suncream, zits and wrinkles: rolling skincare thread?

I'm going to give Cerave a try, I think.

I spent years doing Clinique 3 Step, but finally figured out a while ago that all that toner has screwed up my skin I think? I mean, no wrinkles but I'm forever pink-faced now without makeup and it kinda bums me out. I always had 'high color' but now it's pretty much permanent. I've been on Olay for a while but it's too drying.

i really recommend the neutragena baby line...i am using the sunblock lotion spf 60 and it did not sting even when i was sweating at boot camp class this morning. i haven't tried it for everyday, under makeup use though.

Cerave purchased

(also Fekkai hairstuff 3pack bcs why not)

fancy!

CVS is my new Macy's lol

Cerave wins! 3 days and my face is not itchy, and doesn't feel half as bright pink as it usually does by this time of the day.

also I know this isn't the hair thread but seriously, having glossy hair makes me feel like I bought a whole new wardrobe. yay my hair looks semi-nice again.

how did you make your hair glossy?

btw re pink sensitive skin - possibly rosacea, so just be careful with anything that has alcohol in it, even the so-called benign alcohols like cetryl or whatever's in cetaphil etc.

I mean cetyl and cetearyl and stuff like that

glossy hair - frederick fekkai glossing pack I found at CVS. Teeny bottles, but shampoo, conditioner and a creme thing.

I didn't know that about benign alcohols. hm.

the cerave stuff gets pretty good reviews from rosacea forums I read now and then, which is what gave me the push to try it out; even if it's not the *best* for my skin, it's better than anything I've used lately, nowhere near as expensive as some treatments...and I just don't have the money to go to a dermatologist. But I'm pretty sure I have some form of rosacea; I do get the cyst-like breakouts and permanent pink tint and get MEGA flushed from a half a glass of red wine.

anyway I'll see how it is in a month or two, but I'm happy so far.

I some of that shampoo - we distribute it. :) I buy drugstore s&c because I'm cheap but then the fancy conditioner mask, my tub of which has lasted a year.

I got some serum for straightening my hair too, it is awesome.

My skin has been breaking out BADLY all over my jaw and neck and chest, not the cystic kind, but whiteheads. I've changed my towels, sheets, I wear clean shirts every day, I have no idea what's doing this. It seems like I have a surface infection and it's spreading. UGH. I've even tried peroxide, which while harsh, does kill off local break-outs usually. I think actually that touching my ex-bf was part of the problem, because he was an infrequent showerer and it never showed (or smelled) on HIM, but it affected me??! Jeez louise. Here's hoping I can clear it up now.

have you tried witchhazel? a friend in high school had an awful time with whiteheads & I remember that it worked pretty well.

using diluted witchhazel as a toner has def helped my skin

i don't use it all over my face, bc it is drying, but i use it anywhere i'm prone to spots.

imo: go to the doctor, get prescription for Clindoxyl Gel (clindamycin phosphate + benzoyl peroxide), make skin all better

also, whoa at someone else being the cause of breakouts...

Oh, I've heard of that before! A friend dated a girl who always had acne on her chin and he started breaking out from kissing. I guess anyone's sweat just puts my skin over the edge.

If it persists, a trip to the doc might be a good idea. This is going to sound kind of gross, but I knew a couple of people with a similar problem and it was some kind of staph infection. Nothing life threatening, but it required antibiotics.

I think I broke a blood vessel on the edge of my lip; looks like I've had a cold sore for six months ;_;

I think actually that touching my ex-bf was part of the problem, because he was an infrequent showerer and it never showed (or smelled) on HIM, but it affected me??!

yet one more reason to say good riddance!

All right, carl, you've convinced me.

Oh god, I had a staph infection on my face a while ago - so awful!

I've heard that facial hair can also cause breakouts!

i am in the dermo waiting room. i came to get a bump removed my leg but now i kind of want too ask her to make my skin all perfect, too.

If there's swag advertising cosmetic procedures all over the waiting room, s/he'll probably make you an offer!

I've always been worried that if I go to one they'll be like hey you want a little filler and then I'll be like OMG SHE THINKS I NEED FILLERS!!

I just found out that people who are like 23 are getting preventive Botox and that it's not uncommon at that age anymore. WTF.

i have mixed feelings about the dermatologist for that reason. i went in there to find out if i had lupus and walked out with a sample of zit medicine and a nagging feeling that i was ugly?

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of!

I've only been once for a full body skin check (I have a lot of freckles and beauty marks on my shoulders/arms/back) but we never discussed my face thank God. I should go back for another one of the freckle checks though because I think you're supposed to go every year and it's been a while.

I worry about that, too, but I found a local dermatologist who just does, how would you say it, medical dermatology? No cosmetic stuff that I could see. At least, nothing advertised in her office and she definitely didn't try to upsell me on any procedures. Just took care of four weird moles and that was that.

I went to see an internal medicine doc once because they thought there was something up with my gallbladder (turned out to be just good old reflux/GERD which I've had for most of my adult life so yay for me, I guess?) and I don't know if that doc did cosmetic stuff or just shared an office with someone who did but holy shit there was Botox and laser resurfacing procedures and all kinds of shit all over his office. And there was a hetero couple there and the man was making appointments on behalf of the woman to have some kind of cosmetic dermatology procedure. Ugh.

dermatology isn't the only medical field that's been overrun by the practice of hawking cosmetic procedures of questionable medical value, but it's probably the worst offender. y'all aren't ugly (of course not!)--stuff like that is just a huge moneymaker for doctor's offices. at one point my mother was considering adding botox services to her office but my sisters and i shamed her out of it. i have a lot of *thoughts* about this "medical" development.

i lied; i have no thoughts, only rage

The feeling that I was ugly vanished as soon as I remembered that I will never have enough money to afford whatever the really good stuff is, and I don't think spending money on that stuff is worthwhile anyway, and I would rather just forget about it and go across the street to the record store because guess who doesn't have lupus! <--- those were my exact thoughts upon leaving the dermatologist

I didn't know that the derma I saw didn't do cosmetic stuff, either. Like ENBB, I'm spotty and I hadn't had a full check in like ten years and I knew I needed to go. I had steeled myself to refuse to engage on the topic whatsoever, and I just lucked out.

I'm glad you don't have lupus, btw!

I'm not entirely against cosmetic dermatological procedures. I mean, if someone wants to do that and it makes them feel better about themselves then I'm not going to judge them for it. I have never had anything like that done and don't anticipate doing so but who knows how I'll feel 20 years down the line? What I do know is that I have no interest in any of it now and would rather not have anything pushed on me and make me feel more like shit about myself than I already do.

i mean, i have used prescription acne treatment in the past and probably will again. my point is less about the people who opt to get cosmetic procedures and more about the business of medicine side of it, which grosses me out.

Yep, me too.

i'm not judging them for it either
i just don't want to spend my own money on it or feel compelled to do so by an advertisement

Yeah, if I wanted laser skin resurfacing or whatever, that's great. It's when people go in for mole checks or because they think they have lupus and the response is, "You're fine, but have you considered Botox?" that I get the rage a la horseshoe. See also: "Hello, I am here because I have chronic intractable heartburn and would like medicine." "Okay. Have you considered weight loss surgery?" (That's why I won't go to a gastroenterologist who does weight loss surgery - when all you have is a hammer, all your fat patients look like big old nails.)

exactly

also, whenever i feel ugly, it helps me to remember that someone is making money off that feeling and to follow the trail to figure out which money-making enterprise was at the root of that particular moment of self-loathing.

Oh, that's a good strategy. The sleuthing distracts from the self-loathing until outrage kicks in.

haha it's like you really get me, Jenny <3

i have two emotions these days: angry and dancey

haha <3

I tried plenty of prescriptIon stuff for my skin but still permanently had one or two spots on my chin until I went to this US dermatologist last year. He was awesome and I only paid co-pay. Literally the only good experience I had with the u.s. Health"care" system. He had tons of "subtle" botox etc posters on the wall.

Out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the system? Was it all the red tape/cost BS or the actual care? I ask only because while I love the NIH in theory, the doctors ( 2 diff GPs both in London) I had while on it were horrible. The dentist I saw might actually have been worse. I hate admitting that because I wish it weren't so but the standard of care was a lot lower than what I've experienced here. That said, I have an excellent PCP here and I know that.

lol I meant NHS not NIH. I am putting together a grant app to the latter this afternoon so it's on my brainz.