Please help me, so depressed, feel desperate

[indianacne]

Sorry this post is so long. I have had acne for past 12 years (27 now) wasn't bad until age 18, started on BCP and that keep it crystal clear until last year. I had been using retin a .025% GEL to keep me clear. For past 1 year my skin has been really sensitive, can't use anything wiht AHA, glycolic acid or even BP becuase it dries me out too much. My skin gets taut in that area and I break out with tiny zits and comedones. My derm thought maybe retin A gel had become too strong for me and switched me to differin cream. I use it every other night and my face still feels dry, even when I moisturize, but it is not dry and flaky- it never flakes just gets dry and tight. I am tired of these zits, i feel like I have 100s of them on my cheeks (right worse than left). I am not sure what to do anymore. Today I thought about just ripping off my skin. I can't take it anymore. Now I have really sensitive skin. Does moisturizing too much (too thick) make you break out. What should I use (cleanser, moisturizer, topical treatment). Please please, this is my last resort

[Lilac123]

Sorry to hear about the rough phase you're going through. You need something to both moisturize and soothe your skin. Have you tried camelia oil? It calms the skin and penetrates deeply to moisturize more than just the top layer of skin. It's also supposed to help fight acne. I learned about it while looking into epidermx microdermabrasion. You might also want to look into an anti-inflammatory diet. Lots of info on the internet. I was also reading another post about Plantidote which sounds promising. There's lots of things that will help and you will eventually find what you need. Hang in there.

[Evey55]

What are you using to wash with and how often are you washing your face?
I would use something VERY mild, like Cetaphil to wash with and use only lukewarm water, no more than twice a day. Maybe just use the Cetaphil at night to wash off dirt and makeup....maybe just water in the shower in the am.

Have you gone off the BC pill or switched pills? I would use a good moisterizer EVERY morning and evening....maybe something a little heavier at night, like Cetaphil that has no added acne fighting or exfoliating ingredients in it.
I would continue to use the differin every other day and I think your skin will get used to it. Retin A gel is very irrititing, I'm surprised your dr. didn't give your Retin A cream, it's a little easier on the skin.

[indianacne]

I just started using cetaphil cleanser last week, it works okay so far. I am still using the differin every other night. I still have patches of dry skin on my face that seem to be there. I have used cetaphil moisturizer before, maybe I will try that again- though I remember that it looked very greasy. Have you tried any other moisturisers in the past that have worked well for oily skin? I have heard good things about oil of olay complete but I am afrad that it has other ingediants in it that will irritate my sensitive skin

[Ratatosk]

I tried the plantidote stuff. Made my skin feel really greasy and I tried using it for two weeks -- person posted and said it cleared up the bumps. Made her daughter's skin look great. My skin just felt greasy, looked greasy -- just didn't feel clean. Then I developed acne along my chin line and neck -- I never ever had that problem.

When my acne was bad, I didn't mind the flakes. Was just happy to be rid of the zits. I did use lubriderm on my face around my mouth once in awhile. At the time I was on panoxyl, cleocin and an oral antibiotic. Retin A for awhile, but really made my skin red and burn.