How do I deal with extremely problematic and acne-prone skin???

[Anonymous]

I have never had bad acne before in my life nor experienced bad dry skin. But since about August I have been dealing with breakouts, dry skin, etc. and it's literally driving me insane. I wash my face every day (once with an acne cleanser in the morning, then with makeup wipes & micellar cleansing water at night) I moisturize with an oil-free moisturizer, wash my pillowcases and bedding weekly, exfoliate weekly, use masks weekly, etc. and I'm experiencing the worst skin of my life. All in all, I take good care of my skin I would say, I'm just so confused as to why it's doing this now. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with problem skin??

[sundayriley]

Hi there! Acne definitely sucks!! We would recommend trying the Sunday Riley Space Race Kit. 

AM: Cleanse with Ceramic Slip Cleanser, then apply Martian Toner, then Follow with UFO oil. I would recommend starting off using UFO oil every other day for the first 2 weeks so that you do not overwhelm your skin. The oil formula helps it from being over drying, but if you do have some dry patches where your acne is drying up you can add a little Juno Oil on those areas. After the first 2 weeks you can use UFO daily. 

PM: Cleanse with Ceramic Slip, spot treat with Saturn Mask (only leave on for 15-20 mins before rinsing off. Leaving on for too long could cause dryness. Then follow with Martian Toner and follow with a few drops of Juno oil to dry areas. 

[Anniehox]

I think you're doing too much too fast. Fixing problematic skin is a slow, learning process. It is definitely best to try a new thing or two at a time. Try your acne wash at night, it doesn't make sense to me when companies suggest an am wash like that. What has your skin done all night that it needs that? Keep your natural oils on your face and use a gentle wash in the AM and acne wash at night to get the day off. 

I’ve been breaking out since I was 12 maybe (now 30).  I get cystic acne along my jaw line and down my neck and then pimples anywhere and oily. First and foremost! CHECK YOUR DIET!!! I will go from a CLEAR face to the worst acne and painful zits - if I have ANY dairy. I’m about to cut out eggs too, due to all their hormones. It sounds horrible to cut yummy stuff out, but it’s 2017 and they make perfectly fine replacements. You’ll need to give the diet check sometime - probably a good month or two. You will need to have a current breakout, stop breaking out, and start healing.

But for the fun stuff:

- twice a week I use PMD Pro at home microdermabrasion. I saved up for this baby. It’s crucial with oily & acne prone skin to keep those pores clean so there’s no build up.

- I follow with Exuviance performance peel (on amazon) - dr. Jart micro milk peel at night helps to prolong the efforts of the microdermabrasion and peel

I TRIPLE cleanse. I “wash” my face with water, you will literally feel the days slime wash off. Dry face.

- origins modern friction for exfoliating, I don’t have a schedule for this, o see how my skin is doing and use as necessary. Mostly pm. 

- drunk elephant Pekee bar. It fits in a soap dish. It keeps my skin hydrated and soft and actually helps to maintain clear skin

Remember hydration is NOT the enemy when you have oily / acne prone skin. It very well could clear up a large portion of your break out. Use a light, hydrating moisturizer Drink water!

[cfossy]

I had a similar experience. Never had serious acne, turned 30 and my skin went wild. Almost spent a year trying everything until a friend recommended Proactv+. I laughed but what did I have to lose. 2 years later my skin is the best it has ever been since I turned 30. I will be 33 at the end of this week. I'm still a skincare junkie but use this day and night along with my ant-aging items. I suggest you give it a try.

[theturleygirl]

My favorite acne wash right now is the white glam glow one. The licorice in it is different yet effective. With that alongside my Kate Somerville eradikate acne treatment and Sunday Riley UFO oil, it helps me a lot. Keep moisturizing though! I'm using the kiehl's ultra face cream and it's perfect. Best of luck!

[greeneyedgirl107]

@Anonymous I rec looking up the product you are currently using on beautypedia.com - it can be very eye opening!

Also, I would consult a derm.

Best of luck!  🙂

[ALM97]

I used to struggle with really bad cystic acne. Now I'm just dealing with the box scars from them because it was too painful not to pop them. Like huge zits that would make my face hurt if I moved my face, some would even pop on their own because of the pressure. I tried everything when I was dealing with the acne. Different drugstore acne systems, dermatologist acne systems, topicals, you name it. I never went on birth control or accutane, I tried my hardest to avoid them. What ended up completely changing my skin is anti-aging products. Sounds weird, but acne products broke me out like no other. Even now if I use acne toners or lotions, I break out. I only use an acne face wash. My morning routine: wash my face (Avalon organics intense defense vitamin c), tone (SK-II), essence(SK-II), moisturize (SK-II), vitamin-c serum (sesderma), sunscreen (Shiseido). My night routine: wash my face (cetaphil), tone (SK-II), essence (SK-II), night serum (Estée Lauder), vitamin C serum (sesderma). And once a week I use "The Cure" gel exfoliator to get rid of any dry skin patches. the products I use is pretty pricey, I ended up trying them just because I have such oily skin and those are what works for me and are lightweight and don't irritate me (a lot of products give me headaches). And they've really helped with my pore size as well as keeping my a lot less oily. Obviously, you can try less pricey anti aging products to start with and see where you get with those. I started with Shiseido and ventured out from there. However, I will say that the Estée Lauder night serum is worth the cost. It's completely changed my skin. My skin glows in the morning. If I skip the serum or run out my skin just looks dull and not moisturized. If you're on a budget and are hesitant on buying so many different products, I would look into SLMD Skincare. I follow Dr. Pimple Popper on insta and it's her line of skincare for acne and she posts people's before and afters as well as reviews and it sounds like it's helped a lot of stubborn acne.