Skincare - let's sperg about routines and products

[Tard Repository]

Anybody here have a good dupe rec for the Curology cleanser + moisturizer? My skin is super sensitive to a lot of the chemicals within OTC cleansers + moisturizers but the bottles are just too damn small to last me two months. Also I really feel like I could just get something like it cheaper and in larger quantities elsewhere.

BTW: HIGHLY recommend Curology for the pricepoint. My skin has felt smoother than it's ever been.

 

[Sunflower Seeds]

I poked around on this thread but didn’t see this: Any thoughts on pore strips? I see conflicting information online about them. I don’t want to hurt my skin but pulling one of those bad boys off is so satisfying.

 

[AbyssStarer]

My favorite cleanser line got discontinued and the next closest product they have is micellar water, can you really use it without wearing makeup as a decent cleanser? Do you just need to rinse extra between the micellar water and lotion?
God, I'm actually a little depressed my product line got discontinued after only using it for a year.

 

[Hee]

My favorite cleanser line got discontinued and the next closest product they have is micellar water, can you really use it without wearing makeup as a decent cleanser? Do you just need to rinse extra between the micellar water and lotion?
God, I'm actually a little depressed my product line got discontinued after only using it for a year.

Could you name the brand? I'll do a little digging. I hate it when my favorite product disappears

 

[AbyssStarer]

Could you name the brand? I'll do a little digging. I hate it when my favorite product disappears

It's Garnier SkinActive, what got discontinued was the cleanser with green tea, and their micellar water. If nothing else I was going to get a travel bottle of the micellar water to test it out when my last two bottles of cleanser run out.

 

[one_time_user]

this is my favorite face cleanser:
https://www.sephora.com/product/barrier-foaming-oil-cleanser-P442836

edit to add: I HAAAAAAATE micellar water

 

[Snack Cracker]

It's Garnier SkinActive, what got discontinued was the cleanser with green tea, and their micellar water. If nothing else I was going to get a travel bottle of the micellar water to test it out when my last two bottles of cleanser run out.
View attachment 2367199View attachment 2367204

It looks like your cleanser was geared towards oily/breakout prone skin, and if it was working well for you I would try another cleanser for oily skin that’s not loaded with salicylic acid because that garnier one is pretty gentle.
Pacifica has a Kale Cleanse cleanser, it’s a gel cleanser and it has green tea and kale as active ingredients. About the same price point as garnier

Edit edit to avoid double posting: micellar water is NOT a replacement for cleanser. You aren’t ever going to get as much dirt oil and makeup off with a micellar water than a cleansing oil/milk/cream/gel and water.

 

[knightlautrec]

So at my wits end here because my skin is basically burning and I kind of want to cry.

I have never really had any issue with bad acne, I have the fortune to have really decent skin aside from a bit of redness on my cheeks and occasional pimples maybe one or two a month. I'm pretty militant with my skincare: washer, toner, serum, retinol, eyes, moisturisers and facial masks with pore strips for my nose once a week.

My skin was looking pretty awesome until
Monday morning I woke up to a face full of tiny whiteheads and red painful bumps all over my cheeks and near my mouth. I immediately washed with some salicylic acid wash and slathered myself in more salicylic acid cream (which burns) and sunscreen.

I am still covered in tiny whiteheads (which keep refilling though I extract them with a clean tool) and I have never had such bad acne in my life. My once soft cheeks look like Danny Trejo for real. Its been unseasonably hot and my dry skin was a bit oily on Sunday night but nothing extreme. This week I was quite oily due to the warmth and put one niacinamide in the morning which has helped but I'm still riddled in white heads and bumps.

I'm absolutely puzzled what's going on. I've switched my sheets and towels for new ones thinking maybe my pores got clogged that way. The only thing recently I've done is fake tan drops on my face but I did them almost a week and a half ago (with small top ups) and I didn't have a reaction until now. I'm trying everything and my face is still freaking out. I ordered Mario Badescu Drying Lotion to try out but I'm honestly worried about acne scars if it doesn't clear up soon.

Any advice on clearing breakouts?

 

[Snack Cracker]

So at my wits end here because my skin is basically burning and I kind of want to cry.

I have never really had any issue with bad acne, I have the fortune to have really decent skin aside from a bit of redness on my cheeks and occasional pimples maybe one or two a month. I'm pretty militant with my skincare: washer, toner, serum, retinol, eyes, moisturisers and facial masks with pore strips for my nose once a week.

My skin was looking pretty awesome until
Monday morning I woke up to a face full of tiny whiteheads and red painful bumps all over my cheeks and near my mouth. I immediately washed with some salicylic acid wash and slathered myself in more salicylic acid cream (which burns) and sunscreen.

I am still covered in tiny whiteheads (which keep refilling though I extract them with a clean tool) and I have never had such bad acne in my life. My once soft cheeks look like Danny Trejo for real. Its been unseasonably hot and my dry skin was a bit oily on Sunday night but nothing extreme. This week I was quite oily due to the warmth and put one niacinamide in the morning which has helped but I'm still riddled in white heads and bumps.

I'm absolutely puzzled what's going on. I've switched my sheets and towels for new ones thinking maybe my pores got clogged that way. The only thing recently I've done is fake tan drops on my face but I did them almost a week and a half ago (with small top ups) and I didn't have a reaction until now. I'm trying everything and my face is still freaking out. I ordered Mario Badescu Drying Lotion to try out but I'm honestly worried about acne scars if it doesn't clear up soon.

Any advice on clearing breakouts?

It sounds like what you’re experiencing is an irritation breakout vs hormonal acne, and I’m sorry that happened because it will run it’s course eventually but there’s not really a way to stop it in the meantime.

Your skincare routine sounds great and the actives you’re using are solid- sounds like you’ve already been using retinol before this too so it’s not retinol purging.

I would back off the salicylic acid for now (especially since you’re a retinol user because your skin is more sensitive) and do a gentle routine for another week or so.

That niacinamide is the perfect active for helping to soothe and heal, so you’re doing things right and you should have minimal to no scarring since it’s numerous tiny whiteheads and irritated bumps (barring picking), and your retinol will clear any remaining marks.

Personally I would stay away from the MB drying lotion right now because it’s high in alcohol and has both salicylic acid and kaolin clay in it. That’s a product that would work well for you with the random big ones but not numerous tiny ones caused from a reaction.

Hyaluronic acid and niacinamide is going to be your best friend. Salicylic acid could make things worse right now by over drying and causing more irritation.

 

[knightlautrec]

It sounds like what you’re experiencing is an irritation breakout vs hormonal acne, and I’m sorry that happened because it will run it’s course eventually but there’s not really a way to stop it in the meantime.

Your skincare routine sounds great and the actives you’re using are solid- sounds like you’ve already been using retinol before this too so it’s not retinol purging.

I would back off the salicylic acid for now (especially since you’re a retinol user because your skin is more sensitive) and do a gentle routine for another week or so.

That niacinamide is the perfect active for helping to soothe and heal, so you’re doing things right and you should have minimal to no scarring since it’s numerous tiny whiteheads and irritated bumps (barring picking), and your retinol will clear any remaining marks.

Personally I would stay away from the MB drying lotion right now because it’s high in alcohol and has both salicylic acid and kaolin clay in it. That’s a product that would work well for you with the random big ones but not numerous tiny ones caused from a reaction.

Hyaluronic acid and niacinamide is going to be your best friend. Salicylic acid could make things worse right now by over drying and causing more irritation.

Thank you for the advice. I'll stay off the Salicylic Acid cuz yeah. It was burning a bit this morning after a wash and that probably isn't a good sign. I've just ordered some Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid. Should I lay off the retinol while using the HA?

 

[Snack Cracker]

From what you’re describing on the safe side I would back off the retinol for a bit too, but not because of the hyaluronic acid. Retinol can be irritating too if you’re having a skin episode, even if your skin is acclimated to it.
If you still want to use retinol until things clear I would back it down to like 2-3 times a week.

Hyaluronic acid is one of my favorite actives because it works well with pretty much all actives and it’s a humectant so it helps to draw and bind moisture into the skin without being heavy or greasy. For oily people it can help balance oil, dry people it adds another layer of moisture, mature skin same deal, it’s a lovely product.

And The Ordinary is my favorite skincare line ever because you can get actives without a bunch of junk filler in them for under $20. All of their products are great and their niacinamide serum and granactive 2% retinoid emulsion are god tier.
They do have a higher concentration of retinol in the 5% retinol with squalene but it didn’t work as well for me.

If you’re using glycolic acid/lactic acid/AHA’s etc I would also give that a break for a minute.

 

[knightlautrec]

From what you’re describing on the safe side I would back off the retinol for a bit too, but not because of the hyaluronic acid. Retinol can be irritating too if you’re having a skin episode, even if your skin is acclimated to it.
If you still want to use retinol until things clear I would back it down to like 2-3 times a week.

Hyaluronic acid is one of my favorite actives because it works well with pretty much all actives and it’s a humectant so it helps to draw and bind moisture into the skin without being heavy or greasy. For oily people it can help balance oil, dry people it adds another layer of moisture, mature skin same deal, it’s a lovely product.

And The Ordinary is my favorite skincare line ever because you can get actives without a bunch of junk filler in them for under $20. All of their products are great and their niacinamide serum and granactive 2% retinoid emulsion are god tier.
They do have a higher concentration of retinol in the 5% retinol with squalene but it didn’t work as well for me.

If you’re using glycolic acid/lactic acid/AHA’s etc I would also give that a break for a minute.

Thank you so much. I know a bit about skincare...like enough that I know kinda how to take care of my own but this breakout is pretty out of my league knowledge wise.

And yeah, same, I love the Ordinary and actually use their retinol, too. I'm also a fan of Paula's Choice for moisturisers and toner but it is a bit expensive for what it is. It's hard to justify 36 quid for my face but it does last a good two months usually and I figure like...I only GET one face. You might as well take care of it.

...God I hope this clears up. I don't wanna look like Seal anymore.

 

[Ear]

It's hard to justify 36 quid for my face but it does last a good two months usually and I figure like...I only GET one face. You might as well take care of it.

I always heard if you are going to be using / touching something every day or you expect to own it for more than 2 years, buy the best you can afford. Unfortunately you can't buy a new face (well, Oli London did) but I think money on quality skincare is nearly always a good investment.

 

[Childe]

Do any of you fine ladies have facewash recommendations for oily skin? I’ve tried CeraVe and Cetaphil to no avail. Honestly would not be opposed to spending more money on something but I’m lost on where to even start with my search that doesn’t include drug store brands.

 

[NoReturn]

Do any of you fine ladies have facewash recommendations for oily skin? I’ve tried CeraVe and Cetaphil to no avail. Honestly would not be opposed to spending more money on something but I’m lost on where to even start with my search that doesn’t include drug store brands.

Unscented goat milk soap. Works better than actual cleansers for me, anyway.

 

[knightlautrec]

Update to red bumpy acne hellscape that is my face: After ordering all that stuff (which I will be using to hopefully calm this down) I realised there is one factor I didn't consider in what's happening. Finishing a 12 day course of antibiotics.

I've been furiously googling to figure this out thinking it might be perioral dermatitis or sudden allergies to something I'm using or eating but after kinda eliminating those because I'm a boring person who doesn't really vary diet and only using proven cleanser and moisturiser. But I finished a course of antibiotics just Sunday and bam. >Face full of grossness the next day. There's some evidence to suggest that antibiotics might fuck with your good bacteria on your skin and cause fungal acne. So I guess that might be the culprit?

As an aside Idk what the fuck to do with fungal acne to eliminate it.

 

[NoReturn]

There's some evidence to suggest that antibiotics might fuck with your good bacteria on your skin and cause fungal acne. So I guess that might be the culprit?

The very likely one, in my opinion.
I've heard using an anti-dandruff shampoo like Nizol(?) and Selsun Blue as a face wash works for fungal acne.
I'd also recommend figuring out some way to get your symbiotes back, too. Eating fermented and cultured food is good for this (e.g. Yogurt, kiefer, saurkraut, kimchi)

 

[knightlautrec]

The very likely one, in my opinion.
I've heard using an anti-dandruff shampoo like Nizol(?) and Selsun Blue as a face wash works for fungal acne.
I'd also recommend figuring out some way to get your symbiotes back, too. Eating fermented and cultured food is good for this (e.g. Yogurt, kiefer, saurkraut, kimchi)

It's good to know the national dish of my motherland is good for me. But yeah- thank you. I'll look into Selsun Blue. I ordered something-zinc facial wash too. Gotta find some probiotics to just down into my guts. I want my skin back goddammit. I'm tired of looking like a burn victim.

 

[NoReturn]

It's good to know the national dish of my motherland is good for me. But yeah- thank you. I'll look into Selsun Blue. I ordered something-zinc facial wash too. Gotta find some probiotics to just down into my guts. I want my skin back goddammit. I'm tired of looking like a burn victim.

I'm not so good with the products and makeup and all that jazz, but I can at least make food recommendations. lol

 

[Vingle]

They do have a higher concentration of retinol in the 5% retinol with squalene but it didn’t work as well for me.

Because there's no evidence that The Ordinary Granactive Retinoids work. It's an ester of retinoic acid (tretinoin), and we know that esters of ascorbic acid are pretty shit too. Retinol is very science-backed, stick to it. Only papers on the retinoid ester is bought by Deciem/Estee Lauder.

buy the best you can afford.

I think money on quality skincare is nearly always a good investment.

No, good skincare doesn't have to be expensive. If you don't know about the right products and don't bother to dig a little. Of course it's going to be expensive.
La Mer, Dermalogica, ZO Obagi, Drunk Elephant etc is pretty shit. Cheap fillers that work, but you pay for the brand. Maybe a tiny bit more cosmetic elegancy, but is is worth 100-500 usd more?

As an aside Idk what the fuck to do with fungal acne to eliminate it.

Adding in that Head&Shoulders work too. Anti-fungal ointment is good too.

Update on my case with the fungal acne. It seems to be under control, but it won't go away completely. Set myself up for an appointment to my dermatologist in the end of August, just to see if it's going to get better by then or not.
Anyway, I'm on my last tube of tretinoin and need to renew my prescription.

I tried this the other day, after watching Dr. Dray. Lip sunscreen around the eyes, since it doesn't sting the eyes. Lo and behold, it actually works.
My lip SPF is basically vaseline with SPF. It's going to help me actually using it up, because my last tube on 7 grams lasted me well over over a year.