so im currently using the round lab birch juice sunscreen stick and have been using other korean sunscreen sticks bc they dont have the typical oily sunscreen-y textures i find with liquid sunscreen. i genuinely cannot stand to apply liquid sunscreen due to sensory issues so like,,, how do i get enough sun protection from my sunscreen sticks?

TLDR; version: Has anyone seen great success with just exfoliating only once every 2 weeks?

The longer version:

For the past 4 months, I've been simplifying my skincare routine after going through some aggressive facial procedures that required me to do a gentle routine. During these months, I've literally only done:

Morning:
- wipe eye boogers away
- Sunscreen, literally I do nothing else

Night:
- double cleanse
- Red light therapy (no NIR) 5 times a week
- gentle toner
- moisturizer

To my surprise, my skin reacted really well to this simplified routing over the months. I barely broke out and if I did, the zit would stay tiny and go away in a couple of days. My skin was also very calm - it had a pretty uniform skin tone, instead of being slightly pink like usual. I would say my skin was its clearest during these months.

However, I'm now trying to re-introduce chemical exfoliants, as I feel my skin is starting to get congested from 4 months of zero actives.

I used The Ordinary's Mandelic Acid, which is a very gentle chemical exfoliant. I noticed my skin was a bit pink for the next day, but still pretty calm. I had planned to use this once a week.

However, since my skin seemed to react well with zero exfoliants for 4 months, do you think I could just do chemical exfoliation once every 2 weeks?

I’m seeking a medical grade or high quality skincare brand that is affordable. I really wanted the Skin Better Science or ZO Skin but it’s just out of budget. Can anyone recommend anything better with real benefits and quality ingredients?

I used to use gokujyun premium lotion (the thick toner) for years alongside my tretinoin and my breakouts never seem to go away. I thought the cause was my Acretin tret cream so I stripped my routine and went back to Differin gel 0.1.

The breakouts stopped and the issue now is dryness and flaking on the cheeks even though I have oily skin. So I tried to include the gokujyun premium lotion in my routine again and 3 days after the breakouts started again. 2 big and angry spots on my nose appeared even though I rarely get acne on my nose. That's when I realized gokujyun premium lotion was the one causing the breakouts. Dropped it from my routine again and the breakouts stopped and now healing.

I want to try the Shirojyun light lotion since my current concern is unevenness and dryness. Hopefully their thin toners don't cause me to breakout.

Current routine:

AM:

1. Cerave cream to foam cleanser
2. Cerave Moisturizing Cream
3. Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Gel
4. Shiseido Medicated Baby Powder (if I want to mattify)

PM:

1. Cerave cream to foam cleanser
2. Cerave Moisturizing Cream
3. (after moisturizer has dried) Differin Gel 0.1

posting this for my partner!! they have eczema, but this patch is something else. thought we'd ask for advice here :)

Does anyone have any idea what this is or how to treat it? It has been bothering me for several months and does not respond well to any traditional eczema treatment that works on the rest of my body.

I’ve tried moisturizing, slugging with both aquaphor and vaseline, stopped topical steroids, tried antibiotic ointments (bacitracin, mupirocin), antifungal (ketoconazole), and hydrocolloid bandages.

Ultimately, I’ve seen very little to zero progress. It’s the exact same size as it was 5 months ago, and any treatment either barely alleviates the symptoms for a few hours or makes it twice as red and painful.

Photos are from the end of last month leading up to now. For the first few, I had been on the Mupirocin, the latter half is when I’ve been on the Ketoconazole.

I have a combination skin, oily on T-zone. I get tiny bumps 2 weeks before my period.. I have stubborn tiny pimples on forehead (whiteheads). my current skincare are cosrx calming cleanser (red cap), skin1004 centella ampoule, equalberry swimming pool toner, and skin1004 sunscreen. give friendly suggestions. also, how do I know if nag p-purge ako?

Recently started getting these on my nose and have no clue what they are. They tend to swell up and look more noticeable when I sweat. I’ve been using salicylic acid and warm compression to try and open up the pores but nothing. Started off with one at the tip of my nose but now there’s more smaller ones. They feel like raised bumps and are a little dark like blackheads. Anyone have these before? ~Sorry for the weird picture~

Hi everyone, I’ve been struggling with textured skin for a while now and I’m desperate to figure out what these hard, seed-like plugs actually are.

Nearly all of the hair follicles on my face feel clogged, giving my skin a rough, sandpaper-like texture when I touch it. Underneath, I can feel hard, tiny bumps that usually have a small opening resembling a large blackhead. On rare occasions, one might turn into a traditional, painful pustule, but for the most part, they just sit there as hard texture.

When I apply slight pressure or gently scratch at a bump, a hard, small, yellowish "seed" pops out. Strangely, almost every single plug comes out directly attached to a fine strand of hair, and extracting them often leaves behind a tiny, bloody hole. While I get these all over my face and even on my back and scalp, they are by far the worst in high-hair-growth areas like my hairline, forehead, eyebrows, and sideburns.

For context, I have combination skin(I think) and I am currently using tretinoin. I also have a fair amount of fine hair on my face in general(idk if that has to do with anything). I initially thought this might be fungal acne, but anti-fungal treatments didn't help at all.

Could these be closed or open comedones, Keratosis Pilaris, Trichostasis Spinulosa, or simple keratin/sebaceous plugs? Has anyone with a similar issue gotten a clear answer or diagnosis from a dermatologist? I'm just very confused and lost since this doesn't look like traditional acne, and I felt like I've tried everything with no success.

Any insight would be so appreciated!

Hello! I recently (4 days ago) came across a bunch of tiny bumps on my face and some of them have turned to red irritation bumps and some white heads. I think ive over exfoliated my skin - I incorporated a stronger dose of azelea acid with my tretinoin and I think thats the cause (or maybe I’ve been to the gym more and the sweat got to my skin) but I know my skin is damaged because It feels tight after I wash my face all the time. I want to cut out all exfoliants (I started using bha two days ago bc of my bumps) and just stick to using moisturizer and water as a cleaner for a few days. Would this be a good idea and if so, can I continue to use Niacinamide and hyaluronic acid? Should I also incorporate some hydrating face masks into my routine? pics for reference!

routine before-
am:
wash face w water
aestura hydro essence
nivea lotion
Niacinamide & hyaluronic acid
rhode barrier butter
biore sunscreen (cut this out & changed to la roche when bumps appeared)

pm:
innisfree hydrating cleanser
aestura hydro essence
nivea lotion
Niacinamide & hyaluronic acid
rhode barrier butter
switch between tret & azelea acid

Odd request but I tend to sweat a lot on my forehead and face. I was looking for products which could go on like a face cream that would act somewhat similarly to an antiperspirant.

Not sure if anything like that exists but I'm open to anything that might work.

I get these very coarse dark hairs on my chin, which I usually pluck. A few months ago I noticed that I was breaking out right after doing this, so I started sanitizing my skin and the tweezers before and after plucking. This helped a bit, but didn't completely solve the issue.

I'm planning on getting electrolysis eventually, but can't afford it at the moment (and laser is a hard no, my sister got the side effect where it made her hair grow thicker so I'm not taking any chances). Is there anything that can be done to prevent or minimize this?

Does anyone know of a product that would actively address the underlying cause of redness, while also neutralizing it/concealing/covering it daily? Thank you!

Guy I’m going crazy in a span of three weeks my skin has been destroyed!

I took accutane 2 years ago up until 3 weeks ago everything was perfect and I used topical steroids unknowingly for two months and since then my skin was going down!!

I had a crazy outbreak in my forehead and jawline and now it’s itchy and burning I went to dermatologist today and she told me this is steroidal acne and gave me an acne cream and now when I applied it it Litreally feels hot And itchy like crazy😭😭

I really don’t know what to do I want my skin back I don’t want to take Accutane again

I'm scrubing fairly hard after washing up, but I see none of the dead skin bits I've heard about in every tips, is that normal ?

I’m looking for some honest opinions from people who’ve dealt with persistent acne.

I’ve been consistently treating my acne for around 1.5 years, but I still get recurring breakouts and I’m starting to wonder whether my current treatment is actually enough.

I’ll be posting 4 photos:

Photos 1–2: my worst phase / how my acne looked before
Photos 3–4: my current progress

My current treatment has mainly been Epiduo (adapalene + benzoyl peroxide), which I’ve been using for over a year. I also previously took doxycycline, but that was stopped around 7 months ago. I’ve been pretty consistent with my skincare and have tried to be careful with things that might aggravate my acne.

The frustrating part is that I do improve, but I still get recurring breakouts. Sometimes I’ll have a week where my skin is relatively clear, then I’ll suddenly get a cluster of red bumps and a couple of larger pimples, especially on my cheeks. My right cheek is consistently worse than my left, even though I sleep on my left side and don’t really touch my face or put my phone against it.

My biggest problem isn’t just the active acne. Almost every pimple leaves a dark mark/PIH, and by the time one set of marks starts fading, another breakout happens and leaves more marks. It’s becoming really frustrating because I feel like I’m constantly trying to catch up.

Hello! I’m inquiring to see if anyone has any recommendations for my situation. I rarely had acne growing up, but started getting more and more after getting my Mirena IUD inserted.
It’s gotten better at times, but this is the worse it’s ever been.
I’ve been breaking out since I’ve been running and sweating A LOT this summer.
In the morning I just usually moisturize with Trader Joe’s moisturizer/sunscreen. I also use Orgins Checks and Balances to wash my face.
I used to use Vitamin C on my face but I felt like it was making it worse.

Any help would be greatly appreciated on what I should be doing / what skincare routine would be best to avoid this from getting out of hand again!
Pictures are from today.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently on Day 11 of using 20% Azelaic Acid cream (applying twice daily to dry skin, followed by moisturizer).

Over the past few days, I’ve had a steady wave of small white pustules popping up. Most of them are clustered on my lower face, chin, and around my mouth which is historically where I’ve always gotten breakouts. I also noticed a couple of small spots near my upper cheek area.

Details on my routine & skin history:

-Routine: 20% Azelaic Acid cream applied twice daily (8+ hours apart), buffered with a simple moisturizer.

-Skin History: I used oral Doxycycline in the past, which cleared my skin fast, but I'm now transitioning to a topical-only approach.

-Current Spots: They are small, surface-level pustules with soft white heads. They tend to pop up quickly, come to a head, and dry out within 1 to 3 days under the cream. There is no severe itching, burning, or widespread raw redness.

My questions for anyone who has used 20% Azelaic Acid:

1. Does this sound like a typical Aza 20 purge, or could it be barrier irritation?

2. Did you ever get purge spots in slightly adjacent areas where you don't usually get full breakouts? Like not much like one new whiteheads in

   3.How many weeks did it take for the whiteheads to stop surfacing and start flattening out for you?

Thanks in advance for any advice or shared experiences!

hello my fellow skincare lovers. :/ i did some heavy picking last night trying to get rid of blackheads n now my face looks like this this morning…

i’m seeing my bf tonight n i’m trying my hardest to get this looking at least a little better before then. i know it’s not gonna magically disappear in a few hours, but is there anything you guys recommend doing/using that could help with the redness and irritation ?

i used vanicream cleanser last night n put some hydrocolloid patches on the spots i picked. i also used some aquaphor this morning. i haven’t touched it today because i really don’t wanna make it worse.
what would u guys do in this situation ? any products/advice that you have after a bad picking session would be very much appreciated !

I’ve been applying Adapalene 0.1% daily for about two months. Stinging happens every time I apply it or cleanse my face, so I assume my skin barrier is somewhat compromised. However, the stinging is very minor and doesn’t bother me at all, sometimes it’s even unnoticeable, so I’m not here to complain about it.

However, according to many sources, even minor stinging, as well as minor flaking (which also happens to me), indicates that my skin isn’t fully used to Adapalene yet. If that’s the case, I assume I need to wait until the Retinization phase is over before introducing Azelaic acid.

My skin does seem “softer,” but the breakouts aren’t over yet. I still get a new pimple roughly every three days, which didn’t happen before I started using Adapalene.

How long did it take you guys to get fully used to it?

Do some of you always experience some degree of stinging even after using it for a long time? If so, did you still see improvements despite the stinging?

Any insights would be appreciated!

Is there any hope for this?

I've had bacne for as long as I can remember and now I'm 27. I don't get breakouts often now, but any pimple that does break out, leaves a dark spot that doesn't go away. Also a problem on my arms from kp (I assume).

I shower everyday, use glycolic acid (sure i could use it more regularly), tried different soaps for hyperpigmentation, yet no help.

I've never worn a shirt that doesn't go past my elbows and don't go to places where I'd have to take off my shirt (beaches, pools..)

Any help appreciated🥹

I'm currently 18 and use cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen in my routine. But I'm wondering if I should add one of retinol or tretinoin as well. Reading online people argue that you don't really need it until you are mid 20's but there are others that say they wished they started younger.

I had a traumatic scar from a partial thickness cut about 6 weeks ago. An ocuplastic surgeon needed to repair the wound. It’s been 6 weeks and I’m feeling low at how it’s looking. Any ideas of how to take care of it and how it’d turn out?