STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Tashina · Kate Spade

acne prone skin, in need of some help

Cortney1982 · Chanel

Maybe you should try L'Oreal Pure Zone pore tightening astrigent. I have been using it for a couple years and I like it. After I wash my face with an Olay cloth I put some of this on a wipe and it still finds dirt and oil! It is gentle and non drying on my sensitive skin.

L'Oreal Pure Zone - Pore Tightening Astringent - 6.7 fl oz

L'Oreal® Paris

Pure Zone Continuous Action™
Step 2 ~ Pore Tightening Astringent

Oil-free
Salicylic Acid Breakout Treatment
Dermo-Calm Complex

Removes Last Traces of Dirt, Oil & Make-Up Without Drying.

Get healthier looking skin day after day...Free from breakouts.

99.9% Oil-free

montmarte · Kenneth Cole

Benzoyl peroxide is pretty good...it'll get rid of the bacteria that causes acne and it's also an exfoliant. Comes in lotion, wash, and gel. It can be drying to the skin so you might want to start at the lowest strength 2.5%. Also, oil based makeup can make acne worse. Your best bet is with the oil-free/water-based makeup.

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

I have found I'm getting really bad pimples lately and I think its because its summer and I'm working out in makeup. Not sure if either one might be causing your acne lately but I've started washing my makeup off right when i get home from work. I also was using DDF facial wash (pretty good but $$) and I switched to clean & clear deep clean and I feel like my face is clean afterwards. I really like it. I haven't seen that much of a change in my skin but I"m also not putting on lots of benzol peroxide (bp) on my face like I should. If you are looking for a good bp product the DDF 5% bp with tea tree oil is amazing. It is well worth the price.

Tashina · Kate Spade

thanks for all the recs. i will look into them. i don't use a water or oil based foundation. i use bare minerals. my skin breaks out a lot less since i started using it, but right now i have 2big red zits in the middle of my forhead and one on my chin, and i am starting to rack up the scars. so i would really like to find something that works.

Lilykind · Hermes

I have an acne problem very similar to yours. I suggest to keep using your Bare Escentuals...I find it's the least irritating foundation out there.

More importantly, see this website. www.acne.org. I've been on the plan they advocate for about two months and my skin is really clearing up. I still get a couple of pimples, but I've had acne for the better part of the last decade so I'm not expecting overnight results. All I use is drugstore products so it's not expensive and it really does work as long as you stick to it.

shopgirl82 · Chanel

here's what helped me:

getting makeup brushes out of humid bathroom, cleaning them often

gentle detergent to wash my pillowcases often

keeping facial clothes near my bed for when i don't want to wash my face at night

drinking lots of water 100 oz. at least (this is #2 on my list of what has helped)

using the aspirin mask 3-4 days a week (this is #1 on my list).

the products i use...ddf toner (same as Aurora), ddf sulfur mask (occassionally, usually aspirin mask), comodynes facial clothes ($3 from Trader Joes), and cetaphil moisturizer.

the other problem a lot of people make is over-treating their skin. if you're constantly doing masks, washing it, etc... it irritates the skin.

dot · Marc Jacobs

shopgirl82 really like the advice about the MU brushes in the bathroom! that definitely makes sense!

tashina - i worry when you say you need something stronger. do you mean something more cleansing? because you don't want your skin to feel super tight or dry. and over-doing it like washing too much, using too much product, over-treating can irritate skin and possibly cause more breakouts.

like aurora and others have said, i think taking off makeup and keeping skin clean is really important. i like using shu uemura cleansing oil to make sure ALL my makeup comes off at the end of the day. i usually follow my cleansing oil with something gentle like purpose or sco purifying cleansing gel ii (the latter is better for me but purpose is cheap and almost as good.. it's too drying for me to use everyday).

i also like using gentle toners. i really do believe they help with removing dead skin cells and daily exfoliation. i have sensitive skin so i tend to stay away from stinging, burning, alcohol-y things. i like toners by shiseido, but tons of drugstore lines that make very gentle ones. i know lots of people have had luck with apple cider vinegar as a toner as well as making a milder aspirin toner (like how you make the mask).