I need a new skin care routine. Any recommendations? (Mild acne on forehead & large pores on cheeks.)

[MISSxGLAM]

As I mentioned in the title, I have been getting some very mild acne on my forehead.  I never had acne, and now that I'm almost 20 years old, it decides to happen...?  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I also have large pores on my cheeks.  It's very strange... like my skin has completely changed.  My skin type is actually normal.. not dry or oily, but leaning more towards the oily side if I had to specify.  Does anyone have any recommendations to clear up some mild acne and minimize pores?  What do you use?

 

[StakeEdward]

Try using a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide solution. Neutrogena is the only brand I know that makes it in such a low concentration - 10% benzoyl peroxide only makes most people's skin angrier! Use a decent-sized amount across any area where you break out. Don't just spot-treat...apply over the entire area just like a moisturizer. After that, apply your moisturizer, and do this both in the morning & at night. This has worked very well for my moderate acne, which has gone down to mild in the past 5-6 months (but I started seeing significant results within a month or two). This is actually a treatment I always advocate that comes from acne.org. It was a godsend. I'd thought about asking a derm for prescription meds before I discovered that site.

Now, is there anything you're doing differently with your skin now than what you were doing before? Different moisturizer, cleanser, foundation, etc.? If not, then this EXACT same thing happened to me when I graduated high school 4 years ago. My skin was fine (VERY mild acne problems), then as I reached graduation I started breaking out more and more unitl I ended up with moderate acne for the past few years of college. It was horrible and left me with a lot of scarring. If I'd known about the 2.5% benzoyl peroxide (as opposed to 10%) treatment earlier, I probably would have saved myself a lot of grief.

Benzoyl peroxide is really the only thing that's worked for me. Tea tree oil and salycic acid didn't do anything for me, except the latter making my skin even more irritated.

As for the large pores, the benzoyl peroxide should take care of some of that, but not all. Looking forward to seeing what others have to say about getting rid of large pores, as the ones on my cheeks are pretty big

 

[Dragonfly]

BHA will helps with the large pores. It's a chemical exfoliant. I think BHA and benzoil peroxide work well together. I only know of Paula Begoun's line to order it: cosmeticscop.com

Check out Neutrogena as they may have BHA products too.

 

[NeutraKris]

Salicylic Acid is not as harsh as Benzoyl Peroxide. Neutrogena has a "Healthy Skin" foundation that contains Salicylic Acid. I recommended it to a friend who has adult acne and she says it has really helped! For the enlarged pores, using a good primer will reduce the appearance. Benefit has a product called "Pore-fessional" that has great reviews. It's supposed to minimize pores and acne scarring. 

Also, making sure to keep clean pillowcases, avoid touching your face and cleansing twice a day are all great ways to cut back on acne breakouts. 

 

[StakeEdward]

Ah, for me, salycic acid was much harsher and burned my face. 10% benzoyl peroxide is pretty harsh, though, and I def. wouldn't recommend it (I think that burned my face too the last time I tried to use it, which was probably 5 years ago). But it also depends on one's skin type /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Mine really likes the 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, but I have heard success stories with salycic acid as well. It just didn't work for me.

 

[magosienne]

I would also recommend salicylic acid, it did help my skin when i was younger.