Skincare advice for mild acne, dry teenage skin?

[meheeeen]

I'm going on 19 right now and although my breakouts are quite small (tiny little whiteheads, some blackheads and clogged pores) they happen pretty often. My skin is mostly dry but gets a tiny bit oily around my nose later in the day. (this is really easily controlled though.)

Right now all I do is cleanse and moisturize, and I use Clinique products from the 3-step line (minus the toner.) I really would like to switch to something a little more eco-friendly, but every time I switch cleansers I seem to really break out. I think the Clinique cleanser I use (mild liquid facial soap) dries my skin out and that stops most of the pimples.

Both of my parents have pretty large pores and still get occasional acne at age 50 and 57. I have big pores on my cheeks as well. I mainly break out around my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. I get the most blackheads around my nose.

I was thinking of trying the Kiss cleanser with the BHA toner to unclog my pores, the pore refining toner, and maybe the jojoba moisturizer. Any serums I should add? I'm young but I was also looking at Holy Crow, I have a lot of little fine lines around my eyes from never sleeping.

[JenW]

I was thinking of trying the Kiss cleanser with the BHA toner to unclog my pores, the pore refining toner, and maybe the jojoba moisturizer. Any serums I should add? I'm young but I was also looking at Holy Crow, I have a lot of little fine lines around my eyes from never sleeping.

This is great place to start...the only other thing I would recommend is Green Tea & Aloe Serum. Remember to start adding one or two products at a time. It is easier to trace a reative product if you have an idea of which things were new.

[meheeeen]

I started out with the Aloe Serum and and BHA toner; right now I wash my face with my cleanser, apply the BHA on a little cotton pad and then do the aloe serum, then moisturize.
I think my skin has started purging, I'm noticing some little breakouts starting to come to the surface. How long does the purging process last? How often should I be applying BHA?

by the way, I can tell how much good the aloe serum is doing; my skin feels sooooooo smooth!

[JenW]

BHA at least every other day....and maybe even work up to every day if it is not seeming like enough.

As for purging......at least a couple of weeks....and hope it is not that long!

[meheeeen]

My pores DEFINITELY seems smaller but I've been breaking out a lot from purging, and also a ridiculously stressful week. I'm excited to see how much better my skin will look after this process is done!

[kinjali22]

meheeen, I really like the Vitamin C and Peptide serum for controlling acne.... I actually don't get any acne if I use this serum. This serum has controlled my oily skin too, so I'm not sure how it would do on dry skin. But if are still looking for a serum, give this one a try

[Colleen]

I second the vitamin c peptide serum.

[Xarata]

I'm going on 19 right now and although my breakouts are quite small (tiny little whiteheads, some blackheads and clogged pores) they happen pretty often. My skin is mostly dry but gets a tiny bit oily around my nose later in the day. (this is really easily controlled though.)

Right now all I do is cleanse and moisturize, and I use Clinique products from the 3-step line (minus the toner.) I really would like to switch to something a little more eco-friendly, but every time I switch cleansers I seem to really break out. I think the Clinique cleanser I use (mild liquid facial soap) dries my skin out and that stops most of the pimples.

Both of my parents have pretty large pores and still get occasional acne at age 50 and 57. I have big pores on my cheeks as well. I mainly break out around my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. I get the most blackheads around my nose.

I was thinking of trying the Kiss cleanser with the BHA toner to unclog my pores, the pore refining toner, and maybe the jojoba moisturizer. Any serums I should add? I'm young but I was also looking at Holy Crow, I have a lot of little fine lines around my eyes from never sleeping.

Your skin sounds kind of like mine, I'm 24 and I break out once a month like clockwork. If I go too "all in" with skincare, it tends to really harsh my skin in some way causing either dryness or breakout. With the combination of oily/dry I use a mix of SN, aloe, and argan oil. I love KISS cleanser because it cleans well and is fairly gentle though it can be a little drying (as long as you moisturize it shouldn't be a problem) Toner-wise, i need something more gentle than BHA- the pore refining toner is great. I use argan oil for a moisturizer, but i also like the hemp moisturizer from SN. serum wise, i like the rose serum because it's gentle while adding moisture. The Super Serum does amazing things for acne and skintone, but if your skin is sensitive, you'll need to dillute it and make sure not to mix it with the BHA if you do incorporate that into your routine.

Personally, i don't really believe in purging- i'm very minimal with what is done to my skin so if something makes it "purge", i feel that it's not for me. I'd rather take the gentle approach and avoid the purge. Of course that's just an opinion...