Advice on skin care!

[meadowbird]

I'm looking for some advice on skin care.. I've been using the Alba Botanica sea minerals range but the moisturiser just doesn't absorb, when I wake up in the morning and wash my face it's like I'm washing it all off. Plus the cleansing milk makes my face feel strange, and when some of gets on my lips they go numb and tingly! It's winter here in Oz and my skin has become SO dry I'm struggling to keep up with it.

I have the Vit C serum, which I felt may be making my skin drier. It's great for healing blemishes but not really what I need right now. I have a sample of Super Serum which I have used once. My skin did go very slightly pink and blotchy after applying it (maybe it reacted with the cleanser and toner?) and a little warm but after about 20 mins my face actually looked noticably brighter and kind of invigorated, and the tone was more even too.

I've had a lot of trouble with oily t-zone in the last 2 years but I've actually found in the last 4 months that laying off the oil control and using products meant for hydration have actually made my skin far LESS oily to the point where I would now say I have normal skin, except for the added winter dryness! I also get the occasional mild hormonal breakout.

I was going to try samples of the microdermabraision gel and cream ( I use AHA but I want to try something different).

I like my skin to feel very clean before using toners, serums and moisturisers. What would be a good regime to try for now while my skin is so dry and what products would be good for when my skin is back to normal after winter? I would like to keep it simple, too. Cleanser, serum, moisturise for example.

Thanks so much for any help and advice!

[JenK]

I would give the Kiss Cleanser and the Oatmeal Serum (I find this to be SN's most hydrating Serum) a try. You may or may not need a moisturizer. I find even in the winter my normal to dry skin does better w/o one...my skin breaks out easily. I do use CeraVe AM w/ SPF daily, so that does help (I also add Super Serum to my CeraVE and mix in my palm. It can be too strong for me alone). Once I found a cleanser I could use ( Kiss Cleanser, my review is under JenniferD) my skin balance fell into place.

I tried samples of the microderm gel and cream. I find the AHA toner way more hydrating and it makes my skin more soft. I really like the AHA toner can you tell??? For me it does wonders. The gel and cream were just a manual exfoliant like a gentle wash cloth.

Have you tried the lavender toner? AWESOME!!

Good luck and have fun placing your order.

[frckls]

Double-cleansing is the best. I used to be so lazy and somehow managed to get a way just with a facial wash. But now I'm more concerned about the skin and double-cleanse with cleansing oil first, facial wash second. I don't use any particular toner now, but I used to like Apple Cider VInegar (but HATE the smell. Do you think you can smell someone who's been using ACV on her face?).
I have oily skin, acne-prone at the moment. The best combination of serums that works on me: Super Serum, VitC-Peptide, and Oatmeal.

[landmouse]

/threadjack

• I just had to pop in to tell you, meadowbird, your avatar is awesome; you have gorgeous eyes!

/end_threadjack

[meadowbird]

Thank you for the compliment landmouse!

Thanks for the advice girls! I used to oil cleanse first to remove my makeup but found I had to use a harsher cleanser than I like to remove the residue, otherwise my pores clog up. I have been cleansing twice with a gentle cleanser though (should have realised - I do this with my hair with great success) and I've really noticed a difference.

Found a HG product - Super Serum! Can't believe I waited so long to try it. Been mixing a drop with my moisturiser for the past week and the results have been amazing.
Based on this advice I think I'm going to go for KISS cleanser, Lavender Toner, Oatmeal Serum and of course the SS.

Might giver the microderms a miss for now. I'm finding using the aha and/or bha once a week to be sufficient for me now.

Thanks so much for the help!