Meet my skin care dream team!
Growing up, all through my teens and early 20′s, I had the best skin. Rarely did I have a blemish, and there was never much thought put into my skin care routine. Wash my face when I wanted, with whatever I wanted, and it was all good.
Then I turned 24 and it all went downhill. Adult acne, people. It’s a terrible thing. My once smooth and fuss-free face had turned into a greasy, itchy, broken out nightmare – seemingly overnight. Nothing seemed to clear it up, and I tried everything. Proactiv, Proactiv for sensitive skin, antibiotics, this face wash, that face wash, trip after trip to the dermatologist. Trial and error, trial and error, trial and error!
One weekend, about a year into my adult acne journey, I was at a makeup/skincare counter at a department store. As I was chatting with the woman working about some makeup, she asked if I would be interested in hearing about their line of skin care products. I launched into my whole sob story about adult acne, and all the products I’d tried that never seemed to work – in fact, my skin was just getting worse and worse everyday. She took one good look at my skin and said the statement that completely changed the way I had been going about clearing up my acne.
Oily skin doesn’t mean moisturized skin.
It sounds so simple, but it completely rang a bell with me! She could plainly see that although my skin was greasy & broken out – it was dry as a bone. All this time I’d been trying to get rid of the oil and breakouts by drying my skin out with harsh chemicals and products, but little did I know that it was making everything worse, and making me break out even more. For me, dry skin = broken out skin.
I switched gears right then and there, and re-focused on HYDRATING my face with moisturizing products that wouldn’t gunk up my pores with extra oil. Here’s the dream team that’s worked miracles for me:
Cetaphil Face Wash: Effectively cleans my skin and removes makeup without over drying. I use this every morning and every night.
Dual Action Moisturizer: a moisterizer with salicylic acid added for breakout treatment. All the products I’d been using before had benzoyl peroxide in them, which I figured out was way too harsh for my face. Salicylic acid is much more gentle, isn’t as drying, and works much better than benzoyl peroxide. Win, win, win! I use this moisturizer every morning.
UPDATE: I now use Oil of Olay Fragrance-Free Face Lotion in the morning instead!
Cetaphil Advanced Moisterizer: For really, deep down moisturizing. I use this every night to re-hydrate my face. It’s a little too heavy for use during the day (read: too much shine) but is perfect for repairing at night.
Put together, I saw results in mere weeks. My skin was much less inflamed, it didn’t itch so bad and miracles were happening with the persistent acne I hadn’t been able to get rid of in over a year.
I still have some dryness around my mouth where I occasionally break out, but my skin is 99% better than what it was before I started using this trio of products. If you are currently, or have ever suffered from acne, you know how it can start to run your life. When you find something that works, you share it with the world. I hope my story has helped some of you! 
In other news, breakfast was epic today. I had a Tropical Greek Yogurt Bowl!
In the mix:
- 1 Pineapple Chobani Greek Yogurt
- 1 mango
- 1 kiwi
- almond slices
Simply, amazing.
Both my kiwi and mango were UBER ripe and sweet as candy.
Combined with the tropical pinapple yogurt, I was once again transported to paradise in my mind!
Bora Bora, in case you were wondering.
I’ve got some leftovers for lunch.
Creamy, satisfying Tuna Noodle Casserole.
Good straight from the fridge, I’m telling you. No need to re-heat even!
A high fructose corn syrup-free applesauce cup.
And some carrots with smooth Barney Butter for drizzling. 
All together now!
In other news, TGIAF!!! Although my days have passed by lightening quick, this week has seemed to last forever. Bring on the weekend!
Have a great Thursday!
~~~~~
Have you ever suffered from acne? What did you use to treat it? What’s your current skin care routine?
I’ve heard great stuff about Cetaphil – I remember, too, one of the Olsen sisters gushing about it and saying it gives them nice, dewy skin.
Yesterday I picked up Pond’s Cold Cream, and to me that stuff is a dream already. I have extremely dry skin, so this is a fabulous moisturizer!
My mom suffered from acne at age 30. I have never had it, so I’m waiting for it to approach…
I have always had super dry skin. It would get so bad that big dry patches would form on my face, forehead, sides of cheek, and by mouth, and get red and then eventually break out. I couldn’t agree more about moisturizing! I found Moisture Surge by Clinique and live by it! My face is nice and moisturized which reduces my break outs. Glad to hear you found a product that works for you!
I still get breakouts here and there, but my skin was SO HORRIBLE growing up. Literally traumatic. Let’s just say that for my 3rd grade – 3rd grade!!!!!! – school picture, I have a noticeable huge zit on my nose that all the boys made fun of.
I had great skin in my teens as well. Then, suddenly when I got into my 40′s (yes 40′s!!!) I started to get adult acne, then rosacea. What a horrible combo! Cetaphil completely saved me. It is the BEST product. I also look for product with vitamin K, which is great for rosacea. Now that I’m 51, my skin seems to be changing again, but never out of control thanks to these products. Thanks for a great blog….enjoy it every day!
Adult acne?! I hope that doesn’t happen to me, because my skin is clear 95% of the time. Every once in a while I’ll get one of those under the skin zits that HURT when you touch them. All I use is Clearasil in the mornings, Neutragena make up remover at night, and SPF 15 Walmart brand beauty lotion (LOL).
I tried the orange Neutragena face wash during my first semester of college and it screwed up my skin ROYALLY. Not sure why – I think it dried out my face too much or something. Only Clearasil for me!
Thank you so much for this post! It helps a ton
Court and I both have skin just like yours, and we have struggled with acne for years. We have tried all sorts of products inluding Proactiv as well. lol (So not a good product! Anywho I have heard lots of good things about Cetaphil, and you have convinced me that it works. 
-Whit
Your story sounds exactly like mine! Finally, I got some excellent advice from a random stranger who turned out to be a dermatologist from Germany that had moved to the states. He said to use a gentle cleanser like Cetaphil and Apricot Ive’s scrub. Moisturize daily with jojoba oil. The man is a genius!
omg Thank YOU! my bf has had problems with this for awhile now.. his skin looks SO greasy all the time! so we thought he just needed to wash more and use toners… im going to buy all these products for him tm! i hope it works for him like it did for you!
Does that face wash have a lot of chemicals in it? I’ve been trying to go all natural or organic or just chemical free on things I put on my skin. Any ideas?
I have the exact same combination skin and pretty much follow the same skin care regime as you. One extra thing I do that helps tremendously, at the advice of an aesthetician, is use an alchohol-free toner to balance out the pH of my skin. I had no idea that was the purpose of toners until she told me that. I use the Neutrogena Oil-Free Toner in the light blue bottle and can really tell if I skip that step in the morning — it really helps keep the oil in check.
[...] my favorite thick, protein-packed Greek yogurt topped with tropical fruit, or melted over warm banana [...]
[...] used to be able to get away with a little bit of powder and blush, but since my brush with adult acne, I have to go with the whole sha-bang. Foundation, concealer, powder, bronzer, blush – plus [...]
[...] its topped with tropical fruit, or starring in my MUST TRY [...]
[...] Here’s my skin routine. Although now that it’s summer, and my skin isn’t as dry aka I breakout less, I’ve swapped the salicylic acid based Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturizer for Oil of Olay Total Effects Fragrance-Free Daily Moisturizer in the morning. It feels like silk. [...]
[...] School/College: As I once told you, I had the best skin growing up. I hardly ever washed my face at night (I know) and rarely got a [...]
My significant other works for a dermatology company; one of their products is Cetaphil. For what it’s worth, dermatologists all over Iowa recommend this as the best OTC lotions and cleansers on the market. Great choice!
The same exact thing happened to me (a little earlier in life), and I made the same exact mistakes. Once I finally discovered moisturizers and Cetaphi (it took me more than a year), it was my cure as well. It’s true: oily doesn’t mean moisturized. Plus, it’ll help keep skin looking younger, longer!
[...] I had been using Laura Mercier’s Shine Control Powder to mattify my oily-yet-sensitive skin. It worked fine, but I found myself having to reapply during the day. I tried the de-slick in a [...]
Hi! Another Iowa girl here…living on the west coast. I have a product WAY better than Cetaphil. My old roomie started the company…she’s totally amazing and is currently being scouted out by Whole Foods. All organic, all natural…I use her acne kit and the result is so amazing! I left my kit at home for a week while in Hawaii last month and came home with 12 pimples. One week later of using her products and my face is clear again. The kit lasts FOREVER…like 6 months…so it’s definitely worth it. Give it a shot! I bet you’ll never go back to Cetaphil.
http://my-mamas-love.com/
I’m a new reader, but love this post! The last year I’ve started to see crazy acne breakouts after 27 years of clear, beautiful skin. It’s so depressing when the dermatologist’s recommendation & products don’t work! I’m currently using Boot’s Expert care line, which seems to be doing the job, but maybe I need to get back to Cetaphil. I used it growing up, but switched in college to try new fun products on rotation. Look forward to reading through your blog! Thanks for sharing.
What do you use for make up?
Hi I am just checking out your blog for the first time via pinterest thank you very much!!! Anyway it is awesome! I am an esthtician and had to comment on the skin care dream team… I am so excited to see this post as I am always telling my clients that it doesn’t need to be expensive to be amazing!!! I NEED to fill you in in another dream team must have… Wait for it…wait for it… Grape seed oil! It’s hands down the best use it at night for the extra moisture it will not clog as a matter of fact it will keep your poors smaller than ever:) look it up you won’t regret it!
thanks for this !(:
this hopefully will help me i have breakouts that i cant get ride of ): thanks agian bye
I have to tell you…I use a non soap product called Basis fr my cleanser…Have for years…love it…But I use extra virgin unrefined organic coconut oil and aloe gel mousse which I make my self for my moisturizer….You really should make your own lotions so you know hat is in them. I do use a variety of oils…Grape seed Oil, Jojoba oil, Coconut oils, apricot oil. There are recipes all over the internet and all you need is a blender…(but use it only for your lotions…I will need to start blogging abut it I guess.
Later, Jan
I’ve never suffered from acne but I do have extremely sensitive skin. I use pure cream from Origins to clean my face each morning. It works quite well.
It sounds as if your body chemistry changed a bit, which happens as we mature. There is a correlation between acne and fungus. I read you love sweets, try removing refined sugar from your diet and substitute with raw honey or fruit juices. Fungus lives and grows on sugar. If you want to detox your liver then you can try burdock root. I warn you however, it is nasty. Anyway, take it for one month and your liver will be detoxed and you can tell the difference.
Last year I was at the Clinique counter looking for something to help take away the redness on my cheeks. They were always itchy and the rest of my face oily. The lady basically told me the same thing she told you! Just because your skin is oily on the surface, doesn’t mean it’s hydrated! She put some moisturizer on my face and within minutes the redness started fading. She even told me not to buy expensive moisturizers from her. She suggested something without alcohol, like Aveeno or Neutrogena. But now I’m going to try Cetaphil!
what kind of camera do you use for your pistures, they are awesome and so it’s your page!! I love it!
Thanks Pia! It’s a Nikon D3000
PICTURES …. sORRY
I think I’m going to try this. Used to have luck with the Proactive knock off at WalMart, but its no longer working. Gotta love those horror-mones! I’m getting some Cetaphil tonight and see what happnes. Love your yummy simple recipes here. Usually if it has more than 5-6 ingredients, I’m all done. Going to try the Green Monster Smoothie tomorrow!
I use Paula’s Choice, which is currently only avaliable through her website. She is a dermatologist that also reviews other companies products (skin care, hair care, and make up). I rarely buy anything without checking her website first. Her skin care products have research backing up her claims, are all fragrance free, and you can order samples of everything before you buy. I currently use her Skin Balancing Oil-Reducing face wash, Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing toner, Skin Perfecting BHA lotion, Skin Balancing Mattifying Lotion, and one of the antioxidant serums (I have 2). Her products make my skin 100% better and if you have a problem with a product (like it just doesn’t work for you) customer service will credit your account and help you find the right products for your skin. Her website is paulaschoice.com
[...] iowagirleats.com via Anne on [...]
I, too, suffered from adult acne. I had used a prescription sulfur-based face wash that worked wonders for a few years. When we decided to part ways with the military, good bye health insurance. SO i searched and scoured the interwebz for a comparable solution to my dilemma, and stumbled upon the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). The idea is that oil cuts oil, whereas water can not. I tend to have oily skin so I use a mixture of 1/2 Castor Oil and 1/2 Olive Oil. I store it in a travel size shampoo bottle. To use: shake it up, massage the oil into your skin, lay a hot washcloth over your face for a few minutes and gently wipe your face with the washcloth. Rinse water over your face in the shower. I dont even use moisturizer anymore and my acne scars are vanishing! I used a baking soda scrub once or twice a week also. Hope this changes your life like it did mine!
[...] iowagirleats.com via SummerHibiscus on [...]
Hi Kristin,
I stumbled upon your post for the overnight oats and berries recipe and the title of this blog caught my eye. I was wondering if your “best” skincare advice was on par with mine and was pleasantly surprised to learn that we had the same kind of advice. haha. Anyhow, you mentioned that you still have dry cracks around your nose. Have you tried any products with hyaluronic acid in them? It is a key moisturizing ingredient. I use a Japanese product called hada labo lotion (a toner which you are supposed to pat onto your face) and it has done wonders for my skin (much cheaper alternative than SHiseido and more expensive brands), particularly the dry spots around my nose. (I found that even Cetaphil was too drying for my skin) Here’s a blog post about the product: http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/2012/01/advertorial-today-my-advertorial-will.html. I think other asian/european products also contain the hyaluronic acid. Hada labo has worked fine for me, but it wouldn’t hurt to check out the other products also.
I had teenage acne and then it morphed into adult acne and whatever I did, I don’t recall because the only thing that really worked for me was aging out. I now have great skin, and I can promise you that having oily skin will eventually correct itself and you’ll be SO happy with how you look as you age. I used to have severely oily hair too, but now I have great hair, the hair I wish I’d had when I was younger. You are right about oily skin and moisture. When my skin still needed it, I carried blotting sheets with me everywhere I went.
Now I put a few drops of carrot oil on my skin, day and night, and for day I add frankincense essential oil. The frankincense tightens skin and gives me a much smoother face and firmer jaw line. It’s totally weird for someone who used to abhor the oil on my skin to now embrace skin oils as I do, but it works. The carrot oil evens my skin tone too.
Love your blog and your recipes. I’m a fan.
I found the Citrus Clear Control Wash to be the acne wash that works the best. Its not perfect, but here is my breakdown and it should help you:
PROS
The product has a really nice tingling feel to it when it’s on your face.
The bottle is easy to use.
It doesn’t dry out your face.
The scent is good and not overpowering.
CONS
I get the occasional pimple, and this didn’t seem to reduce the frequency at which they occurred.