I have had terrible acne most of my life. I am a white 21-year old
male, and I have what you would consider very sensitive skin. My
complexion is oily, and I get sunburns very easily. At the age of 16
I started to develop a serious case of acne. 5 years later, I've
finally found a skin-care formula that is 100% effective for me.
THE QUICK SUMMARY:
If your skin is like mine, it's helpful to:
Wear long-sleeved shirts to sleep.
Use a clean pillowcase every week.
Never touch or pick your face.
Stop using moisturizing lotions. Use **Dove Clarifying Toner**
Wash with non-soap cleansers like **Olay Gentle Foaming Cleanser**
Quit shaving. Trim instead.
THE FULL STORY:
ANTIBIOTICS
At the age of 16 I went to a dermatologist, who prescribed a variety
of antibiotics. These helped a little bit. I tried a variety of
topical prescriptions, too. After a year of these prescriptions my
acne was still terrible.
ACCUTANE
I had a friend who had great success with accutane and I asked my
dermatologist to precribe it for me. Since she thought the risks
outweighed the benefits, she said no. I went to see a new
dermatologist. At the age of 17 I went on a '1st round of accutane'.
For 6 months I took 30mg of accuate twice a day. This made my face
peel- it was red and sensitive and disgusting for three months. After
I stopped taking the medicine this went away. Three months after my
'1st round' my face was completely clear. I was ecstatic.
The acne started to come back a few months later. I would have
blemishes around my mouth that would come and go, but never completely
go away.
KLARON GEL
I went back to my dermatologist. I wanted a second round of Accutane,
but he prescribed Klaron, a topical antibiotic. He told me to use
gentle cleansers and moisturizers twice a day.
That was 3 years ago. The gel didn't erradicate the acne. I kept
searching for different ways to combat it...
HARSH CLEANSERS
I must have tried every over-the-counter medicine in existence. I
started using harsher cleansers and moisturizing less. This dries my
face out. If you have acne, you know that if you dry your face out it
reduces swelling. It would make my blemishes smaller for awhile, but
never made the redness go away. The driness also made my skin very
tight. I couldn't smile, and I could always 'feel' the tightness in
my face. It also cranked up my face's natural oils. In defense of
the dryness, my face would become noticably oily a few hours after I
washed it. This resulted in more washing. BAD.
OVER-MOISTURIZING
I went through a period of over-moisturizing. I would put three or
four applications of moisturizer on my face before I went to bed.
This helped with the tightness and itchiness and made my face a bit
healthier. It also helped with the oiliness. But blemish swelling
went up, and redness did not go away.
PAJAMAS
I was always trying to figure out what made the specific area around
my mouth more prone to acne than the rest of my face. I never noticed
myself touching it, so it wasn't a result of oil from my hands. One
night in particular, I woke up and realized I was sleeping with my
chin resting on my arm. My skin was in direct contact with the skin
on my arm. It made sense that my face was irritated by my warm arm.
From then on I wore a light-weight long-sleeved tshirt to bed. This
way my face never comes in contact with my arm.
PILLOWCASES
I don't usually take showers/baths before I go to bed. I'm a morning
shower person. So when I crawl into bed, I put my dirty head on the
same pillow case night after night. I never noticed this since it
doesn't look or smell dirty. But after a week, the oil from my face
and hair starts to build up. I read somewhere that you should change
your pillowcase frequently. I put on a clean pillowcase (or turn it
inside-out!) every week.
HOT AND STICKY
Given the nature of my sensitive skin, I have a reaction to everything
I put on my face. As time went by, my nightly moisturizing routine
was less effective. As strange as it sounds, smothering my face with
moisturizer made my face hot. I was, in effect, making my face hot
and sticky every night before I went to sleep. This didn't feel
particularly comfortable. So I started to listen to my skin. I used
the moisturizer sparingly after each wash. I washed my face less.
But I couldn't find the right balance- I was either sticky with
moisturizer or dry and oily.
LESS IS MORE
I realized my acne problem wasn't a result of stress. Or oil. I had
acne because my face was irritated. I had to find a way to keep my
face in its happy medium. People without acne pay very little
attention to their faces. They wash their faces once a day on
average, during their shower. And they don't bother with cleansers or
toners or moisturizers. This is how I realized that less is more. I
had to find a way to keep my skin cool and dry. No more extremes.
So my skin has to be kept clean, but it hates cleanser. And it
doesn't produce enough moisture, but it hates moisturizer. It hates
shaving, but I don't want a beard.
THE SOLUTION?
I found a skincare regimen that actually works for me. If you have
sensitive, oily-dry skin, I HIGHLY recommend it. HIGHLY.
1. STOP SHAVING
Scratching a razor down your face is the last thing you want to do to
irritated skin. I have a trimmer that I use to keep the hair short.
Now I have a uniform layer of short stubble. It's blonde hair, so
it's not noticable- and keeping it neatly trimmed looks very good.
2. Twice a day:
Wash with **Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash** (Sensitive Skin with
Aloe)
It's a fantastic face wash. It is actually soap-free, and it's the
only thing I can use more than once a day.
Follow with **Dove Clarifying Toner**. This stuff comes in a blue
bottle and it is FANTASTIC. It's a liquid toner, but moisturizes skin
better than a lotion could. Use a GENEROUS amount of it. I wet a
cotton ball and apply it to my face 3 or 4 times. I wet my face until
it's dripping. It's like a second face wash- but with moisturizer.
It makes your face feel cool, and it evaporates/absorbs, leaving your
skin dry. It contains spring water, vitamins and nutrients. AMAZING.
PRODUCT PICTURES (hyperlinks from Feb 26,2004)
**Dove Toner**
http://www.dove.com/face_care/products/images/prod_shot_clarifying_toner.jpg
**Olay Cleanser**
http://www.olay.com/quicksearch/images/us07012003_5_BIG.gif
I've been using these products for two months. I use about 1
container of Olay Cleanser and 2 containers of Dove Toner in that
amount of time.
HAPPY FACE
My face is soft, smooth, and nice to touch. I feel like I've
'conquered' the bad skin years of my life. My days are no longer
affected by 'blemish self-consiousness'. My happier face has made me
a happier person
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