skin stuff (***triteness alert***)

[arguchik]

huh. so i'm in michigan, right, and because i didn't check my baggage for the flight out here, i packed light. i whittled my toiletries down into <3 oz. containers and stuffed them into a 1-quart ziploc bag. unfortunately, when i got here i realized that i had forgotten my acne stuff--a gel i put on at night, which is supposed to keep my pores clear (active ingredient: salicylic acid). well, the thought of going without it for 10 days--actually the thought of how fucked up my skin would be at the end of that 10 days--was not appealing, but neither was the thought of spending the cash for a new tube. i decided to go to the supermarket and get something generic. i found some gel with the same active ingredient; and i also decided to buy some cleanser with 10% benzoyl peroxide.

wow. my skin is smoother and clearer than it's been in years. i was worried that using the two products in combination would dry my skin out (it's formulated for teenagers, after all; not 40-year-old women), but my schmancy oil-free moisturizer seems to be counteracting that problem just fine.

i guess combination treatments really are best for acne--even adult acne. i'm still not buying into that proactiv solution informercial crap, though.

/triteness

Comments

[glaucon.livejournal.com]

i'm still not buying into that proactiv solution informercial crap, though.

fwiw, elsner did buy some of that and he says it's amazingly great.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

yeah, i just don't want to sign up for something that comes once a month, relentlessly, whether i need it or not. i've heard it's really difficult to get out of their subscription deal, once you've signed up for it. i prefer to be fully in charge of when and where i buy things.

[xtingu]

I read that benzoyl peroxide isn't so swell for adult skin, and that adults are supposed to go with salicylic acid formulations. Alas, you're now the third adult who is singing the praises of BP (which is also the active ingredient in Proactiv, though I thiiiink Proactiv is only 2.5%, not 10%.)

Either way, I think I'm gonna try BP. Do you find it bleaches your pillowcases? It bleached the crap out of mine.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

Do you find it bleaches your pillowcases? It bleached the crap out of mine.

no, not so far. probably because i'm using a wash instead of an ointment, so you rinse it off rather than leaving it on your face. i think the BP in the proactiv system is in the lotion-y stuff (they call it "skin perfecting lotion" or something like that). right now i'm using the 10% BP wash once per day.

I read that benzoyl peroxide isn't so swell for adult skin, and that adults are supposed to go with salicylic acid formulations.

i've never heard that before. do you remember what problem(s) it's supposed to cause? salicylic acid by itself does OK for me, but there are some areas where it doesn't touch my skin's congestion and BP does. i'm finding it highly effective to use both, and i would be sad if i had to go back to just SA, or if i had to go to the doc for a more effective prescription product. i had a retin-A prescription for awhile and it was way too rough on my skin. i also HATED the sticky-nasty ointment they used as a carrier. i've heard that you can go to a compounding pharmacy and get the active ingredient added to almost any lotion you want, but my prescription plan only works if i use the dispensary at the student health center on campus--i paid $5 per tube there for the retin-A, and it would have cost $35 at another pharmacy.