Why does my makeup do this??

[noideamumma]

In need of some advice please!

As you can see i suffer with acne, am currently using clindamycin/ tretinoin every evening. (Still yet to make a difference). From using this cream my skin has purged a good amount, spots, dryness (my skin is naturally red toned so my acne appears very inflamed)

I am due to return to work after maternity leave, i am dreading it because of my skin!! I just want a way to cover my acne, not full coverage as my face will dry far too much! Just something light to reduce redness...i have tried multiple foundations, concealers, BB creams etc and i always end up with this texture of nothing soaking into my skin more so just sitting on top and being patchy?? Why?? Do i need to exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells from the cream (however told its an exfoliant as it is). I just want something i can put on my face and not have to worry that it looks patchy or is drying the hell outta my face and i look like a mess!

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

:)

www.google.com/

This really made a difference to my hormonal breakouts.

Link wouldn't work.

I had awful acne after dc 2 and the one thing that helped was stopping almost everything. I cleansed using castor oil and a muslin or face cloth with hot water which exfoliated gently. Then retinol, the castor oil that was left on my skin after cleansing seemed to buffer the retinol a bit which helped. Then in the mornings avene's super sensitive moisturiser and biore watery essence spf.

Don't try and get rid of acne with a scrub please!
Adapalene (differin) is what finally sorted my acne. I never had it with an antibiotic in. You can ease in by "buffering' the adapelene with a layer of moisturiser first but I don't know how the antibiotic would work if you did that.

Have a couple of weeks off, gentle cleansing twice a day. Gentle barrier support moisturiser twice a day and see how you feel.

Please stop with the tretinoin and definitely do not try and exfoliate, it really doesn't suit everyone and my skin ended up like yours when I used it and I have pretty tough skin normally.
I have suffered with my skin on and off for over 30 years.
I see a private dermatologist.
Things that worked for me:
Dianette contraceptive pill in my 20s and 30's
Duac gel once daily mid 30's
Spironolactone in my 40's
Your skin changes with age so it is worth seeing a specialist and work with them over the years.
Stick to very simple skin care such as cerave.
I pay £150 for a consultation every 4-6 months and I now have to pay for blood test every 6 months on my current tablets.
I have managed to avoid roacutane so far.
Good luck, you will get your skin sorted, it just takes time.

I would try a skin and me subscription instead https://planetoffers.co.uk/skin-me-trial
If it doesn't work out you can cancel at anytime. Ask them to start you off on the lowest tret concentration. Start using every third day, then every other day. This cleared skin when none of the creams prescribed by my GP did. For now just use a good barrier repair cream.

Make sure if you use a moisturiser and foundation/concealer/bb cream that they're both made with the same base. You may find water/oil/silicone are most common bases. If you use silicone based foundation and oil based moisturiser, it goes patchy and bubbly.

I managed to link this on the wrong thread! This an old tutorial but really good I think. Makeup for acne

I think the thing with acne and skin care & makeup is everyone can tell you what works for them but it really is trial and error for you. Ask me how I know! I’ve spent thousands and thousands over the years and it still changes.

My current routine (having had skin like yours) is:

A.M. Rovectin Skin Essentials Conditioning Cleanser
Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner
Aveeno serum
Altruist SPF 50 - all of these are hydrating

P.M. Cleanse with TO Squalane Cleanser (to remove SPF and/or makeup)
Rovectin cleanse
Klairs toner
Aveeno serum
Altruist Moisturising Fluid 0.5% Hyaluronic Acid
Every other day Dermatica script with Tretinoin.

Once a week I replace one of the Dermatica treatments with Paula’s Choice 2% BHA.

This might sound a faff but it takes no time at all.

Makeup wise I then use the Erborian red correct CC cream as a primer and find it covers well under my foundation.

Definitely ask your GP for a referral first. If they aren’t able to do it, then you can look at going privately. Good luck x

@noideamumma , I would seriously suggest trying to get an appointment with your GP to get a referral to a Dermatologist

For years I was being told I had rosacea , even the GP was saying roseacea, when I actually had Seb Derm

Now I have really pretty good skin. Sure I get flare ups like that happening now and then - across my eyebrows yesterday!! But the right prescribed treatment ,and understanding what really is going on, not only helps the wallet, but will tone to flares down

Get your skin looked at by a dermatologist and take it from there

In the meantime, just treat it with kid gloves. Forgo soap, use the most basic and simplistic creamy wash and use use a basic moisturiser if you feel any tightness at all

My skin suddenly became like this when I was 30. I went straight to the gp who referred me to a dermatologist who prescribed roaccutane as i had cystic acne. Within 6 months my skin was perfectly clear.

DS is currently going to a private dermatologist for his skin & is also on roaccutane & it's improving every day.

Please ask your GP for a referral to a dermatologist or go private - you won't regret it.

I have had terrible acne in the past too, all along my jaw and chin and it was constant. I did find it was hormonal and has hugely improved since I got a Mirena coil fitted. I still have breakouts but they tend to be cheeks which are more a bacterial breakout than hormonal.

You can try the GP - waiting lists for dermatologists are awful here, quite literally years and years. I did see in my local town a private dermatologist has opened a clinic which has a £70 first consultation fee. There might be something like that near you.

Good luck, and you're not alone!

Thank you all for your responses and advice! ❤️Its lovely to hear some active feedback i can relate too and take on!! May we see a day for clear skin!!🤞💪

It’s the tret doing this to your skin. 1% to start is way too strong and every night far too much. You need a weaker tret or use it every 2-3 nights only.

You need to be using lots of hydrating products with tret to prevent this. I started too much too soon and my skin did exactly the same, it peeled and was flakey for weeks. Now I use 0.5% and I use it every 2 nights. The days I don’t use it I use azaelic acid which is amazing stuff. It should be 15-20% though to work best. I buy it from Amazon, Dermatica azaelic acid.

if you are using tret don’t exfoliate at all, tret is enough to do that. Don’t use any other additives, vit c etc until your skin is used to the tret.

Each morning I cleanse, use a moisturising toner, serum and moisturise. At night I usually cleanse with a very gentle cleanser then apply tret, then moisturise.

If your skin stings then the barrier is compromised. You can use La Roch Posay barrier repair cream for a few nights and it should calm it down a lot and repair the barrier.

Tropic face smooth exfoliator is amazing, it's gentle and rich and leaves skin so soft and polished without stripping it or making it sore

Have you tried using products that are paraben free? I have papular rosacea, can only paraben free make up cleanser etc.. I use a cheap Nivea sensitive cleanser and azaelic acid, a paraben free primer with spf etc..

Also if you have a damaged barrier then La Roche Posey cicaplast B5 is good on the nights you don't use tret

Acne is so tricky as everything works different for different skins

The two things that worked for me were
When in a flare up - following the acne . org regime basically cleanse, acnecide and moisturiser

www.acne.org/instructions

That cleared the worse of it but a few years later I was struggling with hormonal chin breakouts and moved to skin and me - pics of before and after attached

For makeup it's probably doing it as your skin is dry. I find a sticky primer like elf power grip helps and use a minimal amount of foundation over it. Pin point conceal (small brush and apply directly to worst areas)

I'd check out trinny on YouTube. She suffered with acne for years in adulthood . She has a regime for clearing it up. Expensive but I think she does travel sizes which makes it easier to try. She has some great videos on adult acne. I tried the regime she recommended for teenage boys for my son who had terrible acne and it's really really helped him. These were just products she recommended not her own range. She does a free consultation: I'd sign up for one if I were you. She's very knowledgeable .also she recommends vitamins to help too. Hope u get it sorted

My cousins skin looked very similar to yours. She went to her GP after trying everything and was referred.

She was prescribed (cream I think) and it completely transformed her skin.

I’ll pop back once I’ve messaged her and found out what it was. X

@noideamumma i would also recommend you join a group called Caroline hirons skincare freaks to ask advice there . They are a brilliant group that can offer advice and support for all skincare issues .
I would also make your skin care routine very simple at the moment with water and gentle cleansing and moisturiser taking away all actives and micellar water as that can aggravate symptoms as your face does look very sore and inflamed . Sending big hugs 🤗 x

You poor thing, I've also been there. Your GP can refer you to a dermatologist. I was on antibiotics and creams for a good couple of years when I first got on to that pathway. The meds were harsh on my system so I came off them as soon as it was under control. I kept the cream in supply in my fridge for a few years after that. The other thing that really helped was the diet for managing candida, which was also helpful fr keeping my gut healthy during the antibiotic phases.

In the meantime, I wouldn't exfoliate or use anything harsh, get the presctiption from a dermatologist, follow that candida diet, and look at this next year as time for your skin to heal.

It will get better. Nowadays, all I need to do is good skin care (mine's dry so it's all quite heavy balm cleansers and moisturisers), and if a spoyt does start up then all I need is a swipe of glycolic acid followed by niacinimide. I still get redness but it's not constant. For work or if I'm socialising I do use foundatin to give me confidence, but I use a creamy version of this too so it never looks dry like that.

You'll get there, and you'll have a lot of sympathy on the way.

I would definitely try to get referred to a dermatologist. My skin was very similar to yours and it turned out to be rosacea rather than acne. I always go red in the cheeks very easily if I have alcohol or if it's cold - very 'spider thread' purply red. Same with spicy food or even stuff like chocolate cake. Often a tell tale sign of rosacea rather than acne.

But it wasn't the redness that bothered me. It was the spots. I got to the point where I couldn't wear jumpers with necklines like polo or turtle necks as even pulling them over my head would make my chin sore and even bleed.

I was on Metronidazole for a while, then that ceased to work. Then Rozex which also worked for quite a long time then again, stopped working.

I finally, after reading about it on a forum, went on line to Superdrug and asked for a private prescription for Soolantra. My GP couldn't prescribe it as it was too expensive for the NHS but supported me trying it if I could get it privately. I had to send a photo on line to Superdrug's doctors who would confirm if it was rosacea. Which they did. At the time I think it cost me £40 or thereabouts.

I used it every evening so nothing else interfered with it on my skin. Six weeks later the rosacea (spots) was gone. Never came back - although I still flush up with spicy food etc., I can live with that. Soolantra seems to work for quite a few people (though not everyone - it's not a miracle cure). My skin no longer hurts and that is all that matters to me - constant discomfort is stressful and depressing.

I'm paranoid about what I put on my skin now. I use micellar water to cleanse. Coconut oil in the evening and Pai skin cream. Nothing else. No scrubs, no acids, no facials and no masks. I also don't use foundation. I don't have to anymore. I just use a soft makeup brush to dust on some powder as I don't like my face shiny (if I'm having a rosacea 'blush' it makes me look like I'm glowing if I wear nothing!)

Whatever it actually is, I hope you find whatever works for you. People don't understand how sore your skin can become with rosacea or acne. It's not 'just a few spots' it's the constant healing and wounding that goes on and the discomfort that causes. Good luck!

I have read this is very good, and I also recommend Dermalogica's sensitive skin rescue kit, this helped heal my skin, and I only needed to use it for a couple of months. That said, what works for one person does not always work for another, and it is so horrid wasting money on products that don't work.

My friend's daughter is using Purifide by Acnecide Moisturiser, the Microbiome Equalizer, which doesn't irritate her ultra sensitive skin, she uses prescription epiduo, which had left her skin sore and sensitive.

The best make-up tip I found for my flaky skin, is to use a damp beauty blender, and dab the concealer and foundation on, and this made a huge difference.

Mine was caused by hormones, once that was sorted, the acne went away, and I think that is often the case, so either the pill, coil (or HRT if you are the other end of the hormone spectrum), might be helpful. Really worth seeing your GP for this.