skin care?

Stinger86 · 2019-01-01T17:27:42+00:00

Here is my routine. I'm 32 and people routinely tell me I look like I'm in my mid twenties. I was born with all sorts of dumbass skin conditions (keratosis pilaris, rosacea, eczema, blepharitis), so I had to sort all of this out kind of on my own through experimentation. For reference, I'm a white guy, so your mileage may vary.

Cetaphil cleanser pretty much every day, either when I wake up or in the shower. Just get the one designed for body cleansing because it lacks fragrance. The fragrance chemicals can irritate your skin a little, but normal scentless Cetaphil is gold. I don't even use normal soap anymore except to wash my hands. Wash your face & body with it. Get the big bottle. Equate makes the same thing for less money. Go for it if you want, I don't think there's much difference but I know Cetaphil works so I stick to it.
Head and Shoulders Classic Clean - I wash my hair with this every day or every other day. Keeps the eczema flakes away and also reduces oil (sebum, which acne thrives on). It's because of the active ingredient, Pyrithione Zinc. Shit is baller. I also wash my face with it in the shower while I brush my teeth. You can put it lightly anywhere you might get eczema (sides of nose, mustache area, eyebrows etc). Rinse off after leaving it on 5 minutes. If you just lather up and rinse off the shampoo it won't do shit, you gotta let it sit for 5 minutes or so. Make sure you get classic clean & do not get the 2-in-1 conditioner + shampoo. Not the same thing.
If you have a naturally oily face, keep your face clean shaven. Oil clings to hair, which promotes zits and eczema. I can rock a pretty dope beard but it facilitates eczema and oil on my face so I pretty much never do.
Drink a lot of water. Your skin needs it for repair.
Get adequate sleep. 7-9 hours. Many Americans get 6.5 which is not optimal according to sleep scientists. Sleep aids in tissue repair, among many other things.
Avoid the sun, especially if you are fair complected. Ez way to avoid wrinkles. If you must be in the sun and you're fair, wear sunblock. Caveat: you might want to supplement with Vitamin D since sunlight is necessary for its natural production in the body.
If your skin is very oily or you are zit-prone, take a Vitamin A supplement, but don't overdo it because too much Vitamin A is toxic for your liver. Can't recall the IU off the top of my head, just do some research and be careful with this. Accutane (RX acne medication) is basically highly concentrated Vitamin A.
If you get bumps on your ass, make sure you are drying off better after getting out the shower. If the problem is mild, use baby powder (talc). If it's bad, use a diaper rash cream. Yeah it's marketed for babies, but it solves the same problem in adult skin. This problem will also rear its head if you sweat a lot, either due to environment or activity.
For yeast infection or itchiness in the groin or between the thighs, use Lotrimin. I like the powder spray for if it gets bad and then the powder for maintenance. Don't like the cream.
If you have blepharitis (eye crusts that build up around your eyelids), get the water as hot as you can stand in the shower and hold each eye underneath the stream for about 30 seconds. You can keep your eye closed, the important thing is to get your lids heated by the water so the oil & crusts there loosen up and go away. The dermatologists will advise you to use warm compresses, but this is far less effective than just holding your eye under the water because the compresses go from hot to lukewarm in a matter of a minute or so, and the stream of water is far better at getting rid of the crusts.

And I think that's pretty much it. I wish I could go back in time and tell my college-aged self all this because I struggled with my skin when I was younger and had to learn everything through trial and error. Imagine a dude walking around with a chronically flaking scalp, red eczema crusts all over his face, a swollen eyelid from blepheratis, and the occasional zit. Terrible. My skin is in 10x better shape now.

Dermatologists can be helpful with some issues, but they often will just give you a pill or a cream and won't give you any helpful lifestyle advice as far as preventing the issues from cropping up. The most important TLDR shit is - Cetaphil & Head and Shoulders on face and scalp. This combo gets rid of a lot of various conditions that thrive on sebum and generally makes your face look great.

Good luck.

__uwotm8__ · 2019-01-01T16:11:10+00:00

Cleanser at morning and night
Moisturizer at morning and night (after cleanser). Ideally with some sun protection
Exfoliator at night or every other night (between cleanser and moisturizer)
Change towels and bedsheets twice a week (have a towel just for your face)
Drink lots of water (3L+ a day)
Eat clean (avoid sugary and fatty foods)
Avoid the sun
Avoid drugs, cigarettes and alcohol

That’s basically 99% of what you can do. If your skin is still shit after 2 months of this routine, you need to see a doctor.

Dahirthenig · 2019-01-01T15:59:38+00:00

Water Water Water.

RedSkeller · 2019-01-01T18:16:23+00:00

First off, buying anything from a drug store is just a company making you their bitch - unless the product has minimal natural ingredients. Check out Whole Foods or Target. Everyman Jack is a good brand for guys, Acure is also worth checking out. Most popular brands have stuff that dries your skin out, or preservatives that have all sorts of effects. It's a money making loop for them. Coconut oil, jojaba oil, and minimalistic soap will do all the work.

thatbadlarry · 2019-01-01T18:19:01+00:00

Wash your face with a cleanser morning and night. Moisturizer with SPF (sunscreen) in the morning after you wash your face. You can use moisturizer (without sunscreen) at night too if your skin is dry. Use a face scrub once a week (gently! You’re not trying to take off paint here). I really like Cerave and Cetaphil brands. You can do more than this but this is a basic skincare routine that will be enough for most.

SalporinRP · 2019-01-01T23:13:18+00:00

Simply cutting dairy almost completely out of my diet and drinking lots of water basically eliminated my acne problems

Title	skin care?
Author	rad_dynamic
Upvotes	12
Comments	20
Date	January 1, 2019 3:50 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/abj4ct/skin_care/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/skin-care.72197 https://theredarchive.com/post/72197