Finally conviced this is not my imagination - skincare

[Mojang]

For 20 years I have been prone to occasional breakouts and quite painful deep spots.

For a long time I though it was to do with hormones, worse premenstrually and that is certainly true to a point but really it gets so much worse when I "take care" of my skin.

For long periods of my life I've been so miserable with it that I did very little to my skin. Rinsed it with warm water under the shower and used a light (cheap) moisturiser when it felt tight but honestly, that is when my skin is at it's best. When I look after myself and have a proper cleansing routine the spots always get worse. I've tried loads of different cleansers over the years. ATM it's Liz Earle cleanse and polish which I did think made my skin better for the first few days but now it's worse than it's been in months.

I'm going back to plain water, even if my skin's still not perfect, at least it doesn't hurt! I know it can't remove all make-up properly but I haven't found anything that does without messing up my skin.

I totally agree with everything you said and have experienced exactly the same thing with my skin. I was loyal to Liz Earle products for years and hot cloth cleansed and moisturised daily, never slept in make-up - ever!! but still experienced troublesome spots, which have left scars, even in my forties.
Nowadays I still hot cloth cleanse, but use Aqueous cream, bought cheaply anywhere and a white cotton face cloth, using a new one each time, and I only cleanse at night. Aqueous cream seems to have no trouble removing make-up In the morning I just rinse my face with water and my skin has never been better.
I can't remember the science, but in the past I read a lot about how over cleaning the skin disturbs the natural balance and when you have spots, you do tend to scrub away at it, I think exfoliators are particularly harmful and cleansing GENTLY with a cloth is more beneficial.

I totally agree at the beginning of the year I made a promise to look after my skin more cleanse toner and moisturise and my skin is awful!!

I might give the Aquarius a go while using the hot cloth

Yes, whenever i resolve to look after my skin property it goes to ruin. Making the effort to improve my diet helps though

I seem to respond well to the higher-end moisturisers/oils etc but every single time I splash out on some "quality" cleanser my skin goes to pot. The last one was some far-from-cheap Dr Haushka stuff - it made me look like I'd been playing with a chemistry set. I'm using some cheap Sainsburys stuff at the moment and it's fine.

LE brings out mega-bumps on my face :(

If it works, it works. Don't mess!

I was a Liz Earle devotee for years and continued using it despite having loads of bumps. I thought I just had bumpy skin!

I was then lucky enough to go for a facial with a great therapist who advised I change as although LE is natural the essential oils can be too harsh for some. I stopped and my skin cleared up in 2 weeks. I now use avery moisturising cleanser from Dr Jart.

I hope you get your skin sorted op, I know how annoying it is.

Cleanse & Polish always makes me break out. I've used it off and on for years with the same result. Took me too long to figure it out!

Personally I wouldn't stop cleansing altogether, particularly as you wear make up, but I don't blame you for ditching the C&P.

Aspirin mixed with water on the big spots for few min is supposed to make them disappear. Zynerit topical antibiotic will make your skin clear of any breakouts for a year or more. Botanics or Simple moisturizers are good enough and not heavy. Bicarbonate soda is great as scrub. I don't waste money on expensive skin care anymore.

I was the same.....tried loads of different products over the years, costing a lot of money, and never got anywhere with them! For the last year I've been using a hot cloth method with baby lotion (in the evening), followed by a swipe over with witch hazel, which I use in the morning as well. Skin looks better than it has for years :)

Have you thought about diet OP? Often it is the skin care but it could get worth considering if there is anything diet wise that causes them. Ruth Crilly found that milk was affecting her skin link which maybe worth a read if this isn't something that you have explored before?

I purchased LE after recommendations on here - big mistake!! Using Lush products at the moment, still prone to breakouts but skin feels better and generally looks better too.

Same here, and Liz Earle was the worst offender, its left me with lumps that now just won't go away. I only tried it because I wanted my skin to look its absolute best before my wedding - big mistake. I'm back to hot cloth cleaning with olive or jojoba oil now and very little else.

I found the same with expensive products but cradle cap shampoo - Capasal worked wonders for my skin and I have the smoothest skin in the world when I use it daily. It ran out and I'm really spotty now.

have certainly noticed this the older my skin has got.

it really doesn't like being messed about with. i have sensitive combination skin. it gets washed in the shower with water.
eye makeup remover. then nivea daily essentials day cream.
i love this cream. it's 1.99 in tesco today

Cleanse and Polish is the work of the devil.

Interesting thread.

I have pretty rubbish skin - adult acne (which never cleared up from being a teenager). So, am currently taking antibiotics which help, but I think a contributory factor is my totally pared down skincare routine. I wash morning and evening with Cetaphil. That's it. No moisturiser required.

I wish I had known this years ago - would have saved a fortune.

My skin is at it's best when I am using all my expensive products that i have to many of to go into detail about but my 16 y/o DD is completely the opposite. She washes her face with warm water and uses a boots own brand £1.49 moisturiser twice a day which she swears by and unlike her sister very rarely gets a bad break out. She gets a few bad spots just before her period but I don't think there is anything we can do about that. These past few months she has been suffering with dry skin on her forehead but after starting to use a simple face mask 2/3 times a week it has cleared up and she has no more problems, would love to try this relaxed approach but worried what may happen