I'm watching Oprah right now, and of course my ears perked up when they came to the adult-onset acne segment. I've been suffering from the same problem as Oprah's guest since college. The last time I had clear skin was in high school. I thought I had tried just about everything on the market until I heard what this lady was doing. First, she's using a body poof and antibacterial hand soap to wash her face. Uh, I could tell her that even acne sufferers shouldn't use antibacterial hand soap on their face. For one thing, it's super drying. When your face gets uber-dry, the oil glands eventually compensate for the arid state by producing even more oil than they were producing before. For a second thing, your face might build up some kind of bacterial resistance from overusing the soap. Then what are you going to use?The guest's regimen didn't end there. She then used witch hazel to finish removing her makeup. Witch hazel is an astringent that's one step away from being rubbing alcohol. Again she's drying her face out so much that in the long run she's only going to make it oilier. Following the witch hazel, the guest applied a thick cream that Oprah said she actually used to remove makeup, followed by an antibacterial ointment (i.e. Neosporin). If I put either one of those products on my face, especially the greasy Neosporin, I would wake up with cysts the size of Mount Everest. The woman is definitely doing her skin more harm than good.
Of course, that's essentially what Dr. Oz and company told her. Then they gave her the "you're beautiful the way you are" and "the acne's not that bad" speech. I could tell from her watery eyes that she wasn't hearing them. Truthfully, I wouldn't have heard them either. I've heard those speeches myself. They always come from people with great skin who may get one or two zits around that time of the month, not every day of their lives. They don't know what it's like to wake up to the skin that you should have had when you were in high school, not the skin that you're supposed to have in your 30s. Consequently, I have a feeling the woman will continue with the Brillo pad/Neosporin regime.
As for me, I guess I'll stick with my current Cetaphil, Stridex Sensitive, and Oil of Olay Sensitive routine. It's actually working better than the faux Proactiv I was using and doesn't bleach my clothes. I just wish that I could find some miracle product that would get rid of the red spots or scars on my cheeks. Because I'm so pale, they're actually worse than the acne. I was hoping Dr. Oz would recommend a product to the guest, but he was too busy giving speeches. Oh, well.
