Face washes/lotions

You could also crush 5+ aspirins in a bit of water, honey, a citrus juice or witch hazel to make a paste. Apply to your clean face and leave on for 20minutes. This is for oily, or acne prone skin only...works wonders and is very cheap! It's one of the main ingredients in Proactiv, apparently.Then any nice face soap will do .. ;) Use a moisturizer and be make sure you wear a sunscreen.

Colgate Total is something our son swears by if you have a break-out. It HAS to be Colgate, as this is the ONLY toothpaste that contains Triclosan, an antibacterial agent (the big reason I only use Colgate ;-)...anyway, be very careful with this one: apply a VERY small amount of the toothpaste onto your breakout in the evening, and leave it on. Do NOT put it on any of the surrounding skin. Wash as you normally do in the morning, then repeat at night....but only directly on the pimple, not on surrounding skin. HTH!!

all the dept store brands are mostly hype. clinique is just garbage, there is nothing about it that justifies the pricing. same with the other dept store brands.

keep in mind that most of these companies are owned by 2-3 major companies, so the stuff is very similar whether you pay $50 or $8 for some cleanser. if you can look past the packaging and marketing, you'll do well.

cetaphil is so often recomended, it is worth a try.
honestly, i used clean and clear a few times, the cleanser with the purple pump is what i used, and i really liked it. it cleansed nicely, but didn't leave my skin feeling dry or tight.

for the past 4 yrs or so i've been using Paula's choice. it's mail order, but really well priced, and very good quality. since i started using it, i haven't even bothered looking at any other products on the shelves when shopping.

good luck, i know it's a pain in the butt finding good products.

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Originally Posted by Lynn49

You could also crush 5+ aspirins in a bit of water, honey, a citrus juice or witch hazel to make a paste. Apply to your clean face and leave on for 20minutes. This is for oily, or acne prone skin only...works wonders and is very cheap! It's one of the main ingredients in Proactiv, apparently.Then any nice face soap will do .. ;) Use a moisturizer and be make sure you wear a sunscreen.

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the aspirin will calm irritated skin but that's about it.

proactive uses glycolic acid, not salicylic acid.

salicylic acid is derived from aspirin, but they are not the same thing. they act differently.

salycilic acid is an exfoliant, it unclogs pores, dissolves the oil clogging the pores. aspirin won't do that.

the exfoliant in proactive is glycolic, which is what most of the neostrata line has.

salycilic acid is in the neutragena acne line. i find salycilic acid awesome for acne.

man, that sounds confusing!

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Originally Posted by anisa

all the dept store brands are mostly hype. clinique is just garbage, there is nothing about it that justifies the pricing. same with the other dept store brands.

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Well, let's not generalize now. ;)

I like trying different products all the time. I can suggest stuff, but it all depends on the OP's skin type, everyone reacts differently. Aveeno has been good to me, cetaphil as well.

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Originally Posted by anisa

all the dept store brands are mostly hype. clinique is just garbage, there is nothing about it that justifies the pricing. same with the other dept store brands.

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I still swear by Clinique.

2 summers ago, I was suffering with some major breakouts.. had been using Aveeno for years and it wasn't working.. tried others including cetaphil and they did NOTHING for my skin. I then gave Clinique a try and it was worked WONDERS for my skin. I've been using it since about Oct 2008 and rarely get a blemish now.

Despite other's opinions, I still absolutely LOVE Clinique. I'm VERY FRUGAL and it's one thing that is worth the extra $ for me.

I use spectro gel for cleanser, and cetaphil for moisturiser.... both work well for my rosacea and eczema!

I love the Olay cleansers and moisturizers, I have sensitive skin and Olay has been great!

the thing is that the dept store stuff might be ok, but it's not actually worth what we pay for it.
very similar items are in the drug store. of course it's hit and miss sometimes, but once you really get a good idea of what types of products are good or bad for your specific situation, you can find really good products in the drug store, that cost much less than dept store items.

in that respect, yes i think the dept store items are not worth looking at.

estee lauder owns clinique and a bunch of other cosmetics companies.
loreal owns lancome, biotherm and a bunch of other companies.


i'm really picky about products, i have acne prone skin, it's been that way for 26 yrs (!!!)
i have tried everything, but in the end i'm using a product that is fairly priced and comes in plain jane packaging, and is the most awesome stuff i've ever used.

we're suckers for pretty bottles, yummy smells, and glamorous marketing, and these companies know it.

revolt! :)

Thanks sooo much everyone!! I'm heading to town tomorrow and going to take a look around. I'm thinking on trying cetaphil. Thanks again!!

i've been using Mario Badescu, Enzyme cleansing gel and the special cucumber lotion (toner) after wards LOVEE it, i ordered my next batch, it lasts a really long time. The only thing that did some justice to my skin. Never over dries my skin, but doesnt leave it feeling oily either (i have combination skin). Worth a try!

Actually....Proactiv does contain salacylic acid

http://www.proactiv.co.uk/how+proactiv+works.aspx

Proactiv® Solution is a combination system - it combines ingredients in a system that works together to manage breakouts. Proactiv® Solution combines Salicylic Acid, Sulphur and our special formulation to get to the source of the problem. These ingredients gently exfoliate your skin and unplug your pores.



http://www.acne.com/#/treatments/tre...alicylic-acid/
In fact, it can be found as the active ingredient of gentle formulations of popular acne medications, like Proactiv® , to provide an alternative for those with sensitive skin or sensitivities to benzoyl peroxide.