Moisturiser for very acne prone skin

[Ansumpasty]

After years of not moisturising for fear it will worsen my spots, it’s time for me to start. I have acne scars, oily skin and spots.

People seem to be raving about hyaluronic acid moisturisers-any experiences with acne?
Thanks!

Cerave and Avene do some great fragrance free moisturisers. Also, la Roche Posay’s toleriane (for very sensitive/reactive) and efflacar H (has niacinamide) moisturisers.

Moisturising is important, as drying out your skin will cause more irritation/inflammation so your acne and scars won’t heal as quickly. Also, your skin may not be as oily as you think it could even be dehydrated and producing more oil to compensate

Sometimes the reason people don’t tolerate acne treatments (retinoids/benzoyl peroxide/acids) is because they’re not moisturising their skin enough

Hyaluronic acid is good, but it’s widely available in plenty of products these days so personally I haven’t bothered buying a separate HA serum, as it’s in many of my other routine products. (look for sodium hyaluronate in ingredients)

Oh and another thing - as someone with bad acne, when I was a teen I was very paranoid moisturisers would break me out and google each ingredient of products before trying to see if they were considered ‘comedogenic’.
Now, I don’t bother because even some dermatologists would agree there is not sufficient enough research to show which ingredients are objectively pore clogging. It’s just trial and error unfortunately, hence always best to patch test and only introduce one new product at a time

La Roche Posay is very good. I used their Effaclar + as a moisturiser when my skin was at its worst.

I have very oily skin and it’s a lot better since I started following Caroline Hirons routine of double cleanse acid tone serum and moisturise. I thought that it was way too many products and it’d clog my skin but it’s really helped.

I now use Estée Lauder ANR serum and the daywear moisturiser and can definitely recommend.

Another vote for Cerave - very light and a lot of great ingredients without a high end price tag. Ignore that it says it's for dry skin.

Thanks, everyone!

I will look those things up. I’m terrified of the La Roche Posay products since I tried the efficlar duo (sp?) and had the worst break out of my life. I use benzoyl peroxide products (Proactiv) from the US but my skin is looking dire and like and like a tough leather, albeit greasy, boot.

I would recommend the la roche posay effaclar H. I also had a bad reaction to the effaclar duo spot corrector but tried this one & find it great. I would also recommend the effaclar face wash.

I like mizon snail repair cream. Its about £4 from ebay

Your skin sounds very sensitive. I'd recommend you spend a little bit of time reading up on jojoba oil (pure unrefined) for acne and try that? It can be used for cleansing too.

I am suffering from acne at the moment, having gone through a spate of trying new serums and cleansers. 😒 So I feel your pain! My skin doesn't like 99% of products.

My skin sounds like yours. Very sensitive and oily. The best moisturiser I've found is the Lacura one from Aldi. It's amazing! I think it's the one with "caviar" extract in. It's about £6.99 And cones in a silver pot in a box. Definitely worth a try!

Thanks, all!
I’ve just spent a lot on RF microneedling and I’m more than a little scared about putting anything on my face that will cause an eruption of a hundred spots and undo the whole point of the microneedling!

Another vote for la roche posay but not Effaclar. I have been using one called Toleraine and am so impressed . It’s for very sensitive skin including rosacea etc which I do have a bit of as well as acne. Finding it very soothing and non reactive- check out reviews online. I’m a convert !

I have acne prone sensitive skin and really like the Ordinary moisturiser.

I have found Avene products very good for my sensitive, outbreak prone skin, and recommend them highly.

Personally, I use Avene Hydrance Optimale UV Riche. It comes in a light variation too if you prefer - but don't assume that your skin being greasy necessarily means you need that. The grease might be because your skin is dehydrated, and trying to compensate for a lack of moisture. It can't produce water, but it can produce oil. You may find that you get the best results from something with a bit more oompf - that was certainly the case for me. Sali Hughes wrote a great article on this, I'll see if I can find a link.

But, as Embarrassed said, it is unfortunately a case of trial and error to find what works.

Thanks! Lots for me to google :)

@Embarrassed89 and @AnnaMagnani

I can’t seem to find the Cerave pm moisturiser without SPF in the uk? I wouldn’t really want to put the spf 25 on my face before bed.
Do you use the all over lotion one, rather than the face on?