Silk Naturals

In general I have oily skin, but Retin-A makes me a little dry. In the morning I wash with Kiss Cleanser I use the Green Tea and Aloe Serum, followed by Hemp Moisturizer, and that at least makes my skin feel comfortable until the oil kickes in 2 hours later. I'm wondering if I should switch moisturizers to something slightly heavier (Jojoba?) or to something else entirely since I feel like I need a little more moisture. At the same time, I'm still debating whether or not the Hemp Moisturizer is breaking me out. I have inflammatory acne on my cheeks , but the small bumps I've developed on my forehead are something new.

Maybe you can try a new serum? Have you tried the Vitamin C and Peptide serum? I have oily skin but since using this serum, my face is normal And it has really helped control breakouts. I tried the Green Tea and Aloe serum before but I seemed to make my skin oilier.

I'd recommend looking for advice from JenW or Karen because using Retin-A is a bit more serious than deal with simple changes to re-balance the skin's sebum production. GT&A and Hemp are good basics which add lots of the hydration (skin cell waters from serum) and moisture (oils to seal this in and protect the lipid barrier from the moisturiser). Often times, unbalanced skin just needs those two elements balanced. However, the Retin-A might be causing problems. I've no experience with it, so I don't know. One thing I would offer as advice is that when skin is unbalanced, dealing with balancing sensitivities is more important than any cosmetic effect like anti-ageing. The GT&A and Hemp (or Jojoba) are good for this purpose. Adding a more complicated serum *might* only cause more complicated symptoms at this stage (therefore best to ask the experts here!).

A simple thing you can do is to make sure that you're using a toner every time you put water on your face to ensure that the pH of the skin is returned to normal (not an acid toner, but a pH balancing 'ordinary' one). Not balancing the pH is a very common cause of dehydration which in turn is a very common cause of over-production of skin sebum (oil) because the skin goes into overdrive producing oil trying to trap in the precious skin cells waters that's already there and not loose any more. Better to find the cause than treat the symptoms which can be misleading.

My best advice is to try keeping the skin very hydrated, as the skin will tend to produce more oil to hold on to the water it has. I think you need more hydration, or at least a better way to hold onto the hydration you are adding. A heavier moisturizer is going to add more oil, essentially, and I am not sure that is the best thing to address the problem, unless the heavier moisturizer will do a better job in holding onto the water. It really is a situation where you have to try things until you find what works for you as everyone's skin is different. The most hydrating serum we have is Oatmeal. A balancing toner is also a good idea....Pore Refining Toner might help with that as well as adding even a little more hydration. The Jojoba moisturizer is probably worth a sample. Also, I recommend keeping ingredients very simple in combination with products like Retin A, but you could try the Vitamin C Serum....just be extremely cautious in testing, and stick with changing one thing at a time.

JenW,

That's a good point. I might just try a more moisturizing serum, like oatmeal and not oil. I've also gotten less dry by adding more water to my kiss cleanser. I'm very curious about the Vitamin C as well, but I may have to wait till the winter is over to try that one.