New - Would love some product suggestions

[littleliv]

Hi,
I have just finished reading the Skin Type Solution book and am hoping that it will help with my skin woes.  I suffer from dry and sensitive skin, especially during the winter months and in the dry California climate.  Most products make my skin sting and ones that don't clog the pores on my nose, forming large and ugly blackheads.  I have also recently been diagnosed with rosacea on my nose -- it is red with small bumps and really has me wanting to hide!  When I went to my derm (who was generally rude and not very helpful) he told me to use either Cetaphil or Cerave to cleanse and moisturize.  Well, I can't use either of these as they burn the heck out of my skin and end up leaving me with red, cracked cheeks.
My goal is to get my sensitive and stinging skin under control, while at the same time treating my rosacea.  I am not worried about wrinkles (yet) as I am 29 and I think I will try and deal with my mild pigmentation once I have the other two issues under control.
If anyone can reccommend cleansers and moisturizers I would really appreciate it.  Also, should I be using an anti-inflamatory product or an antioxidant serum as suggested in the book.  If so then which one?  Also, should I try a sulfur mask.
Thanks for you help!!

[MediterraneanMaven]

Hi, Littleliv,

As I mentioned to you in my other post, you can try La Roche Posay products to deal with the redness and the stinging.  Their Toleriane and Rosaliac lines are excellent and many here in the forum with rosacea and stinging have had great success with the products.  Start with a good mild cleanser, first, though.  I wasn't able to use the Cerave or Cetaphil products once my skin started to get drier (I used to be much oilier than now and my sensitivity has increased over the last year, making my selection of products that more challenging).  I've read that several forum members with dry skin like the Clinique Comfort Cream Cleanser.

Some good anti-inflammatory products that I have tried (I deal with redness and irritation although I have not been diagnosed with rosacea):  Grassroots Lab Bamboo Leaf Ultra Soothing Anti-redness Cream (available at Kohl's); Eucerin Redness Relief Soothing Night Cream (available at Walgreens); la Roche Posay Rosaliac Skin Perfecting Moisturizer; Olay Active Hydrating Fluid or Cream Sensitive Skin (this has niacinimide which is a godsend for irritation and redness).

The only mask that my skin can tolerate is actually Manuka Honey (or even raw honey):  you wet your face first and then apply the honey as a mask and leave on for 10-15 minutes and then rinse off.  This helps to calm your skin down and the honey has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties to help your skin. 

Skincarefan, another forum member, has mentioned that she has used sulfur masks successfully, I believe.  Hopefully, she will see this post and give you some ideas.

Hope this helps!

MM     

[Soo (DSPW)]

Hi Littleliv,

I have some aspects in common: dry sensitive skin, blackheads on the nose, and the worst was a year ago I got clusters of rosacea pimples on my cheeks, making me very self conscious.

I can recommend LRP Toleriane Dermo cleanser. I have not found any better cleanser. I haven't tried the Clinique one mentioned by MM yet. The simple inexpensive Ponds Cold Cream was recommended to me elsewhere, however I found this too greasy and clogging.

My rosacea pimples are almost gone. I tried many, many moisturisers but I think I have it about right now. The two I am using are: day - LRP Toleriane Riche (LRP has 2 Toleriane moisturises, Riche is the one aimed at dry skin). Night: Eucerin Q10 sensitive anti-wrinkle night cream, but maybe as you aren't so bothered about wrinkles, the Eucerin Redness Relief that MM recommended may be more helpful, in fact I have a jar of it already, to try over the winter!

I have tried a LRP Rosaliac moisturiser (the XL riche version aimed at dry skin) and found, strangely, that it was not as effective as the Toleriane range in calming my rosacea.

For blackheads, I have some salicylic acid solution (here in the UK it's called Neutrogena visibly clear blackhead eliminating lotion) which occasionally I wipe over my nose to help control blackheads. However as your rosacea is on your nose, I am not sure whether this is a good recommendation for you as it may be a bit harsh.

I hope you can pick up some great tips here. I think you have the correct strategy which is to sort out your cleanser and moisturiser first to get your sensitivity under control.

Good luck,
Soo

[Soo (DSPW)]

I can't believe I forgot to mention the most important, newest part of my regime.

We have very hard water (limescale) in our area. I now avoid getting water on my face. Instead, after cleansing I spray thermal water (I use Avene or LRP thermal water) to help wipe it off. In addition to sourcing the correct moisturiser, using thermal water has contributed to reducing my rosacea.

You may also wish to consider this, depending on the water condition where you live. I admit it seemed a crazy idea to me until I tried it!

Soo

[oana]

I think there is something in the California water that makes the derms rude and not helpful. I used to live there for a few years and the first time I went to a derm, she was rude and just wanted me out of her office,,It looks like you have a similar problem,,try to look for other derms that have good reviews. It helps to have a good one.
My skin is not as sensitive, but it does get sensitive especially this time of the year. I like the Avene Eau Therma Spring Water. I use it whenever my skin gets a bit red. It calms it down. For the blackheads I used Avene Eau Thermal Cleanance K (I put on the nose only and sometimes on the forehead). It works well, but it is best when used with a retinol based product. I assume you are not using any retinol for now. For the future, if you will want to start something with retinol, I found that the only want that didn't cause any irritation to me was the Avene Retrinal. it comes in two strengths so you can start with the low concentration.
As for cleansers, MM is the expert when it comes to this and I agree that LRP has the best products especially for sensitive types. I am using at the moment Skinceutical cream cleanser because I needed something until I get my LRP. I can't say I like it,,it's a cream, but sometimes my skin feels dry after use the cleanser..
Good luck in finding a good derm and in getting your skin under control!

[littleliv]

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions.  I have ordered myself the LRP Toleraine Dermo cleanser and can't wait for it to arrive!  In the meantime I am using Ponds Cold Cream which seems fine for my sensitivity, but too greasy to use all the time -- just a nice cheap stand in.  I have also been using the Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Treatment moisturizer which seems to be working well.  I too have bad water where I live and have just started using distilled water in a spray bottle whenever I cleanse and I think it has made the single greatest difference -- amazing!!

I would definitely like to use something in the future for blackheads and for my very new tiny wrinkles, but I think that getting everything else under control is key.

If anyone has some more rosacea advice I would greatly appreciate it as it has been the most depressing skin problem of my adult life.

I will keep you all updated about how I go with the LRP Toleraine cleanser, though I sure it will be great if what everyone says is true.

Thanks again!!

[MediterraneanMaven]

Littleliv,

One other thing I forgot to mention about the blackheads, it's important to gently but effectively remove your makeup at night.  I found that, given my high Sensitivity score, using makeup remover wipes or a good makeup remover before cleansing dramatically reduced my breakouts and blackheads.   Before, I just used to use my cleanser twice to get all of my makeup off but wound up most of the time with irritated skin that would boomerang into an oilier condition and then dryness and back again.

Here are some of the gentle nongreasy alternatives that I found:

Makeup remover:

1.  La Roche Posay Rosaliac Micellar Makeup Remover:  You can apply this, wipe it off with cotton pads or facial tissue and follow with a gentle wash of your cleanser.  This is fragrance free which is a must for highly sensitive skin.

2.  La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermo Cleanser:   You can apply this first, wipe it off with cotton pads or facial tissue and follow with a warm washcloth to get all of it off.  Or you can follow with a gentle wash of cleanser.

Makeup remover wipes (all are fragrance free and will effectively remove all of your makeup including eye makeup and mascara):

1.  CVS Gentle Cleansing Wipes;
2.  Josie Maran Bear Naked Wipes (available at Sephora or at Josie Maran Cosmetics.com);
3.  Almay Makeup Remover Towelettes;
4.  Boots Expert Cleansing And Toning Wipes (available at Target or online at Boots.com).

As a precaution, I follow my use of makeup remover wipes with a gentle wash of my cleanser and my skin feels clean, soothed and softened and ready for my moisturizer.

Hope this helps!

MM   

[cleaner]

Even if you have dry,sensitive skin wash it twice a day.I always washed my face at night with Cerave unless it was the day of the week I used my Retinoid.Its been so dry this winter that I developed Milia.small bumps on the face(usually forehead & sides of nose)Babys usually have this.Caused by not exfoliating your dry skin.Foamless cleanser twice a day is just enough exfoliating for my sensitive skin to prevent this.When the bumps dry they start to open & rubbing them lightly with a clean finger tip reveals a small seed.This is actually dry peely skin in there.YucK.My skin actually looks better with the twice daily cleanser.

[jreisig]

I found all Eucerin products to work best for my skin.  My favorite is the Eucerin Redness Relief Soothing Night Cream.  This cream is made for redness relief and sensitive skin.  I LOVE IT! 

[MediterraneanMaven]

When I first read Dr. B's book, I started using the Eucerin products and the best one that I found for my skin is the Eucerin Redness Relief Soothing Night Cream.  It really helped to calm the redness and blotchiness and I could later use it underneath the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Antiwrinkle Intensive Night Cream (a retinol product) quite successfully without any irritation.

[MediterraneanMaven]

When I first read Dr. B's book, I started using the Eucerin products and the best one that I found for my skin is the Eucerin Redness Relief Soothing Night Cream.  It really helped to calm the redness and blotchiness and I could later use it underneath the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Antiwrinkle Intensive Night Cream (a retinol product) quite successfully without any irritation.

Another great product I found to calm the redness is Grassroots Lab Bamboo Leaf Ultra Soothing Anti-redness Cream that Dr. B recommends in Skincare Guru at Yahoo.