What irritates my acne:
Eating excessive amounts of sugar or white carbs
Using any types of makeup
Using most brands of moisturizer (especially ones with sunscreen)
Using anything rough on my face (scrubs, washcloths, etc., as I also have rosacea)
Using any wash or moisturizer with fragrance
I always break out right after my period, and I always get these really big red blotches that are painful. Not raised patches, but just patches on my face and neck that are red and irritated.
What I use is Cetaphil Cleanser in the blue bottle. It is so gentle and I find that really works for my face. I have tried anti-acne cleansers and they are either too harsh or have too much fragrance in them. I don't even bother with makeup because that's just a lost cause for me. If I eat decently and take care of my skin then I find I don't really need makeup. When my face breaks out I usually just let it go because it goes away in a couple of days anyway (if I don't pick at my skin!). If the zits are really big or if I have those strange red patches I'll use hydrocortisone cream to reduce redness and swelling. It really works.
Now I do use an apricot scrub on my nose (major blackhead issues) and on my neck to prevent ingrown hairs, which usually works. I use that scrub a couple times a week, but I don't use it on any other part of my face.
For a moisturizer I find that Eucerin facial moisturizer works very well. In the pink bottle it's got an SPF of 30, which is high, but I recently discovered wrinkles so I'm using the CO Q10 version (yellow bottle) which has an SPF of 15. I really like this and it doesn't break my face out or leave it greasy. At night I use Moisturel which I can only get from the pharmacy (in other words, it's not something you can find in a Wal Mart). It's a therapeutic lotion which is meant for the entire body, so it comes in a big pump bottle (but it says for face, hands, and body on the bottle). I use it all over and it makes my skin really soft.
Hope this helps. I'm interested to hear everyone else's input.
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