Recommend Me A Skincare System?

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Hey guys,

Right now I'm really frustrated with my skin and I don't know what I should do. I have fairly oily skin...when I breakout, I usually only breakout moderately, but it's still realllly annoying. For about a year I used the Clinique 3 step system (minus the moisturizer...made me break out) with the soap for oily skin and the toner level 3 and then eventually moved up to level 4. It made my skin consistently clear for a while, but then my skin got kind of tough and the clinique stuff stopped doing anything so I stopped using it. I went over to oil cleansing with grapeseed oil at night to soften my skin and using cetaphil in the morning... this made my skin super clear and super soft for a while but then I got one of those bad cystic pimples on my forehead and my mom told me to go back to the Clinique. I went back and my skin kind of roughened up again...so now I am trying in the morning to use the clinique soap and toner and then at night using the clinique soap, OCM and then the clinique toner.... I'm so frustrated cause this morning I woke up to find one of those nasty under the skin bumps on my chin! I used to have such nice skin and I want it to go back....

Help!

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Oh yeah, and I use Retin-A frequently to control oil. That's probably messed my skin up quite a bit.

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PLEASE someone reply

[octopi]

um isn't retinA supposed to help clear skin, not mess it up?? that freaks me out because i've been using retinA everyday for the past few months!!!

as for a good skincare system.... i have no idea because i pretty much have the same probs as you and havent found a magical cure-all yet.... BUT here's what i think:
- drink lots of water, going to bed at a decent hour and getting a good amount of sleep, eating healthy etc---kinda cliche but it truly WORKS
- i've heard lots of good things about proactiv, although i've never tried it myself. i HAVE tried the murad...i forget what its called...some sort of a basic startup kit with cleanser, toner and moisturizer and its supposed to give results in a month or two but in the few months i tried it, i didn't notice real improvement so i stopped. but maybe it'll work for you.
- i've stopped using retinA and started using another creme called Differin. its only been a few days but so far i like it because its a lot lighter and not oily like retinA, so it feels a lot lighter on the skin.

hope this helps a wee bit! oh and i think that if the grapeseed and cetaphil thing made your skin real soft and clear, then you should stick to it. the 'cycstic pimples" i think, are due to hormonal changes and not topical treatments, so its pretty normal to have these breakouts once in a while, especially around yoru period etc. good luck! and tell me if you find anything that works because i wanna try too!

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thanks!
i think retin-a just might be messing up my skin cause it causes me to flake in certain areas
i'm going to be going to the derm in a few weeks so i'll ask about skincare regimens there. but i just saw the mario badescu line and it got a lot of great reviews on mua from people with skin similar to mine so i think i'm going to give that a shot.

[octopi]

good luck! let me know what they recomend for you (and me haha). i will look into that mario badescu line...is it expensive?

and yes retinA can serious FCK up your skin sometimes if you overload it. when i first got it, i was so excited about the prospect of having clear skin and i put it on in the morning AND before bed, and also around my eyes (i read that it's supposed to reduce wrinkles). let this be a warning to everyone to NEVER EVER PUT RETIN A ON YOUR EYES. for about 3 days i looked like i had 75 year old eyes. it dried out the skin around my eyes so much. DONT DO IT!

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badescu is the same price point as clinique ($7-15 for cleansers and toners, i think?) i got my skin analyzed by an SA at nordstroms yesterday and she gave me some samples of cleansers, toners and moistrizers she thought would work best for me. i've never used moistrizer on my face before (i thought it would make me breakout) but so far, it's actually making my skin really soft. so far, i like the line a lot, but i'll have to see how it goes the rest of the week.

[__neversummer]

check out acne.org The system they have there has been the only thing that has ever worked for me.

Also if it dosn't work the boards there are full of good things.

[LucindaMay]

essentialdayspa.com has a really helpful forum.

Personally I feel that skin problems come down to good nutrition/health. I have also found that organic natural products are much better for my skin type.