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!
Thanks for sharing! these products are very good. I follow iahas.com for all the great remedies on skincare, but these are unique, and I will try them for sure.
Hey Kristen Im interested in trying this and I bought all the products. Question- do I do the routine 2x a day? Im currently only doing it at night. I wash, treat, and then moisturize.
[…] This blogger has some great suggestions for oil-free, non-greasy products to help moisturize your skin. Remember that just because you want to avoid an oily face, doesn’t mean you want to avoid moisture. […]
I’m glad you found products that work for you. I too use Cetaphil face wash and face lotion. I love that stuff. As for me & my skin… I found out that gluten was making me break out. So once I stopped eating gluten, my skin started to clear up & I’ve been acne free for about 2 years now.?
Thank you for your story about adult acne. I feel like I need to go back to what I was using and go for more easy going products. I have a gel cleanser with salycilic acid. And use a toner and retinol cream at night. I feel like it isn’t working. I’m super annoyed at what my skin looks like I don’t want to even wash my face because I have to look in the mirror. This adult cystic acne is driving me crazy.
Thank you again :)
I have tried so many treatments and seen so many doctors over the past ten years. Thank you so much. You have no idea how you have helped me.
I’m so glad, Stephanie! Good luck!
My doctor told me NOT to use Proactiv while I was pregnant because of all the chemicals. Unfortunately, in month 2 of my pregnancy, I started to get really bad acne breakouts on my face. I asked two seperate doctors, and they both recommended I use Citrus Clear products instead of Proactiv, because they are natural and they actually DO WORK. I use the Control Line from Citrus Clear – and it is quite strong and it does work! And it does not have all the chemicals that Proactiv has. Good luck!
Stumbled upon this post looking up pins on adult acne. Wondering if you still use these products or if you’ve found something better? I’m 36 and having a horrible time with acne. Most recently invested in Rodan and Fields and still no help. Any advice is much appreciated. This fellow Iowa girl really appreciates it!
Hi Kaycee! I actually don’t use this regimen anymore. My face miraculously cleared up in 2013 when I was pregnant with my first son, then I started having troubles again in 2015 but got pregnant again and am now currently riding that wave for as long as I can. That said, I firmly believe many people’s adult acne is caused by a hormonal imbalance, and before I got pregnant this second time I was working on changing my diet to support my hormones. Here’s some reading to get you started, if you’re interested! http://wellnessmama.com/5425/balance-hormones/, https://www.naturalacneclinic.com/naturaltreatmentofhormonalacne/, https://draxe.com/10-ways-balance-hormones-naturally/, http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12313/got-adult-acne-4-signs-your-hormones-are-to-blame.html
I am a licensed Esthetician and I am sorry to say that cetaphil product’s are full of carcinogenic ingredients. Glo Therapeutics, Skin ceuticals and bio elements ingredients are much safer and purer options.
I struggled for years. When looking for a product ingredients and how they run their company and treat animals was very important to me. I found an ALOE VERA based company — AND IT HEALED MY SKIN. A bonus was that they are an ethical company, based in the USA and support businesses and practices in line with my beliefs. I LOVE L’BRI PURE N NATURAL!!!
I just found out today that I have acne… will definitely try this thank you so much!
Hey!! So I noticed that people were really great full for the cetaphil, I use it too and love it!! I would also recommend looking into a specific pattern for how you wash your face and apply your moisturizer. For example, I do a circular motion on my cheeks and forehead, but I do a different motion on my jawline. Look into that on Pinterest, I just stumbled upon that and I highly suggest trying it!! I’ve been using this for about a week now and have seen plenty of results (I’m a teen). Also, make sure if you have the oily but not mousturized skin that you aren’t exfoliating too much because that can cause your skin to become dry as well. Keep up the hard work, it will get better!