My skin is broken out every day and I don’t know what to do. I’m fifty-three.
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Hi Anonymous2,
You've made some crucial points about intimacy in your post : You call him your "lover" ( truly an intimate term), and yet you say, that he will "not consider getting to know me better" as a possible lifelong partner du
Hi Chris,
Only cosmetic surgery can erase bad wrinkles.
Creams that can improve wrinkles are Vitamin D based- containing Retinol and the stronger the Retinol ingredient the more effective it usually is. Chelleon do a range of retinoidal face cream
Hi Tony, Is this something that just started? Is it tied in with menopause symptoms. I would suggest a good skin care professional. There are so many good products that are gentle and help prevent breakouts, plus will help out with the anti aging as well. Might cost a bit of money initially, but the pay off will be your best face forward.
There is Pro-Active and other similar products. Could be hormone related, check out health food store for assistance, dermatologist, or a good retail store with a decent array of products for “aging skin”.
I had to change my skin-care post-menopausal issues. You may have to also.
I thought I was breaking out too and using Proactive and related products. I had a facial over the weekend and the person said I did not have oily skin but rather I was hurting my skin with the products I was using. I am going to go to a dermatologist to confirm this.
After telling my friends that my skin has never looked so good it started breaking out. What worked for me was cleaning it with a water and a soft cloth. I wiped my face down with vinegar and put epsom salt dissovled in water on the blemishes. They were gone over night. I’m very carefully adding back the things I usually use.
Welcome to the wonderful world of menopause! Chances are good that these are hormonal changes – pretty similar to what you experienced many moons ago! True acne is a skin disorder that is best treated by a dermatologist. You would know you have it. It’s characterized by deep cystic pimples that appear all over your face, oily skin, etc. You can go on both oral and topical meds for it.
However most women our age are NOT experiencing that sort of acne. It is simply a hormonal change that can be addressed with some changes in routine. Personally my skin was too sensitive for ProActive products. Skin over fifty is thinner and does not recover the way teenaged skin does. That means NO SCRUBS or rough treatment.
I also had rosacea – which LOOKS like acne sometimes with its characteristic redness and bumps but after trying the Metro products and topical and oral antibiotics, I didn’t want to continue because of both the side effects and the expense.
SO, I spent a long time doing my own research and found less is really more. I found out that pH is really important (look for a pH of 4.5-5.5 to match skin – except when exfoliating) and that when using a product with antioxidants, look for something that is anhydrous – made without water. In fact, look for all products to be made without water!
As far as breakouts go, AHAs and BHAs are your best friends although I like, prefer and use glycolic acid. In lower strengths. You can get a peel at a salon in a high strength but personally, I’d start at 10% for about two years. That’s more than enough to clean out your pores, control the breakouts and make your skin look great.
Again, the pH needs to be right (lower, in this case) for exfoliation to happen.
So now it’s time to name names! Personally (again, everybody has their own preferences so these are just MY favorites) I like a simple routine. For cleansers, my favorites are Neutrogena Foaming Facial Cleanser (blue bottle with pump – it is the only Neutrogena cleanser I like and it runs about $8); Farmaesthetics Herbal Cleanser (except for the glass bottle! It runs about $35 for 8 oz); and I cannot tell a lie – my own – therapy cleanser (16 oz, $34, comes with a high quality microfiber washcloth that removes everything;).
Toners favorites are Paula’s Choice BHA (varying strengths and prices); my own therapy toner with dmae, msm and tea tree oil. And finally the only two glycolic products that I could ever find that I like are from Naturopathica Purifying Peel (2 oz at $65) and my own 10% Glycolic Peel (16 oz at $64 – I know, I love saying that, I can’t help it! More is better. And the quality is just fantastic!)
Of course when you use ANY glycolic product, you MUST develop good sun habits – stay out of direct sunlight, wear a brimmed hat – you probably know the rest. Unfortunately many sunscreen products also cause breakouts but that’s another problems for another time. Test them carefully. I use a zinc-oxide based product myself. Check out the http://www.coolibar.com site for great sun protection options.
Also a great place to source products is at a Whole Foods store if you live near one. They have very high standards for skincare products that all of their vendors must comply with so anything that they care is first rate.
This is in no way meant to be a commercial. I had the same problems that you have and that’s why I looked for my own solutions so I hope you can recognize my desire to help other women regardless of what you use. I KNOW that you will see results with simply cleansing and the addition of a low strength glycolic product twice each week. It takes only two or three minutes to apply a glycolic gel masque and remove it. Then, that’s it! No scrubbing needed! Your skin will peel, but not harshly and those blemishes WILL disappear. Most adult blemishes take about ten days coming and going but glycolic acid can speed that process up a bit.
I hope this helps you and other women who suffer – and, boy, it is suffering, isn’t it?! – from this problem!
I followed your dotcom link and plan to learn a lot about what I probably should be doing that may help that glow return! My skin did change in tone and dryness around 55 but I didn’t change much about my nightly regiment. (resistance to change is my inner motto in life!) Neutrogena Facial Foam looks like a good starting point. Thanks for such a wonderfully detailed guide on your site
Hi Lilly – I encourage you to try the best clinical skin care for all skin types and problems, created by the doctors who invented Proactiv. The lines are anti-aging, unblemish, smooth and reverse.. all of the regimens are fab and there is a call-in nurse line for specific questions. Start with the “solution tool”.
Great products!
Best wishes!
Nikki
Hi Toni!
I too have had occasional breakouts (including after a wonderful facial). Check out the Proactiv dermatologists acne cure for adults – UNBLEMISH. Wow – isn’t it fun being over 50?!
Best wishes!
Nikki
Hi Toni, & Everyone else I’m 57 still get them sometimes. I only use organic soap , shampoo and cream rinse.
A DR told me to only use DOVE but the Organic soap is wonderful
I just turned 60 and have been getting those nasty little pimples across my nose area and chin. They are very tiny, not like Acne, but still you can see them and once they heal my skin is very dry and peeling. They started about 6 months ago. I even went with makeup for a few weeks to see if that would help and it did not. It is very aggrevating. Menopause is a bummer!
I’ve been wondering if the bumps are keritosis and looked it up. If they are then it’s a lack of moisture in the skin that is causing it.
Placidplaid: That is a different condition where skin cells plug the hair follicle and is usually found on the backs of the arms or thighs and usually called “chicken skin.” it responds well to alpha hydroxy creme but NOT to extra scrubbing! Your never going to “scrub away” the plugs! Use an AHA on DRY skin. It takes a long time to get rid of and requires persistence. Expect to be applying creme for at least eight weeks-if not longer. And you’ll need to keep it up. But it eventually works.
“Chicken skin” can also be Poikiloderma of Civatte. Most of us older gals have it. It’s NOT melasma. It’s a discoloration of the skin, usually on both sides of the neck and in the decolletage. The skn is s omewhat thin appearing, finely wrinkled, reddish brown patches on the neck, upper chest, and sides of the face of the middle-aged and elderly. The areas shaded from the sun, such as the neck immediately beneath the chin, are classically spared from the discoloration. Sometimes there is itching. It’s benign.Effective treatment of poikiloderma of Civatte is difficult. The ideal treatment combines elimination of both the blood vessel component as well as the brown pigmentation simultaneously
BTW, I had used Neutrogena Facial foam for years and now two days without it my skin is doing better with the moisturizing cleanser and anti redness serum that I purchase from the person who gave me my facial last week. Even those bumps on the sides of my neck and along my hairline are being reduced.
I will turn 53 in 6 weeks and still break out.
May I also assume that your skin is still quite oily and shows no or very few wrinkles? If so…
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!
1) Your skin doesn’t look like beat-up luggage now, and probably never will.
2) You’ll never need to pay an arm and a leg for “moisturizer.” Please trust me on this, no matter how “oil free” and “non-comedogenic” a product says it is, ANY kind of moisturizer is PIZZA-FACE DEATH to skin like yours and mine.
3) You CAN — and SHOULD — go out in the sun 15-30 minutes per day without sunscreen. This is EXACTLY the same treatment a dermatologist provides for “routine breakouts” in only 2-3 minutes via a U.V. lamp.
4) Try an OTC salicylic acid treatment applied ONLY on the pimples themselves. In my experience, and from what I hear from other women in our age group, it is much more effective for TARGETED SPOT TREATMENT than the iconic benzoyl peroxide, with no need to spread it around your whole face and then skulk around hiding the peel for a week (yuck!)
Still with those few “zits in my wrinkles” (lol!) — Spike