too early to tell)

  - no chemical exfoliant(my t-zone area will cause makeup to separate if I don't regularly exfoliate that area)

Wait 30 minutes

Mist

  - Laroche serozinc (didn't see a difference)

  - Josh Rosebrook hydrating accelerator (love the smell, thats about it)

I have tried BP and it makes it worse. 

Doctor put me on a tretinoin at some point(0.25%, 0.05%) 1/week. My skin would flake up so badly it would take several weeks to recover. Couldn't continue as I work with people and couldn't handle people staring at my face instead of me

Moisturizer 

  - La-roche Toleriane Fluide Oil Free Moisturizer (I like it so far, its basic)

I have been to the derm before, they put me on spiro but I had to go off of it as the lower dose did nothing but the higher doses caused me to have severe fatigue. The only alternative they offered was accutane which I don't feel my skin is bad enough for that and I don't want to deal with the long term effects. 

I have combo skin, my t-zone gets increasingly oily throughout the day.  I have very dry cheeks and almost every foundation with flake/cause dry patches by the end of the day. I get closed comedones on my cheeks and chin and occasional cystic acne all over. I wake up and have a smaller amount of bumps but by the end of the day my cheeks are covered in them. Even if I use the exact same skincare from the night before and worse no makeup. Just need help. I don't have a budget to stick to.  Thank you in advance! 

[adurdin3]

Hello! I’m kind of late to the thread but your skin sounds a lot like mine! The root of my problem turned out to be my cleanser, my moisturizer and lack of a good exfoliant. It was too stripping so I switched to dermalogica clearing skin wash (the bottle lasts forever). This one leaves your skin balanced and not dry - when our combination skin is dry it over produces oil as well.. excess oil = breakouts and flaky skin. Try to find a cleanser that is pH balanced and clean skincare, so it is free of irritating junk that’ll break our your skin! Next... I didn’t quite catch what you are currently using for an exfoliant but a mechanical exfoliant (scrub) may be too much for your skin. I would try a gentle peel or serum with AHAs and BHAs to gently lift away dead skin cells and improve cell turnover. It’s kind of pricey but I’ve had amazing results with drunk elephants glycolic night serum! I use it every day. Also their A-Passioni cream is great but can be harsh if you don’t mix it with a moisturizer. This will help keep your pores clean as well as resurface any damage and minimize the flaking. If you feel like it, the purity microdelivery or dermalogica microfoliants are super gentle, you don’t need much pressure and it removes dead skin. Last! This one was the biggest struggle because my skin is so picky with moisturizers !! My pores clog so easily and my skin will go extremely oily and flaky at the same time. What really fixed my skin was watermelon glow sleeping mask by glow recipe... it is honestly so soothing and hydrating it balanced my skin so much. I now have a “glowy” shine to my skin instead of oily angry pores lol. For some reason, my skin will not accept a “cream” moisturizer.. only jelly/liquid moisturizers and serums! After switching to those all of my acne disappeared with the exception of the small monthly hormonal acne. The most important thing is getting in your hydration as well as ingredients that will help chemically exfoliate!

[20dermagirlll22]

That certainly was long haha but very helpful so a comedone is caused from an open blackhead or closed whitehead on skin from a pore or hair follicle clogged with oil and it makes a bunch of sebum and this mainly  leads to dead skin cells, and bacteria which causes it. you are probably using a skin or hair product that has oil or a bad kind of oil and should stop or reduce it. Also double cleanse and Products with retinoids glycolic acid azelaic acid and benzoyl peroxide are very good with comedones 🙂 is this doesn’t work you need a topical treatment from a dermatologist that is comedolytic 🙂

Xoxo, 

an esthetician