Fighting with my face

I've never had pretty skin. Not since I was put on Plaquenil. It makes me allergic to the sun and kinda "thickens" my skin. It's hard to describe. My skin is much tougher than you would think. Phlebotomists always tell me my skin is hard to pierce. And it's bipolar as to when it decides to like lotion. It either makes me itch or it doesn't help much at all. And the skin on my face is the worst. I have my dad's oily Italian skin and my mom's fair Irish complexion. So it's the perfect recipe for acne-ish bumps and marks that take weeks to heal. I've been on prescription creams, but they would stop working or make things worse. I've spend a small fortune on my skin trying to find the right cleanser, toner, cream, serum, etc.

Right now I may have found something that works- for now at least. I use Clarins cleansing milk for oily skin along with the Clarisonic Mia with sensitive cleansing head. Then when my skin is mostly dry, I use Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream. If I apply it when my skin is damp it makes me oily. Weird. But, despite being a night cream, my skin never gets greasy, and I actually am able to use a fair bit compared to other moisturizers. I use this morning and night. The only difference is at night, about a half hour after cleansing and moisturizing, I use the lowest dose Retin-A. I wish that back in high school someone had told me to wait a half hour after applying all skincare to apply the Retin-A. Damp skin absorbs much more, so it is more prone to irritation. By waiting, the Retin-A doesn't irritate or dry out my skin. And it's actually working this time around.

The only thing I'm watching for right now is that my skin doesn't naturally shed as well due to the toughness. So every few days I scrub in the shower with a BABY washcloth. Regular washcloths are way too abrasive for the skin on your face.

I'm also starting Latisse in hopes it speeds the regrowth rate. I want long pretty lashes for the wedding photos.