Help Very Dry Sensitive Skin

Feb 6, 2012

Genesis L.

hi girl im desperate going crazy i have horrible dry sensitive skin

first lets start i have acne prone skin primers,foundations,alot of make up products break me out so there for every acne product i tried dries my skin to the point is so dy it gets tight,flacky and cant even smile it hurts,burns,itches this is cause by face cleanser too alot of them.

so im trying to figure out a skin regimen that works for me
1. recommendations on foundation that dont brake me out(BRANDS PLEASE)
2.primer that doesnt break me out(BRANDS)
3.most important FACE CLEANSER,MAKE UP REMOVER, and MOISTURIZER
that help my issue please help i dont care about the price i just need a good skin regimen and any other tips that might help keep my skin moisturize.

please help appreciate alot :)  

Feb 6, 2012

Gabrielle M.

OK! So I totally feel you on this one! My skin is just like yours! And it seems like I'm allergic to everything under the sun when it comes to products. Salycic acid ( I don't know how to spell it sorry) and Benzyl peroxid or whatever it is I found was a huge culprit to my acne breakouts (kind of ironic) and I found that once I eliminated them my face cleared up significantly. For facial cleanser I've been using garnier moisture rescue gentle cleansing foam. And for my moisturizer I use garnier skin renew anit-sun damage(it's spf 28). For toner I've never found one that works for me until just recently I saw a DIY recipe for toner. All it is, get this, is just sea salt and water. Just spritz it on your face and you're good to go. Sea salt has amazing healing properties and I know you're probably thinking but I've got dry skin, but as long as you moisturize it shouldn't be an issue. It's done wonders for my face so far, and I saw results in two days. Now for makeup remover I just use Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It breaks down all the makeup and is an amazing moisturizer as well. I hope any bit of this information is helpful.

Feb 6, 2012

Genesis L.

omg thanks ill try all your recommendations and see what happens i hate feeling tight on my face its horribl....e do u mind me asking you what foundation and primer u use??

Feb 6, 2012

Gabrielle M.

I don't use a primer for my foundation at the moment. And the foundation I use is Maybelline's Dream Liquid Foundation in light ivory. And as long as I wash my face at night I haven't found any reason to believe it causes breakouts on me. I agree! That feeling is horrible!

Feb 6, 2012

Genesis L.

thanks i use them for a couple of days and even if i wash my face i start breaking out

Feb 6, 2012

Gabrielle M.

Thats so frustrating. What foundation are you currently using?

Feb 6, 2012

Genesis L.

im between hard candy foundation, revlon photo ready, lancome out of the three hard candy my favorite for sure hate the smell but love how it looks 

Feb 15, 2012

Katie C.

Gabrielle- I just saw your comment about using the toner, and the DIY. I don't think using sea salt and water is a good idea, not to be rude.
Honestly, the purpose of a toner is to balance your skins PH levels, as well as remove resedue left by tap water... such as minerals, pollutions, etc. Unless you are making your toner with filtered water, then the toner serves no purpose... water actually dehydrates your skin.
I would recommend just buying a toner from the store... otherwise, you're just putting your face cream ontop of resedue, and your not getting the moisture from your creme properly.

Good luck with everything!

Feb 15, 2012

Melanie G.

As far as toners go, I'm with Katie for the most part. Unless the toner you are using contains beneficial ingredients for your skin, its not really going to be helpful and most toners on the market have alcohol, which is terrible for your skin and will dry it out even more. If you do still want a toner, there's a great spray from MD Formulations (part of the Bare Escentuals company) called "Moisture Defense Antioxidant Spray" that I use as a toner. Its great for providing your skin with antioxidants and doesn't contain alcohol or anything drying. Clinique's Mild Clarifying Lotion is also a great toner option as it contains no alcohol and is gentle on your skin (cheaper than the MD one as well).

As far as cleansers and moisturizers, CeraVe is a great brand to try out for both of those as its fragrance-free and shouldn't cause your skin to dry out or be irritated (its also convenient as its available in the drugstore). Also, make sure to gently exfoliate to prevent flaking (I use philosophy's "the afterglow", but you can find a list of good ones on beautypedia.com, which is a great source for skincare products by the way)

Makeup is hard to help with because what will breakout one person may not on another person. I use Maybelline's Dream Smooth Mousse and have not had breakouts, but I'm not sure if it will break you out or not. =/ Though I definitely will suggest Clinique's Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm to remove makeup...its the best I've ever used! Hope that helps :)

Feb 16, 2012

Jane A.

I was plagued with cystic acne about a year ago. I had horrible bumps and acne scars all over my face. This is what I did, and my skin completely change. I don't have bad bad break outs anymore (I used to break out with 3-4 craters on multiple parts of my face at once). My forehead is a lot smoother, and my scars have pratically disappeared.

First I went to see a Dermo. I has prescribed acne fighting topicals.

Next, I switched up my whole skin regimine. I tried everything under the sun... drug store, department stores, online brands... spa brands... organic brands... infomercial brands... I finally settled on CeraVe (as Melanie mentioned). I too came here looking for something, and Soma S. recommended CeraVe, since it was a drug store brand and very affordable, I decided to try it.

A few weeks after using the Foaming Cleanser (I have oily skin), the AM lotion (moisturizer w/ spf), and PM lotion... my skin drastically changed.

So my regimine was:

AM
-CeraVe Foaming Face Wash
-Witch Hazel for toner
-Differen (Acne prescribed topical)
-CeraVe AM Lotion

PM
-CeraVe Foaming Face Wash
-Witch Hazel (Toner)
-Duac (Prescribed Benzo Peroxide acne topical)
-Cera PM Lotion

2-3x a week
Mask one day
Scrub the next day

^^^My skin cleared up tremendously!!! 

Feb 16, 2012

Jane A.

I would like to add, never in a million years have I thought my face would clear with drug store brands only! Everything except for the Rx topicals, were bought at drug stores!

As for makeup, I was using mineral foundation only so my skin would breathe versus the layering of concealer and foundation to "conceal" my horrible acne. Now a days though, I use Revlon ColorStay or Maybelline's 24hr Foundation. 

Feb 16, 2012

Genesis L.

omg thanks girls yall amazing i rather buy thing from people than had see results than a store consultant i feel they just in the hunt for my money u know make up its is hard to find which one is good so i guess ii stick to cheap one till i find my regimen u know has any of u try Cetaphil® Skin Cleanser????

Feb 17, 2012

Katie C.

Amore Pacific makes AMAZING products... they don't contain ANY water, and specialize in Green Tea. A bit on the pricy side though. =\

Feb 17, 2012

Katie Louise H.

Not sure if this comment is gunna be helpful because im not sure if you can get some of these in the US.

I have really dry/sensitive skin and I'm loving the Elemis Pro Radiance cleanser and Oilatum Facial Moisturiser. Really helped get my skin back into shape :)

Feb 17, 2012

Jane A.

Cetaphil is similar to CeraVe. Very gentle, and when I ran out of my CeraVe, I used my Cetaphil back up for a few days.

CeraVe has "Ceramides" and it's I believe the only drug store product/line that has them. Versus majority of the department/high end products that have them for 3-4-5x the price.

Ceramides are "skin regenerating" properties. CeraVe also has it where these properties are released throughout the day... so your skin is regenerating itself constantly. =)

Feb 19, 2012

Jena O.

CeraVe cleansers and moisturizing lotion are great for sensitive skin and dryness. The moisturizer has hyaluronic acid and holds in moisture. Mario Badescu also has a hyaluronic acid gel/serum. When you cleanse in the evening do a "double cleanse" first time to remove makeup, the second to actually clean your skin. Primers: avoid sillicone it can cause breakouts and acts like shrink wrap on skin, not allowing skin to breathe. Try Clinique pore refining instant perfector, Korres face primer, Tarte recreate sillicone free primer, Ulta Hydro Primer. Foundation: Bobbi Brown natural finish oil free foundation is my personal favorite of all time! Nars is great as well =) Goodluck!

Feb 20, 2012

Genesis L.

ok girlies thanks well i bought cerave foaming cleanser today the one with the green label but i didnt knew what moisturizer to get do i need the facial one or the normal one for the body ????? by the ways thanks @ Jena i went to sephora today and bought Korres primer it was pricey but silicone free so im looking forward to using it smells great too ....@Jane is there any medication for acne i can buy OTC that u would recommend???? and is a toner really necessary??? and to the other girls thanks so much for the great suggestions

Feb 20, 2012

Robyn B.

i have extremely dry skin on my face as well, and mild eczema, so i found aveeno bar soap works great for me.. its strong enought to remove all my makeup, so i get to skip the makeup removal step and saves me from using ANOTHER product...im not sure how it is with acne prone skin though...

as for a foundation, i found Cover FX - natural FX liquid foundation works best for me.. i also have rosacea...so im usually very red in my face, but this foundation covers it amazingly...and its water based..and doesn't hurt my skin at all...ive also tried a few by covergirl in the past, but they always hurt my face...i would always get that "tight stingy" feeling.

Oh, and marcelle foundations i found didn't burn either..and they are hypoallergenic..and a bit cheaper than the cover FX, i usually pay around 30-40 dollars for the cover FX, but a little goes along way and WELL worth it :)
ive never tried cera ve, but with all the good reviews, i really want to go buy a bottle!! :)

Feb 20, 2012

Amanda K.

I recently started using theoilcleansingmethod.com and my skin has never looked better. It's using a mixture of castor oil which has cleansing properties and sunflower oil and depending on your skin type depends on the ratio you mix of each product. The website is very informative on explaining the routine and facts about how it really works. But the balance of my skin is wonderful with no breakouts and just the right amount of moisture.

Feb 24, 2012

Genesis L.

you guys are amazing love all the help still havent bought a moisturizer ill be checking out the body shop one @shalini and @robyn ill check out that foundation how do i know if a foundation is water base???...@amanda i will check out the site no thanks :)

Feb 24, 2012

Niamh M.

Your skin sounds quite dehydrated, I'd recommend a really good hydrating serum. It's from Vichy its called aqualia thermal serum and it lasts forever! It's bout €20 so $15+ definitely worth checking out!

Feb 25, 2012

Jane A.

Toner is not necessary. I was w/o a toner for a while, and I didn't see any difference in break out.

Benzo Peroxide kills acne bacteria, "acidy" ingredients like Sacylic Acid is good for removing that junk top layer of your skin. To help minimize the breakout, I would go with a gentle Benzo Peroxide. Neutrogena has a gentle 3% or so. There are other brands that are 5% or 10% and that could be too harsh on people's sensitive skin, so it would make it worse.

I've read/seen so many blogs/vlogs of people slathering the BP on their face (versus "spot treat" like others would tell you -- due to it making your skin more dry). The people who slather it on their face see a big improvement, but your skin does get really dry so a really hydrating moisturizer is a must!

I tried CeraVe Moisturizer CREAM (the one in the tub), and I was like wow. I think it's so much better than the PM lotion. I put it on my face at night, and when I woke up... my skin felt so soft. 

Feb 25, 2012

Robyn B.

@genesis - it says on the tube that it is water based...but im not sure now if that is a good or bad thing because in someone elses comment it said that water can actually dehydrate your skin..

and i didn't know that.. but i really don't know too much about it, but i know it works for me..and the woman at the makeup counter said the water based ones are good because they don't clog as much and breathe on your skin better...

i got mine from shoppers drug mart, but im in canada..so i don't know exactly where they would sell it in the states, but if you go to coverfx.com i think you can search for stores. :) good luck!

Feb 25, 2012

Marianna K.

I have horrendously dry skin and there have only been a few products that helped me:
Oilatum
Creme de la Mer
Glycerin and Rose Water toner
and Olive Oil. I would suggest Almond Oil but if you have really sensitive skin that probably isn't a good idea. Olive oil works wonders though. I massage it into the skin and leave it for around 20 minutes before rinsing it off and patting it dry. And it won't break you out as the molecules are too big to get clogged in your pores.
Also I found that salicylic acid absolutely destroys my skin. Some people are not tolerant to it and I guess I am one of them.