suncream, zits and wrinkles: rolling skincare thread?

actually, re: building up dosage with sensitive/rosacea skin, i also read that it's best just to stay at 0.025% if that's what works - don't let the doc persuade you to go up in %
xp
aw. well, maybe a friend will take it.

Oh, crap. I too have binned my receipts and the facewash was £25, will not trust stupid high-end skincare clinic again, fo sho.

Rosacea makes me IA.

I don't have any fine lines or wrinkles, I just have blackheads and enlarged pores. (Welcome to the strange world of oily skin.)

rosacea is some serious bs. and it's still kind of a "mystery," so most dermatologists and facialists don't know how to address it. like it could be bacterial, vascular, digestive-system related, etc. I find that if I eat in a low-carb low-sugar way, my skin is less inflamed. Cetaphil *bar soap* is my standby for face washing - i have tried so many things and this is the best, occasionally alternated with gentle face wash of different kinds. am currently using Spectroderm moisturizer and it's pretty good!

I don't have any fine lines or wrinkles yet either but that's why I want to start the Retin-A now - so I don't get them any time soon!

they say retin-a/retinol is specifically good for the blackheads and enlarged pores!
xps

I believe that it was first used to treat acne before anything else. Derms noticed that in addition to clearer skin, patients also got brighter and smooth skin as a "side-effect" which is how it came to be prescribed as an anti-aging treatment as well. Basically if you read any article where dermatologists are asked what is the one thing women can do for themselves in terms of preventative skincare they all say it is to use a retinoid. My mom used Retin-A for years (which I think she was prescribed initially for adult acne) and literally looked like 10 years younger than she was until she hit about 70.

I have fine lines, wrinkles, blackheads, enlarged pores, pimples, pustules, dry patches and random-ass red blemishes. I break out if I get stressed, get embarrassed, eat too much sugar, eat too much acidic fruit, go out in the sun, don't go out in the sun, wash with the wrong soap, wear perfume, wear foundation, have periods.

It does seem to be connected to anxiety, because I also do the hypersensitive blushing thing when I'm stressed, and nervous sweating, and I have insomnia and IBS.

A timely reminder about the diet rrobyn, I need to get a handle on my winter sugar & carbs addiction. I've just read a suggestion on a rosacea forum about using antihistamines so I'll give that a whirl too! it sweems like a less risky option than any of the topical treatments.

Maybe I'll look into it next fall/winter when I don't want to be in the sun. Because I plan on turning a nice golden color between May and August if at all possible.

sweems = seems

I like Lush Fresh Farmacy soap - http://www.lushusa.com/Fresh-Farmacy/00077,en_US,pd.html?start=8&cgid=cleansers - in the shower, and Ultra Bland at night - http://www.lushusa.com/Ultra-Bland/9999902749,en_US,pd.html?start=11&cgid=cleansers (I've rebought this three times since I posted about it originally). I usually use Cetphil Giant Tub O'Cream in the winter and Cerave lotion in the summer, and those work really well. I just got pulled in by the siren song of this new Neutrogena stuff. Hmph.

The lady who waxes my eyebrows is always trying to sell me on this calm skin moisturizer from Eminence but holy jesus is it expensive. I just can't do it.

I really like Ultrabland too. I haven't used it in years but I remember it being really good.

I love it so much. I can't overstate how dry my skin gets in the winter, so it is miraculous to me. Plus it takes makeup off really well.

Oh, I got a sample of this from Sephora and it dried out my face like whoa for a day, and then it was all pink and smooth and glowy - http://www.philosophy.com/skincare-exfoliatorsandpeels/microdelivery-peel-product.

I like that peel. Btw alla you smug apple cheeks can have some of my fine lines and wrinkles, they're up for grabs.

Lush is some great stuff.

Jenny, that Lush soap intrigues me! I've been using a bergamot bar that's meant for "men", I think, cos the scent isn't very floral and I love it, but I think something more soothing would actually be better.

my husb sent me this link about lush shampoo, which got me thinking about lush face products - i never knew much about them before, always thought they were just a stinky soap place?!

i used the solid shampoo when i had super short (1") hair. it's ok.

I have also used the solid shampoo and also thought it was just OK. I love Lush for all the reasons that woman stated in her article but, as much as I wish it weren't the case, their hair stuff just doesn't work for me. I'll rep for all kinds of their shower/bath and body care stuff but my hair has never taken well to any of their shampoos or conditioners.

Another face product that is great from Lush is "Angels on Bare Skin".

I wonder if neem would have any effect on rosacea. I use the leaf extract for all kinds of skin/scalp redness/itching/inflammation and it seems to work well for most of it. Also kills yeast trouble.

Um okay so reading that link to the Lush shampoo also led me to the discussion of keratosis pilaris in the comments, and if I'm judging correctly from the GIS, I get that sometimes. Also some the redness and outbreaky-ness that I fight all the time may not actually be "whiteheads" specif, it may just be little red bumps for no reason. So maybe I'll try a whole different approach from the washing-and-sterilizing one that I usually take? Starting on Friday when I get paid and can shop online for all this stuff. I'm out of everything, anyway, so it's good.

I like some Lush shampoo (using Sarah Sylvia Stout now, which I like, but I don't wash my hair very often so I could probably use anything). I dislike all of their conditioners.

Cetaphil creams are pretty great–I use the anti-eczema stuff on my body and it makes a noticeable difference.

I seem to have tried every face cream that's remotely affordable to me, and it seems like all of them suck for my complexion. I use lush dream cream on my face, and that seems to do okay as long as I scrubbed with my nutri sonic. That seems to make a big difference in the flakiness issues I have with my face.

I sometimes wonder about retinoids and the like, because my mother used those as well and always looked a decade younger. Now that she's nearly 70, she's starting to look more her age.

But my skin is so miserably flaky already. Bah.

Laurel do you mean keratosis pilaris on your upper arms? That's really common and I think that lotions with lactic acid in them (like http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=367156&productId=367156&navAction=jump&navCount=3) are supposed to help.

I get it on my arms occasionally although I exfoliate like a madwoman which helps keep it away. But also I get outbreaks of pointy little red spots that aren't really "whiteheads" but have a little inflammation in them but never turn into blackheads...like they are outside of the normal life cycle of pimples...and I get them all over my neck & shoulders & behind my ears and stuff. They're the reason I can't wear perfume and why I have to be super careful to not get hairspray or styling products on my skin.

for keratosis pilaris lactic acid lotions are great, but also try coating your arms in vaseline and wrapping them in plastic wrap overnight. no shit.

i had that on my arms when i was in highschool and through some of university - the urea or lactic acid creams really do work, but so did using the cetaphil soap or a soap for babies or just a natural olive-oil based soap + shower puff thing

lush doesn't really work for me...

i think eating an avocado a day does though! seriously! avocado is a miracle food. i also think that bc it's so filling and satisfying and bc i put salt on it, i have no craving for chips or other carby snacks or sugar even. avocados!!

When I was a teen I started getting keratosis pilaris on my upper arms and my grandmother mixed salt with some water and rubbed it on my arms everyday. She said to use sugar and water and other times baking soda and water until it goes away.Once gone then use a bath brush when I shower and scrub. She said I had tough skin hence the keratosis pilaris and could stand to use a brush in the shower. I did what she said and it went away.

In college it came back and I saw a dermatologist who gave me lactic acid cream and that made it worse. I just went back to what my grandmother said and it worked. Since then I don't have a problem as long as I use a good bath soap and brush. Every now and then I will do a few days of sugar or salt scrub just because I love how it feels.

rrrobyn, avacodos are the best!

Has anyone been successful using Derma E products? Like their anti-wrinkle creams and anti-aging products?

i definitely get that on my arms! gonna try one of those lotions. exfoliating does nothing for me.

Cerave is my favorite moisturizer! *high fives Jenny*

I have been a periodic Retin-A user for I dunno, twenty years or so. I am not very wrinkly, but do have sun spots, broken capillaries, old acne scars. . . I don't break out much anymore thanks to spironolactone, and I can tolerate a 20% vitamin C serum in the a.m. and either Retin-A or an AHA cream in the evening (if I manage to take off my makeup and apply said product in the evening, which is admittedly hit-or-miss). Retin-A micro .04% is the least irritating IMO, but even then I can't use it more than three times a week!

Thanks to some other thread I am now rubbing coconut oil into spouse's upper arms for his KP! Have not been consistent, so hard to say if it is helpful or not. Makes me kinda hungry.

the smell of the coconut oil, I mean. not the spouse's KP.

xp rrrobyn - YES to avocados, as many as possible. With pepper as well as salt.

I just bought an avocado today! But it is not yet ripe, so I will have to be patient :(

One of the few things I miss about my time in Texas is the availability of CHEAP (like, 5 for a buck) and awesome avocados. Even at the HMart, those fuckers cost over a buck and a half each in the DC area.

I had avocados in my shrimp tacos tonight. So good.

Quincie, they are going down...64 cents each but not yet at the 5 for $1.

I know I'm repeating myself but it's so cheap and good: corn meal mixed with honey is my favorite scrub in the world. All commercial scrubs now seem too complicated and not scrubby enough for me.

Corn meal and honey! I usually do either sugar and olive oil or salt and olive oil but will have to try cornmeal.

I don't think either my skin or my shower could handle the extra oil in an oil scrub--my sister had a fancy one that I tried by accident and had to wash with soap twice afterward to get the horrible residue off. I'm sure yours isn't like this but I just don't trust it.

The cornmeal and honey doesn't need any oil b/c the cornmeal doesn't dissolve in water so you can keep scrubbing away. I make it in a little dish and then put it in the fridge between showers so no bugs find it (because of the honey), but if you have a lid you can keep it in the shower for weeks. It won't spoil!

Oh see I like the residue!! Even if I don't do a scrub I will bring a cup of olive oil into the shower with me and put that on just before get out and towel off instead of using a moisturizer. I'm talking strictly body here - not face - in case that wasn't clear.

Ah dammit I forgot to bookmark this thread! My mum has rosacea so I probably have it mildly. I got my o/h the Lush ocean salt scrub for occasional exfoliating and it is amazing. I only use it every couple of weeks or so but it makes my face soooo soft.

(and I've used other exfoliators before which were fine but nothing compared to this)

You guys salt scrubs are so easy to make -- not worth buying EVER. Just get some epsom salts + regular food salt + jojoba oil and scent it as you wish. It's just that easy.

add some chunky sea salt if you're flaky! add some fine kosher salt if you're kosher, drop some smelly oils in there, let it sit for a week, poof.

Beblesh creams. What are they, what is the big fracking deal?

It looks like each formulation only comes in ONE skin tone color, should this worry me? I want the orange bottle formula, but that color is way different in this review.

http://prettycuteblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/skin79-super-bleblesh-balm.html

Lauren is normally my derma advisor but she's not online today.

I can't cope with the word "beblesh."

My coworkers rave about that stuff - they order it off eBay IIRC.

I've only done a quick Google survey of the results of a search for the word "beblesh," but I have to say that it sounds like a lot of hype, mostly because nobody ever actually says what the hell it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_cream

That is not helpful either. Also LOL at "it provided a solution to a common skin problem for many Asians: impure skin."