Patches of dry skin.......

[Matt555]

Where are out in house dermatologists?

Anyway, long story short. Used to have oily nasty skin. Two rounds of Acutane = good looking skin but on the dry side. Certain parts of my face though (around mouth, chin and jaw line) suffer from dryness more than the rest of my face. I use moisturizers, gentle face wash's/scrubs.........but these areas remain visibly dry despite the moisturizer. I am going to switch back to Proraso Creme AS as it is more moisturizing than my current Kawana AS gel (which I still love). What else to do for these problem areas?

 

[A-Man]

Have you looked into oil cleansing?

I used to have both oily and dry skin. Certain areas would shine, others would be dry to the point of looking quite ashy.

After using the OCM for a couple weeks, it's done a great job at evening everything out in the middle.

 

[jrowen]

Hey Matt, I have dry skin. I have found that washing my face with just water works for me (maybe not a good idea if had oily skin??). The best thing I did for my skin was to wash with water at night and apply Glycerin. I found some in the first aid section (next to the gold bond... weird place for it) at walmart for only a few bucks. You can also get pure veggie glycerin at "natural" or "whole" foods type stores. Glycerin helps hold the moisture on/in my face at night when I sleep so that its nice and moisturized when I get up in the morning. I believe that most moisturizers only hold in the moisture that is already in your skin. But glycerin is hygroscopic, and pulls moisture out of the air and makes it available to your face. Maybe you can try that. It has worked for me.

 

[Matt555]

Interesting. I have that bottle of Wal Mart glycerin you speak of. Sometimes I mix it with Jojoba oil as a pre shave. Do you wash your face with it then rinse, or do you leave it on?

Hey Matt, I have dry skin. I have found that washing my face with just water works for me (maybe not a good idea if had oily skin??). The best thing I did for my skin was to wash with water at night and apply Glycerin. I found some in the first aid section (next to the gold bond... weird place for it) at walmart for only a few bucks. You can also get pure veggie glycerin at "natural" or "whole" foods type stores. Glycerin helps hold the moisture on/in my face at night when I sleep so that its nice and moisturized when I get up in the morning. I believe that most moisturizers only hold in the moisture that is already in your skin. But glycerin is hygroscopic, and pulls moisture out of the air and makes it available to your face. Maybe you can try that. It has worked for me.

 

[jrowen]

The bottle says to mix it with equal parts water, since it's pretty thick. I rinse/wash my face, just splashing water on my face. Then, without drying, I rub maybe a dime or quarter-sized drop into my skin. EDIT: (clarification) It mixes with the water remaining on my face after the splashing. Rub it in real good. It doesn't really absorb like a moisturizer does... it kinda goes through stages: WET!! then kinda sticky/tacky.... and i don't really know what to call the next stage... EDIT: it kinda just feels like a heavy moisturizer or cream at that point. I wait 10 or 15 minutes after application (usually while I play with my shave toys since I'm in there anyway) before heading off to bed without washing it off. EDIT: I feel I should add that my pillow case seems no worse for the wear. You can see how that works for you. Maybe someone else has a good idea too. I'd love hear what someone else w/ dry skin does too.

 

[RazorPete]

Matt
Try using some glycerin diluted 50/50 in water to the affected areas a couple times a day. See how that works. I feel oil cleansing in someone with a history of severe inflammatory acne is not a good idea.
Good luck
Pete

 

[jrowen]

Matt
Try using some glycerin diluted 50/50 in water to the affected areas a couple times a day. See how that works. I feel oil cleansing in someone with a history of severe inflammatory acne is not a good idea.
Good luck
Pete

+1 I've done this before when my skin has been REALLY dry. Works better than a moisturizer IMHO.

 

[RazorPete]

+1 I've done this before when my skin has been REALLY dry. Works better than a moisturizer IMHO.

Wow, I did not realize you had just recommended that! Oh well good minds think alike so they say. Ha ha

 

[jrowen]

NP. It's great info to see what everyone else does. I guess glycerin is popular so far

 

[RazorPete]

It's actually a very old remedy. One of my senior mentors taught me about it when I was in derm residency years ago. And she had been taught about it by her mentor. It's probably been around over a hundred years. The most popular old time mixture was glycerin in rose water. If you go to some of those mom and pop pharmacies or talk to an older pharmacist they might have it. But of course it's easy just to make it yourself, as you know.

The reason I like to recommend it as a moisturizer for people with a history of acne is that it's non-comedogenic.

 

[figaro_black]

I used to have oily nasty skin too, mainly because I thought I had oily nasty skin and treated it as such. As a result I, like you, got dry nasty skin instead. Turned out it was just a severe case of skin dehydration though it took me LONG to figure that one out, since generally we talk about oily or dry skin which usually does not take hydration into account.

The glycerin is a great suggestion. Personally, I prefer a hydrosol sprayed on after my toner and then gently massaged in with my hands, then left to dry until my face is not wet but merely damp. That is when I apply my lotion.

The OCM is also a good suggestion, since an oil based cleanser is generally gentler than any detergent based cleanser. However, be sure to get one that rinses of with water, or it might clog your skin. Also, OCM is hit and miss. Some skins love it, especially oilier types, but personally, I just use it as a treat every now and again when I want something really gentle since too much oil makes my skin think it is oily enough and so as an effect it stops producing oils, making my face dry.

By the way, what lotion do you use? Oil free, mineral oil based, or natural oil based? If you use an oil free lotion, then you need to switch to one with oil in it since oil seals in hydration and helps dry and dehydrated skin (just be sure it is an oil that agrees with your skin). If you use a mineral oil based one, I would suggest trying to switch to a vegetable oil based one of the simple reason that mineral oil might work as barrier, drying your skin out. Now it might just be something environmentalists have come up with, but I do find I get better results when not using mineral oil based products on my skin.

 

[Manco]

have you looked into oil cleansing?

I used to have both oily and dry skin. Certain areas would shine, others would be dry to the point of looking quite ashy.

After using the ocm for a couple weeks, it's done a great job at evening everything out in the middle.

+1

 

[rafikz]

Hey Matt, I have dry skin. I have found that washing my face with just water works for me (maybe not a good idea if had oily skin??). The best thing I did for my skin was to wash with water at night and apply Glycerin. I found some in the first aid section (next to the gold bond... weird place for it) at walmart for only a few bucks. You can also get pure veggie glycerin at "natural" or "whole" foods type stores. Glycerin helps hold the moisture on/in my face at night when I sleep so that its nice and moisturized when I get up in the morning. I believe that most moisturizers only hold in the moisture that is already in your skin. But glycerin is hygroscopic, and pulls moisture out of the air and makes it available to your face. Maybe you can try that. It has worked for me.

Same here

 

[Matt555]

This glycerin thing seems like a good idea. As for the oil cleansing, good suggestion, but I am not going to take the chance considering I went through all those uncomfortable months of Acutane in order to shut down the oil contributing to my cystic acne. Even though it may not hurt, I am just unwilling to take the chance. Thanks for the help all.

 

[verdict]

It's actually a very old remedy. One of my senior mentors taught me about it when I was in derm residency years ago. And she had been taught about it by her mentor. It's probably been around over a hundred years. The most popular old time mixture was glycerin in rose water. If you go to some of those mom and pop pharmacies or talk to an older pharmacist they might have it. But of course it's easy just to make it yourself, as you know.

The reason I like to recommend it as a moisturizer for people with a history of acne is that it's non-comedogenic.

Well I know Burt's Bees has a rose water/glycerin toner (it's in the name), so that might be something to try. Unfortunately the packaging suggests it's for women so I haven't gotten the chance to try it.

I just might buy it and put it in a better looking cobalt blue bottle.