hi there,

i'm 26 and have always had awkward skin which is starting to pee me off!

i've tried numerous skin care lines and still not found anything to suit my skin. I've seen loads of different makes in various salons which confuses me even more! can anybody help and recommend something or give me a heads up on what my skin type might be! i know its not that easy without seeing skin - i'm in the north east if anyone local can help..

well... my skin is a bit of everything I think. When washing my face it feels generally tight afterwards. But a few hours after moisturising I tend to go oily. If I use products for oily skin I get dry patches and my skin feels awful, if I use dry skin products I tend to be super oily and products for combination skin generally leaves me feeling dry and oily at the same time! My skin also reacts to quite a few skin care lines – leaving me with under the skin pimples. i dont normally have any spots even though my skin tends to be oily. I have quite open pores on my cheeks and forehead and I would exactly say I had a glowing even complexion! Everywhere you read says oily skin wont age as easily but I’ve some lovely lines under my eyes and across my forehead that would disagree!

i've just recently tried lush face care which has left my face feeling sore, tight and oily and also looking awful.. really dull and make up looks caked on even though i only use mineral!

some of the products i've already tried are:

Oil of olay
Botanicals (boots)
Dermalogica
Nivea visage
Medik8
Avene
Garnier
Simple
Clinique
Biotherm
Lancome

to name a few - ridiculous isnt it!

Can anyone suggest anything!?

heres hoping
Emma

out of all of the products that you have tried, have you actually been for a facial in a salon or had any kind of skin analysis done by a qualified skin therapist? only cos i saw dermalogica on your list I would have thought that the salon would have done a really thorough consultation before giving you any samples or selling you any products, and I personally swear by dermalogica providing its the right products for the right person!

good luck hun x sorry i cannot be of more help xx

also ideally you need to be buying a full range - just a cleanser or just a moisturiser wont make masses amounts of difference, best of luck xx

Sounds like you need more than one moisturiser, cleanser, etc., and maybe a few facials would be beneficial.

Sodabubble is right have you had a proper skin analysis, I know you said dermalogica is a product you have tried but did you just buy it on-line. I love dermalogica and over the years I have tried lots of different product lines and its the only one I have never had a problem with, I have very sensitive skin (I have even had burns from some products).

Trish

Hello
Have you tried using a more natural based line? I personally would only use a few the brands you mentioned. I think you need to visit a salon and not from a high street chain. I have suffered with my skin all my life and am very prone to out breaks if I eat the wrong foods for to long I am a huge fan of matis and have never had any problems with it but deffo think a salon brand is the route you need to be taking. A common mistake people make when they have oily skin is to use harsh products that strip the oil from the face, all you will achieve is your skin producing more oil to counteract this.... so you might find your skin is in fact normal/sensitive but playing around with the wrong brands is showing you to have a different skin type.

thanks guys you've been great. i did have a dermalogica consultation but i dont think she was listening to me! had a facial too and didnt make my skin feel very nice. most salons i've been too seem to only stock one type of product so just seem to plug that even tho it might not be suitable...i've got an appointment to have a full skin check on thursday so fingers crossed!