What is working right now.

As you may know, I am just starting to figure out my skin. It's definitely changing and, unfortunately, it came on fast. I could make excuses but, the truth is, I never did much besides wash and moisturize. I'm a student of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy of skincare. Only, after I developed a nasty bout of dermatitis, my skin changed. It took less than a year but all of the methods (including harsh scrubs and unforgiving acids) I tried to remedy the situation only managed to suck all the moisture and youth out of my skin. So, now is when we repair. Because, of the aforementioned malady, and because there is little known cause for perioral/ocular dermatitis, little is known to treat it besides prescription antibiotics. Avara worked for me in the end but, at that point I had already purged the worst of it and felt my skin was well on it's way to mending.

Avar is expensive and it might not work. Others have used metro-gel to some success but besides those two topicals and the oral antibiotics, there is no set rule of thumb to use to get the condition to subside. It's truly a YMMV type of thing. What I did was wash my face only at night with Sulfa cleanse: This cleanser is specifically formulated for those with rosacea or acne vulgaris. If you have either of those, sulfur might help. The one above was prescribed to me back in the days I had that sweet, sweet insurance but was only $15 a pop and lasts forever. If you can't get it, I would try to find one on Amazon. This one looks decent: http://www.amazon.com/Sulphur-Soap-Premium-Sulfur-Advanced/dp/B00CST4AS4 When my skin feels dry, I will skip the Sulfacleanse and either wash with water or my Yes to Carrots Fragrance-free cream face wash. In the morning I apply a serum (Skinceuticals Phloretin CF) that helps with shielding off antioxidants. Skinceuticals is REALLY expensive so I buy the sample sizes off of ebay: After that I put on a pump of my all time favorite cheapo moisturizer. Vanicream for sensitive skin. It's not oily, doesn't itch, cause acne or rosacea flareups, and is inexpensive.

If my skin is extra sensitive or dry that day, I will put a drop of argan oil in it.This is the one I use, but any will do: ***I think now is as good as any time to mention that I am in no way affiliated with the products I use or endorse. Nobody is paying me for my opinion of these products and what works for me might not work for you! But hey guys (looking at you Skinceuticals)!!! I'll take freebies :-) ***I should also add that if you are concerned about your skin and aren't sure if a product will work for you, I would suggest asking for samples. No harm in asking. Now the most important part...the part I often skipped because I just can't get down with most formulations. S.P.F. This is obviously THE single most important step in preventing future damage but, god dang, if it's not hard to find an SPF that feels good, provides protection, and doesn't make your skin look like a topographical map. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Biore Aqua Essence. It's a dream. Truly. Like many other Asian suncare products, it isn't readily available in the US. It's a cheap product but it is small and you might have to pay for shipping. If I haven't already mentioned it, I highly recommend Amazon Prime. I get my Biore from Amazon so the shipping is free. Holla! This product is cool and liquidy (hence the name)and dries powder-like. It does contain alcohol and thus can be drying, therefore, I usually massage a drop of argan oil onto dry spots about 30 minutes before I apply it. Bonus points: it doubles as a primer for liquid foundation. I haven't been wearing much make-up lately and we will get to that later but this is where you would want to put on your makeup. Now, this is about as simple as it gets. The bare minimum. There are people (especially those into Asian skin practices) who will go as many as 10 steps on a regular morning only to do another 10 at night. I prefer to do other things with that time. Also, keeping steps to a minimum keeps things simple and cheap. Now, the only thing I have changed recently is my night routine. I wash as usual. Instead of serum though, I have introduced retinol into the game. "Twas scary at first. Retinol is super-charged vitamin A and helps with cell turnover. You want to know how you can tell when your skin cells are turning over? Your FACE PEELS OFF! Now, I was a complete virgin to the stuff. I had heard of Retin-A for years but only in reference to people who had advanced aging. I didn't consider my aging advanced but, once I got over the perioccular/oral dermatitis, I was left with a barren desert of a face whose lines were all of a sudden very prominent. WTH? I wanted to try a retinoid. I wanted the forehead I used to have. But I was still pretty shell-shocked over the rigamarole my skin had already gone through. What if using a retinoid made it worse? Shudder. So, after some research I found an over the counter retinol on the cheap...Spoiler alert...I love Paula's Choice. To be continued