Need help for oily problematic skin
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:03 am

Ok, I am in serious need of some help. I hate my skin. I have very oily, acne prone skin with huge pores and blackheads on my nose, cheeks, and chin. I have used all types of generic drug store systems and have been using Proactiv for the past year and a half. The Proactiv has helped to treat my acne; now I only tend to have hormonal flareups for about one week out of the month. I have no idea what to do about my blackheads. It seems like the more I try to remove them, the more they come back. I also have very large pores and some pits and acne scars. My skin complexion is pretty even though, and I don't struggle with redness. I am starting to feel that putting chemicals on my face is making my skin dull, but I need to be able to control all of the oil. I use Bare Minerals foundation and it has been the only type of foundation I have ever been able to keep on my face. I am just frustrated and at my wit's end. Does anybody have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

free skin care · Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:26 am

Hi Dazzle, welcome to the EDS forum! You've come to the right place and I was where you are about a year ago; now my skin has been upgraded to oily/combo no blackheads and very very few breakouts.

I tried Proactive but it was too harsh for my skin. I used to use Murad as well; it was great for controlling my acne but didn't seem to do too much for blackheads.

I don't know how old you are, but drugstore products you many have used in your teens are too harsh for adult skin. Be sure you're drinking plenty of water and taking good supplements to feed your skin from within.

I use PSF Papaya enzyme cleanser. It's gentle and leaves my skin feeling very clean. In the pm, I use jojoba oil to remove makeup, follow up with PSF microfiber facial cloth.

I use EpidermxII [you'll find tons of threads on both PSF and EpiII on this forum BTW] as manual exfoliation. You need to exfoliate to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin which will help to prevent clogged pores.

I follow up with a BHA/AHA combo that has kept my face free of blackheads. The BHA penetrates deeply within the pores and the AHA exfoliates the surface.

About once a week I massage a bunch of jojoba oil all over my face, rinsing with hot water frequently once my makeup has been removed. I spend 15 minutes at this and I can feel sebum plugs being removed when I do this. There are some that do this everyday but I'm too lazy. [Lot of threads about this as well, look for OCM method in the keyword search]

I then use a gentle toner that restores my PH balance after the BHA/AHA solution has settled in for 30 minutes, followed up with a few drops of camellia oil for moisture.

Every other night, I use PSF 1.0% Retinol treatment.

At this point my pores are still large but they're clean. Still trying to get them to either shrink or look smaller.

I use mineral makeup as well, it's a godsend for oily skin. Underneath makeup, I use pearl/silk paste and pearl/silk primer powder to control the oil during the day. I don't have to use blotting papers anymore [which always seemed to contribute to more breakouts in my experience]

Be sure to use a good sunscreen when you start using BHA/AHA because they will make you more susceptible to harmful UVA damage.

A lot of other ladies will chime in as well, be prepared to do a lot of research on this forum! Laughing

Athena

Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:51 pm

First, thanks for responding. Second, Wow! That is quite a routine. I think I am having information overload right now. I started reading information on the forums, but now I am pretty overwhelmed. As far as age goes, I am 23 so I guess now I have "adult skin". I know that now most of my acne has cleared up and what I end up with are hormonal or stress breakouts. I don't think that there is any way to clear those type of breakouts up completely. I am interested in ways to keep oil at bay, clear black heads, and shrink pores. You mentioned that you use an AHA/BHA. What should I look for in a product like that? If there is a particular thread that already discusses this, please point me in that direction. I started reading the OCM thread but got really lost and wasn't sure if it was something I should consider. Anyways, I'm running off now to read some older threads!

free skin care · Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:12 pm

You can try mixing a bit of the primer powder with your moisturizer to control the oil. I have been testing this the past few days and it really gives the minerals a good base to stay on and my makeup lasts longer.

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