sort my skin out - please!

[weewilliewinkie]

OK, it's not that bad, but I always have blackheads and kind of little 'lumps' all over my skin. Need something to shift them - feel like my face needs a good deep cleanse. I use face masks once or twice a week, exfoliate 3 or 4 times. Cleanse every night with eve lom.

what else could I be doing? Can anyone recommend some fabulous products to draw out all the grime, and leave me with glowing, soft, dewy skin?

I think you're exfoliating too much and your skin is stressed out.
Don't you use muslin cloths with eve lom? If so surely that should be all the exfoliation you should need.

yeah, I use the muslin cloth. the exfoliator I use is really really gentle and my skin always feels soft after using it, but it's not clearing off the ingrained gunk! should I stop using it and just stick to the eve lom?

Apparently the only way to get rid of the open pores and blackheads is microdermabrasion,saw it on ten years younger ...so it must be true

also the more you exfoliate the more oil is produced so I'd just use the cleanser if I were you.

Drink 4 pints of water a day, you will notice a big difference in 3 -4 days.

have you tried steaming your face, i remember doing this for blackheads, body shop do ia blackhead remover instrument

weewilliewinkie what sort of skin do you have? exfoliating max of 3 times a week if you have oily skin less if not. have you ever been and had a facial at a salon? they could sort out the problems then once it is under control you can manage it better at home. you dont need anything as drastic as microdermabrasion just get a qualified beautitian to have a look and see what they suggest

less is more
hot water and lemon for a drink
I use a the l'oreal micro dermabrasion kit 1-2x a week and have noticed a big improvement in impurities.
What moisturiser are you using?

tesco do a micro thingy kit aswell

have tried the l'oreal kit, piffle - quite liked it at first but then it kind of stopped working..

I know I need to drink more water!

For moisturiser I either use Origins have a nice day (love it) or the oil of olay radiance, but tbh I change them every time I run out and there's a special on at boots! Think I'll save up my boots points for the new RoC microdermabrasion kit, it looks worth a try.. 40 quid though!

nothing removes blackheads except actual squeezing - if a product was strong enough to truly dissolve the stuff in every blocked pore it'd burn you horribly.

Blackheads aren't caused by grime from outside so much as skin oils getting stuck in the pore as they emerge. Best way to combat it is not go mad with scrubby cleaning (as skin will produce even more oil to compensate), but to use a cleanser with enzymes (esp. papaya / pineapple ones) to break down dead skin cells before they have a chance to get stuck in the pore and make it worse. Oil flows freely, no blackheads.

I'm afraid I think your mosituriser sounds too rich - why not use one specifically designed for oily / blackheady skin? I'm a fan of the cheapo Skin Clear ones from tesco and Superdrug, but there are lots of more prestigious names out there if you fancy - L'Oreal Pure is pretty good.

Weewilliwinkie, my skin used to be like this. I started going for regular Guinot Hydradermie facials, which helped, but the only thing that cleared it up was getting pregnant!

What make-up do you use, if any? I used to wear tinted moisturiser, but the beautician told me that this made the blocked-pore problem worse. She recommended \link{http://www.bareescentuals.com/\bare escentuals} foundation instead and I love it.

Another product people swear by is \link{http://www.lizearle.com/products_details.php?range=1&groupid=1&mnuid=1\liz earle cleanse & polish} - lovely stuff. Agree with Cupcakes that the muslin cloth should be all the exfoliation you need.

My skin sounds a bit like yours. I've tried every product under the sun - and none made too much difference. It could be hormonal, my skin was clear when pregnant and also when I was on the pill years ago.
There is a pill you can take which works on the skin as well as being a contraception called dianette (not sure if it's spelt like that) which is FANTASTIC for your skin, but of course will only work if you want to be on the pill and not ttc!

Decleor arromescence rose oil is gorgeous. They are really good with samples too and should give you a little bottle that will last a week so that you can see how you get on with it. I use the Olay radiance in the morning and the Decleor at night and whilst my skin isn't great, it is better than it's been in ages.

Had similar skin pre pregnancy and used almost every product going to try and sort out. Went to have a Dermologica facial and was told the problem was that I have sensitive skin and so all the harsh stuff I was putting on to get rid of the lumps was making it worse. Used their ultra calming cleanser and active moist and left well alone and not had a problem since. You could also try the (cheaper) simple range or anything for sensitive skin. Worked for me but do know everyones skin is different.

Another vote for Liz Earle - have used her Cleanse and Polish for nearly 4 years - never had a problem - it is fabulous stuff - no need for exfoliators, scrubs or anything else. You want to go easy on the peels and those things because the more you do that, the more sensitive you make yousr skin as you are stripping away all the natural oils etc