advice needed to sort out my rubbish skin

[Eachpeachpearplum1985]

I've always had pretty rubbish skin and I've never found the holy grail of products that will sort it out so I'm turning to you mumsnetters!

I'm early 30s and have very oily skin (although I get flakey too). I have enlarged and congested pores pretty much everywhere except my cheeks.

At the minute I use a soap and glory face wash in the shower in the morning just because I got it for Christmas and it needs using. It's pretty crap. I also scrub my face with a flannel to get rid of flakes. I use an aldi anti-aging moisturiser because it was cheap. At night I use face wipes (I know, I know!) And another aldi overnight moisturiser which I quite like. None of this seems to be doing me any favours!

I'm time and money poor due to having a baby.

Any advice?

Could you give a rough budget for what you could afford? Sort of an amount for the initial outlay type of thing?

Hmm well I would probably want to pay no more than £15 for anything I suppose. I think I'm probably looking for a face wash for the shower and some kind of quick cleanser for night plus moisturiser. Or just some top tips? Or once a week treatment type things? I dunno!

Okay. Foaming cleansers aren't great for the skin, but if you want something that you can wash off in the shower and/or use at night, one that emulsifies would be good. Something like the Una Brennan Vitamin C Cleansing Oil or Boots Botanics Hydration Burst Cleanser. Use with a flannel at night. Ditch the wipes.

I'd recommend an acid toner which will help with your pores and the flaky bits. Nip+Fab Extreme Night pads are good and have both AHA (good for flakes) and BHA (good for congested pores) in and are gentle. You can ignore the "Extreme" bit. I'd start off with every other night, moving up to every night if it suits.

La Roche Posay do good moisturisers for oily skin. I like the Toleraine lotion. A clay mask once a week is great for oil and congestion. Plenty of affordable ones in Boots, along with all of the above. Just look for clay or kaolin high up in the ingredients list.

I know it's boring but I struggled with my skin for years and then stopped using face wipes and the difference was incredible. Then a few weeks ago I got lazy and started using wipes again and within days my skin was congested and greasy again. I just keep a basket of cheap Primark flannels in the bathroom and use them with a bit of cream cleanser and warm water at night, it's honestly not that much more trouble than a wipe.

Look at Bravura. Amazing products, especially their calendula toner.

The Superdrug 'naturally radiant' range is ok for a lower budget. Especially the hot cloth cleanser.

Thanks. Out of interest what's the issue with face washes? Would you recommend cream cleansers with a flannel instead? I suppose it doesn't make much difference in terms of time if I'm using a flannel anyway...

Also what is this micellar water stuff? Just a fancy name for toner?

I use a face wash in the morning in the shower and a cream cleanser at a night - personally I find the cream cleanser less drying and better at getting all my make up off but it probably depends a lot on personal preference and brand. The main thing is not using face wipes!

Micellar water has oil in it to draw out grime and impurities etc...you could use just that on a cotton pad at night though to replace wipes if you can't be bothered with a flannel. I actually keep a bottle by my bed for nights when I'm too lazy/knackered to do a full routine.

Face washes can strip the skin, affect the acid mantle and upset the ph levels of the skin. Cream cleansers are good. The ones I recommended can be used with a flannel but aren't creams, but they do emulsify and rinse off so good in the shower too if you wanted to only buy one due to your budget.

Sorry, should have said that having skin at the wrong ph level can cause bacteria to breed on the skin.

Wow it's so complicated! Thanks for your help