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Help for dry reactive perimenopausal skin

10 replies

TheGirlOnTheLanding · 11/04/2021 12:37

I've always had dry skin, which gets drier and redder (and occasionally spotty) if I put a product on it that it doesn't much like, and properly rash-y and itchy if it really doesn’t like it. This has only got worse with age (I’m in my 50s). Over the last few years I kept things really simple so I could tell exactly what it was reacting to if it flared up. Most recently I've been using micellar water to cleanse and Aveeno to moisturise but lately I've noticed my cheeks, forehead and jawline can be very dry and tight in the mornings so I think my skin is either objecting to the cleanser now or the Aveeno just isn't enough to moisturise it any more. I've also started getting hot, red, lumpy, dry skin on my cheeks occasionally if I have a glass of wine which makes me wonder if I'm developing rosacea - although so far it’s only reacted that way to wine, so it’s possibly a mild allergic reaction to something in that instead.

I started using CeraVe instead of the Aveeno to moisturise am/pm. It's only Day 2 but it is stinging a bit when I first put the cream on and as well as being dry and tight this morning, my skin had tiny but visible lines all over it which is new and not in a good way! It settles quickly so I’ll give it a few more days unless the stinging gets worse/skin flares up but I’m already considering the next thing to try if it doesn't work. I’ve seen Embryolisse lait-creme - apparently you can use it as both cleanser and moisturiser which sounds appealing. Anybody with difficult skin tried it? Also considering Avene which I used to use years ago.

OP posts:
TheGirlOnTheLanding · 12/04/2021 07:41

No one?

OP posts:
Beansbitch · 12/04/2021 07:45

Micellar water was really bad for my skin. I have excema so using Less and less products as I get older.

TWBAEM · 12/04/2021 08:05

Hi OP, it does sound like rosacea to me. I have similar skin - red, stingy, spotty (but not acne type spots). Dr Sam Bunting, a dermatologist, has just posted a YouTube video on this as April is rosacea month. It might be worth watching it:

For my own part I use cerave's cleanser (sometimes Dr Sam's flawless cleanser) avene's tolerance extreme moisturiser and neostrata's sheer physical protection spf. I find spf vital all year, even in the depths of winter.

TheGirlOnTheLanding · 12/04/2021 08:11

Thank you, both. I'll give the video a watch. I'm wary of changing two things at once but might revert to Aveeno and find another cleanser rather than micellar water and see if that helps. The CeraVe certainly doesn't seem to be agreeing with it.

OP posts:
Beansbitch · 12/04/2021 09:09

The cerave SPF was bad on my skin too. I'm still searching for a decent one x

Jocasta2018 · 12/04/2021 09:32

I developed skin issues peri-menopausal which has remained despite HRT - diagnosed as psoriasis plus acne of all things!
My dermatologist has me washing my face with aqueous cream - it does remove all make-up - and applying Hydromol intensive am & pm (both available over the counter).
In the morning I just wash my skin with water & apply the Hydromol if I'm not going outside.
If I am going outside I DON'T use the Hydromol.
I use either Nivea UV face shine control SPF50 or Heliocare 360 Gel oil-free dry touch as it's tinted.
At night, wash my face with aqueous cream & apply Hydromol.
It seems to be helping - my skin looks less tortured than before. The acne is still there but not as much & limited to under the mask - macne!
Obviously I don't know if Hydromol will help you but the aqueous cream is a very gentle way to cleanse your face.

PS I've developed an allergy to booze over the years & no longer drink - my face, neck, upper chest & sometimes my even arms used to get VERY flushed after one glass of anything alcohol Confused
I can have a few sips of champagne at celebrations but otherwise, no booze Sad
I can still cook with alcohol & it has no affect, thank god Grin

TheGirlOnTheLanding · 12/04/2021 10:30

How depressing @Jocasta2018! So far, I'm ok with gin or beer, it's just wine that has affected me, but maybe that's just the beginning. Thanks for the suggestion of cleansing with aqueous cream, I should maybe try that with Aveeno first of all and see if it makes a difference.

OP posts:
Spring2021 · 12/04/2021 10:40

My face is usually ok but my body especially my torso and legs are extremely dry and very very itchy and uncomfortable.

On my face I use Liz Earle cleanse, tone and moisturiser (its the unfragranced one).

On my body I have tried Aveeno blue, Cerave and regularly have to take a piriton. I am mid 50’s and mine has got worse. I daren’t wax my legs and have worn trousers for the past two years as my legs are such a mess with red blotches I think the skin is thinning or something.

Beansbitch · 12/04/2021 10:40

Jocasta, so weird, my problem is excema same routine as you, aquaous cream for cleansing and hydromol, but what is similar is I have the alcohol flush too now!!so weird x

TheGirlOnTheLanding · 23/04/2021 10:53

Reporting back in to say I decided to try switching to Avene as I'd used it in the past with no reaction. I've been using the Tolerance Extreme cleansing lotion (washed off with plain warm water on a muslin) and the cream from the same range for just over a week, as well as adding the cream to my foundation when I wear it, and the difference is huge: no dry patches or redness at all.

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