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!
Mornings « for her soul 09.19.2012
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Erin 09.15.2012
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
Paige 08.24.2012
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!
Pia 08.16.2012
PICTURES …. sORRY :P
Pia 08.16.2012
what kind of camera do you use for your pistures, they are awesome and so it’s your page!! I love it!
Iowa Girl Eats 08.20.2012
Thanks Pia! It’s a Nikon D3000
Carey K. 06.29.2012
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!
Helen 06.10.2012
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.
Janet Smith 05.20.2012
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
Whitney & becca 05.17.2012
this hopefully will help me i have breakouts that i cant get ride of ): thanks agian bye
Whitney & becca 05.17.2012
thanks for this !(:
Cali Fraser 05.08.2012
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!
Amanda P. 04.24.2012
What do you use for make up?
Kelly V. 03.17.2012
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.
Sarah 02.29.2012
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/
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Abby 01.08.2012
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!
Ashley 10.19.2011
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! :-)
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