i love style goes to the dermatologist

i am also going armed with phone pics of my (?)rosacea-like breakout from a few days ago.

my skin hates summer so much.

My derm-prescribed magic bullets are spirinolactone 50 mg orally bid and retin-A micro 0.04% topically qd. I have lots of experience in the problem-skin department--you name it, I've probably been on it at some point (including Tazorac, various oral antibiotics, Accutane, etc.).

Oh and getting older has been quite helpful in this arena.

i was prescribed ziana, which is 1.2% clindomycin and .025% tretinoin...has anyone tried?

what was the diagnosis?

perioral dermatitis

I've done topical clindamycin (but a different formulation, maybe. . . it was very liquidy, like in an alcohol base. Stung). And the tretinoin is a retinol and I've done lots of retinols. They can be very irritating if not used carefully, but are also wonderfully effective against not just breakouts but sun damage, fine lines, hyperpigmentation. . . if we all started on retinols and sunscreen at an early age we'd all be looking awesome as little old ladies.

hrm looking into my diagnosis i think i need to switch to an sls-free toothpaste.

Ok I know some of you suggested sls free toothpaste to me months ago but I finally bought some. The only type they had at the store I went to was toms of maine cinnamon and it makes my mouth taste like a candle. Other types to try please?

My favorite is Squigle, but I've only found it on-line. It has a mild vanilla-mint flavor, lots of xylitol (which starves mouth bacteria) and fluoride. (http://drymouthtoothpaste.com/)

actually, i checked all my facewashes, and they all have sls in them as well. including the cetaphil samples my derm gave me. pretty much the only product without sls in my bathroom is dr. bronner's!

Yeah, unfortunately it's the cheapest detergent there is, so it's in almost everything. You'll find a slightly-less-irritating version in some things (sodium laureth sulfate - SLES).

i'm so jealous you're going! going to the dermatologist has always been a fantasy of mine.

It's inevitable, I'm irritating in every form.

laurel, get out of my toothpaste girl!

Mmmpfff mmffffullg

seriously though, will switching to an sls free toothpaste really help if i'm still using an cleanser with sls?

I don't know. I switched because the problems I noticed seemed specifically related (cracks at the corners of my mouth, blisters and breakouts around the lip margin). When those immediately cleared up, I noticed secondary benefits (fewer breakouts on my chin and around my nose especially). Months later, when I made the connection to the problems I had with my scalp (blisters, breakouts, itching), I stopped using any form of it.

jaq - what facial cleanser do you use (if any?) does anyone know of a good sls free one for oily skin?

i use the tom's of maine apricot paste, which is much better (imo) than the other flavors. i like squigle a lot, but buying tom's at the store is easier than mail-ordering.

bell, try boscia. i really like their cleansers.

where do you find them?

sephora carries the line. they have a web site, too.

http://www.boscia.net/newsite/index.php

bell, I use the oil cleaning method on my face, so either a modified olive oil (usually from DHC) or a home mixture of olive, castor, and sweet almond oils. I have combination skin and it has worked well for me.

can someone please elaborate on this "cleaning your face with oil" business ? like, what sort of combination of those oils do you need? what do you do with it? why does it work? is there a recipe?

note: my skin is dry, i use a nonfoaming lotion cleanser (kiehls) and generally don't have "breakouts" so much as bumps that never go away and the classic, ill-timed Giant Zit.

I think it works because heavier (skin) oils dissolve in lighter oils. And since you aren't stripping away the normal oil, your oil glands don't rush into overtime production. When I mix it at home, I use about 1/3 of each: extra virgin olive, castor, sweet almond. Maybe a little more castor oil, which seems to be the lightest. It's probably not good for dry skin, because (weirdly) the oil is drying. To use it, you massage a decent amount into your face. If you have blackheads, you work more into those areas with your fingertips - the oil sort of draws them to the surface. I'd say I massage it in for at least 5 minutes, then I rinse it off in the shower. The DHC oil rinses off completely, but the home mixture sometimes doesn't - I'll use a bit of witch hazel after if that's the case.

btw, I tried using jojoba oil for awhile in the mix, and it's just too heavy. I think it's great as a conditioner, because it's very close to skin's natural oils, but not so great for the cleaning.

interesting! i have been ok with the current stuff i'm using, i just wonder if the oil stuff would be better. guess not, but it's good info for my friends with oily skin.

i think my skin is "purging" from the medicine ugh it sucks so much i want to hide under a rug.

Ok I got the boscia.clear complexion cleanser and just tried it...ow. It stung so much, and now my face is so red and broken out in the rash on my cheeks as well as around my mouth. This sucks. Returning it tomorrow. I don't know if I should try the mildest one or something else entirely.

My face is red and shiny and bumpy and I feel like I'm 15.

Still stinging and I am seriously about to cry

awww bell :( :( :(

have you got any lotion for after-sunburn or something that might soothe it?

No I don't...I wish I had some aloe or something. It does feel like a sunburn.

I am considering calling in sick to work tomorrow with a case of the uglies

i've never tried the clear complexion cleanser, just the purifying cleansing gel.

they make a cream cleanser that is supposed to be very gentle, as well. i really don't know what to suggest, since right now it sounds like you're irritated from both the dermatitis and the the topical treatment. la roche posay makes a nonfoaming, tissue-off gel cleanser for rosacea/very sensitive skin that might be worth a try.

i use kiehl's cleansing milk (nonfoaming, green ink on the label) and it's very gentle. really the only thing that wasn't causing me to dry out/get bumpy/red/15. dunno if it would work for you, but i looked and SLS was not in the ingredients.

aw thanks guys. i used cetaphil this morning, and it didn't seem to irritate it too much more than it is already (despite having sls). still, i feel like the phantom of the opera. it is all over the right side of my face and forehead, and it's too sensitive to wear any makeup over. hopefully it will clear up over the weekend. i'm not sure if i should keep using the ziana? i didn't put any on last night, obviously. ugh. it is so fitting that my 10 year highschool reunion is in 2 weeks and my skin is worse than it has been since highschool.

Oh Linds, I am so sorry. I HATE it when skin disasters happen. Now you know why I own almost no low-cut or strappy clothing and I STILL leave the house embarrassed some days.

I can't recommend the peroxide regimen I'm using, I think our skin is freaking out in totally different ways. Maybe you should try something really herbal and calming in the meantime, like a comfrey or calendula or aloe, etc.

i think i'm going to go to mario badescu because they have a few non-soap cleansers and some redness controlling type of creams...i really like their healing cream. i was going to start trying other products because my results with theirs haven't been as good lately, but after the disaster with the boscia (and the fact that it costs twice as much as badescu cleansers) i am spooked.

hugs! i feel your pain and have been there
in all truth, i'm quite certain that while prescriptions and products for my skin have made some minor differences, my skin is also always changing it would seem - and what really makes the biggest difference in whether i have lovely looking skin or not is much deeper than topical solutions.

which i guess is a good thing to realize, even if it is an annoying/frustrating reality. so anyway, hormonal fluctuations, exercise (or no exercise, rather), stress, certain foods (simple carbs, mostly, but also too much booze & too much coffee) for real, will have the most detrimental effects on my skin and when properly addressed, the best effects. like i really really cannot eat more than like 1 square of chocolate and only like twice a week :( bah whatever this is my body and how it works and that seems to be that. possible that i'm finally getting ok with that.

did the clyndamycin topical stop working for you? that is the only one i'm using these days, at night, plus maybe once a week i use metronidazole if needed.

my skin became angry last week b/c a) i was using the aveda salicylic acid toner pads too often - i think just once every three days is prob good for me, and b) a friend of mine brought over picnic lunch stuff including a hueg chocolate bar last tuesday which obv i did not have to eat but yknow... agh, breakouts took a full week to resolve

the clyndamycin works well for my forehead, which is my former fav breakout zone, but not for the dermatitis stuff.

i have been trying to be really good about diet this week - i haven't had any alcohol since last thursday, have been eating lots of fruits and veggies with every meal, tons of water and nothing fried. plus taking a multivitamin. i was having serious stomach & energy issues after two weeks of extreme excess. my stomach has pretty much gone back to normal but the skin and my energy levels are still shitty.

My skin is looking much better today. Yesterday I got a chamomile toner that is just chamomile extract and deionized water, plus a moisturizer with balsam peru, and a couple of face wash samples...the best seems to be the cleansing milk w rice oil. All from mario badescu. The redness and stinging has gone down a lot and the bumps seems to be starting to heal, finally.

yaay!

Ariel swears by rosewater for all irritation and break-outs, but then I don't think she has problem skin per se (although she's v good at addressing other internal body issues through diet & lifestyle change).

For instance I'm at her house now and I had to use soymilk in my coffee this morning. It tasted okay, on the whole, but made each sip smell slightly like grass, which I'd rather do without.

guys, can you go to a dermatologist just for kind of shitty looking skin rather than an actual medical problem?

I am very afraid that the non-medical answer to "kind of shitty looking skin" is things like drinking water, getting enough sleep, some exercise, and using an exfoliant now and then. I know, I know -- good health is so tedious. Also, I am sunburned and hungover today and only got about 4 hours' sleep.

yeah, you totally can. that's why i went, and i assume that's why the majority of people go (although in my case it did turn out to be a mild medical problem).

im guessing lack of sleep is the majority of my problem since my skin has gone south since the kid has been around. i dont see the situation changing for a few years yet so maybe some kind of treatment can be done. im clueless about this stuff.

other sulfate-free shampoos (in addition to deva curl)
by Y-Y