What the feck is the matter with my skin? is it the time of the year?

[Carlywurly]

My usually well behaved clear skin is feeling oily and horrible with spots under the skin around my hairline and jawline. I seem to remember it playing up at around this time last year,don't know if it's something to do with the change of season and having less sun on it or something.(?!)

I'm using Clinique exfoliating scrub, which normally sorts it. Simple face wash, the super drug version of Liz Earle's moisturiser. Bare essentials and Clinique make up - they've always been fine.

Help - what can I do? It feels grim.

Swap to Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion instead of the scrub, if you like Clinique. For spots you need salicylic acid to dissolve off the oil and mildly exfoliate - scrubs generally don't work as they don't really get in your skin properly, and if they did they would just be damaging it. Chemical exfoliation is both milder and more effective.

Oh will try that thanks. Got a vat of the stuff from Clinique bonus time sets but never really use it. Also got a Liz Earle one come to think of it.

Do I use after face wash?

I use it straight after cleansing twice a day, then let it dry off and moisturise ok serum if I remember

No advice but wanted to tell you you're not the only one. My skin is horrendous atm and I was thinking tonight that the last time it's been this bad was around October last year so maybe it is the cooler weather?

I'm going back to cutting out sugar, eating half an avocado a day and drinking a ton of water as well as making sure I use a fresh towel and flannel for my face everyday and changing my pillowcases every other day.

Vitamin D can really improve skin apparently so I've started mega dosing on that.

Basically I'm going to war on it. Seriously it's driving me mad. Either it's tight and flaky or congested and spotty. Argh!

Hope you find something that works for you,

Yep, mine is the same! I put the heating on last week and wondered if that was what had caused it. Am planning to drink more water, start Vit D, and use my La Roche Posay Efflacar Duo to get rid of the spots. Fingers crossed!

I would definitely have blamed the heating but we haven't put it on yet. Mainly because we've moved and I can't figure out the complicated system here..

Sugar detox a very good idea. I know I react massively to sugar.

If you have skin that likes to make acne, eventually it will just do it again. Unfortunately changes like using Effaclar Duo have to be permanent - you have completely new skin every 6 weeks so you have to use it every day as a preventer. Although it is great at getting rid of spots, by the time the spots have arrived it's basically too late and new spots are getting ready to appear on a weekly basis

You might not need it every day - my skin looks better when I do use it everyday but I can get away with less - but no acid toning at all will inevitably mean spots come back with the new skin.

Just to pop back and say that using toner has made a big difference - thank you!