Combination to Dry & back

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As some of you may have noticed, in my past few posts, I have mentioned how my skin has become oily again. For those of you who are confused, let me explain.

I always had combination skin veering towards oiliness. As a teen I was constantly battling acne & accompanying scars. About a year and a half ago, I started some medication that had the side effect of drying out my skin. At that point I was unaware that this is a side effect of the meds, bombarded by anti-aging ads I was convinced that my dryness was a sign of aging. Scared that my skin had started to dry out so badly at 25, I was all about moisturising my skin. The good part was that my acne also went away, and my scars healed over time.

I stopped these meds about 3 months ago, but since I never once connected my skin dryness to it, I continued with my high moisture regime. Disaster stuck - I got acne & lots of it!.. My skin was suddenly oily!

I was confused, I initially thought I was reacting to some product I had used - untill I googled for the med's side effects. Suddenly it all made sense. But in any case, this change has necessitated a change in my regime.

I was really unequipped to deal with the acne & oiliness. Not wanting to experiment in case it makes the acne worse, I began small & started to use Cetaphil gentle cleanser only. After 2 weeks I managed to get some LUSH goodies.

This is my current regimen

Morning:
1. Wash face with Lush Fresh Farmacy

Evening:
1. Remove eyeliner & mascara with Jergens Face cream
2. Cleanse using Cetaphil Gentle cleanser
3. Apply Lush Cosmetic Warrior Mask for 20 mins.
4. Apply Cetaphil gentle moisturising lotion mixed with a drop of sesame oil. Let it absorb for an hour
5. Wipe off excess with Damp cotton.

This has certainly not stopped my acne. I'm still getting the odd one every week, but it has definitely resulted in lesser & smaller acne that heals faster, less inflammation & redness. My acne is generally very red & inflamed.

Makeup wise, I'm struggling with foundation - everything makes me oily by mid-day, including my trusty Ponds TM.. I find that I have to use a blotting paper twice during the day to prevent the grease face and that takes off most of my base, which I have to then re-apply.. :-P..

I have also reverted to using more of eyeliners as opposed to bright lip colors that seem to call & fight with attention with my red acne. Eyeliners on the other hand - seem to make my acne less obvious.

Calling out to all my oily skinned gals, I need your tips & reccos!! What do you do for foundation? and any zit busting lotion you swear by?
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Comments

  1. My skin has gone from dry to oily in the last couple of years - so I get what you're going through!! For foundation, I like to do a mattifying one like Revlon Colorstay for oily skin.

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  2. Cetaphil is a gods send...also try oilatum....my cuz has horribly oily skin and EVERything breaks her out..these 2 are her holy grail products like she literally NEEDS to have em..
    After your experience, im beginning to wonder whether my dry skin is cos of my meds...i have very dry skin!!! and im just 23! i thot its cos of early ageing!!

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  3. the word acne makes me sick, it strikes at most important times of my life :( so i can understand your prob dear. use mint leaves paste on face thrice a week....it helps me.

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  4. Hi,

    Cant really say much on foundation - but you have certainly made me aware of these subtle side effects of medicines. My skin too is combination veering on oily but lately been very dry. Am checking my medications! My sis has a horribly oily skin and she uses saslic, a mild face cleanser with salicylic acid - it has helped her....

    Anamika K, www.purebotanicalcare.com

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  5. hey try revlon touch and glow cream, its not tinted, but would keep you oil free for long....ponds tm is making me oily also

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  6. I've struggled with oily skin/acne in my teens, and even though I have dry skin now, recently I got a pimple or two. Cetaphil is great from what I hear, but maybe you should also try some products a dermat/natural cosmetologist recommends. Not all of them are medicated or harmful.

    BTW, some of my acne scars never went. I'm terribly conscious about them. :-(

    For foundation, I think you could try powder-based ones. Or the ones that are clearly non-comedogenic. Dunno which one you use currently, but the more "expensive" brands have foundations that suit various skin types. (MAC has some).

    Good luck!

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  7. I dont know about foundations but im a combi skin that went through dry skin battle in winter now my skin is getting oily as summers are approaching...I swear by one product that made things easy for me is Lacto calamine saves me from getting oily all day long. Besides LC also gives slightly TM feeling.

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  8. Hi! I have oily skin too and especially with the humidity, it can get pretty bad! I can't say much about foundation because I don't use much of it but zit busting, yes! I was prescribed femcinol A by my dermatologist and it's mainly for inflammatory red pimples. It really works on my pimples and I can see it reduced overnight. Maybe you can find out if it will be suited to you. I have also started using Fabindia's Tea Tree toner which claims to control sebum and it is working pretty well for me.

    Good luck!

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  9. u know it makes me happy to hear that u r oily again atleast now i can try the same products which u do :)

    lakme perfect radiance foundation might not make you oily so do try that and for keeping acne at bay tea tree toners and might help u ..rest comes the acne packs for me.

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  10. I have clear but very oily skin. Bourjois mineral matte foundation keeps me oil free for hours. However, I am not acne prone and have heard that it can cause breakouts.

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  11. Going by your list of products & routine, I think you're handling the change really well. I would suggest that you get a good sunscreen coz sun exposure makes pimples worse. I've read good things about the neutrogena spf 50 one & Lotus herbals tinted one (I think that's spf 40). If you're out in the sun for less than 2 hours, I'd recommend lotus sun screen gel spf 20. Have you tried aloe vera gel? It's my must have for summer. I don't use acne meds or foundation, so can't help you there.

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  12. hi.!
    your recos had helped me loads with my skin..which was oily and acne prone earlier.
    in morning : ponds white beauty facewash ,neutrogena sunscreen wid my revlon colrstay concealor n maybelline compact .(+ neutrogna moisture if dry.)
    at night deep clean with jergens and wash with neutrgena deep clean . apply jergens again(LURVV!). + Sofradex
    i usd to put vicco turmeric on the pimple.i gues due to haldi,it wd bcum ripe(o wtvr dy say.!) n den bcom dry.it wd go dat way .
    hope dis helps.
    foundation.: Maybe Maybelline can help. Buy noncomedogenic.

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  13. I've been through the acne prone oily skin painful inflammation type phase. I stopped using foundations completely. I think you are good with Cetaphil cleanser. Here are some of the things that helped me.
    1- You can use tea tree oil products- I used them and they helped plenty. I also tried TBS tea tree day cream and night lotion and that also further reduced oiliness and reduced blemishes.
    2- Also a toner is must- reccos- Fab India tea tree toner or Lotus basiltone. Even Biotique Cucumber toner has great reviews.
    3- I used to use only oil free moisturizers (lotus alpha moist, neutrogena oil free moisturizer).
    4- Lactocalamine lotion helped a LOT- it acts as a sunblock too and gives slight coverage and the calamine is basically zinc oxide that absorbs oil and heals skin too.
    5- And at the end just dust some loose powder or use compact. Its best not to use foundation when your skin is that irritated. I use Chambor silver shadow compact and it doesn't break me out and keeps oil at bay for a few hours even while traveling etc.
    6- Face pack- I use a homemade face pack of multani mitti+neem powder and it worked wonders!
    7- For on spot application, I used garnier pimple pen or aloe vera gel. Aloe vera gel on entire face also will calm the skin and reduce redness.

    Also, my grandfather gave me homeopathy medicine 'Berberis aquifolium'- i took it for a month and that along with the external products I using cleared my acne.

    Lastly, eat a lot of salads and have a lot of water, fruits like papaya and avoid oily/processed food.
    I hope your skin clears out soon :)

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  14. Tanveer, Have you used fuller's earth..i have a dry skin but comparatively much oily forehead which is always flooded with tiny pimples and blackheads..I use fuller's earth on my forehead most of times and it helps a lot..Lacto clamaine may also help..

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  15. ohh i missed this post yest ...

    honey i would say use a exfoliater from Clinique its for acne prone skin .. i got a sample and loved it so much and then fab india vitamin e cream it is for oily skin and i totally love it ..
    but pls pls pls try clinique step 2 for acne prone skin

    love u and hope it helps sweetie :D

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  16. most of the things that i wanted to say are already said here .. but shall put my two pence routine
    mix fuller's earth and neem powder with some rose water or even plain water will do and apply on the affected area
    use lacto calamine

    i also use a home made toner for areas that are blemish prone- mix one cup distilled water (i used the one made for car batteries) heat it , steep some green tea or chamomile tea bags, add a drop or two of tea tree oil and you are good to go.

    you can add a spoon of vodka or wine to preserve this for upto a week. store in the fridge though , the heat wave is already upon us..

    let me know how it works out..

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  17. Nahiiii!!!!! Now where will I get the best advice for dry skin????
    Anamika knows the best stuff for oily skin..!!

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  18. Aww too bad T, I understand yr situation coz I'm going thru it myself, although my skin is always oily. Recos:
    - Foundation- Revlon Colorstay for oily/combination skin.It's so matifying u won't even need powder to set it.
    - Gramflour face pack
    - Garnier pimple pen

    Those are the ones that work for me.

    ♥xx♥

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  19. I love my LC..n at nite I use erytop lotion on occasional zits..even t-bac is gud..
    I have tried fabindia clove acne control cream bt it stings :/

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