Hello from Geli

have been using differin now since i wrote this post about 9 months i use it maybe 2 to 3 times a week more like 3 times right now. as i just had to cut out like 90 percent of what i was using on my face. i also just realized that i break out with horrible closed commodones that are coming to the surface with ingredients such as castor oil, soybean in any form in skin care, licorice root ( that was in the Paula's choice ,and once i tried to mix some licorice root into my vanicream lotion and i got commodones 1 to 2 days later. I went through all of my makeup and found many of them have comedogenic ingredients like coconut oil esters, high levels of vitamin e, castor oil. the only one i have been using in call amounts is Maybelline fit me matt and i use uv elements from Elta MD its a little drying but its working nice its my 3rd day in a row using this one. in the morning i am cleansing gently with aveeno oat calming or vanicream depending how my skin is feeling. i lightly pat my face then go in with cos RX centella water toner sooo gentle. then i go in with resveratrol from the ordinary followed by ascorbyl glucoside from the ordinary then i just started using acure alpha arbutin serum - i had to stop using the ordinary alpha arbutin which i loooved but it had castor oil in it which explains why the commodones would never go away. i was trying the apad from geek and gorgeous and i swear that destroyed my face i have soooo many commodones now. it seems like anything that my skin reacts too i get break out of commodones which i find odd. i am afraid to use any other retinol except adapalene but i'm afraid that i wont gt the antiaging benefit if i dont try something else. i did try granactive 2 without squalene from the ordinary but the ingredients are questionable. so to finish my morning routine after the acure serum i use vanicream its the only face lotion i feel safe with then i top off with 2.5 finger lenghts of my elta MD. i reapply after work with physicans formula SPF 30 powder i tried placing another of sunscreen over my makeup and broke out in commodones and the only SPF spray that seems safe for me is milani spf 30 spray. at night as soon as i come home i wash my face to get everything off of it i wash my hands first than use jelly joker cleanser by geek and gorgeous then go in with vanicream or aveeno , i put on the cos RX toner then i work out. when i am done i shower i rinse my face first then go in with a sulfer ointment from de la cruz when i shower leave on for 15 minutes , then go in with my acure serum vanicream then differin the nest night ill do a peptide but stopped peptide hylamide sub q bc it has salicylic acid and i just want to avoid for now. so then i just wirk on brightening and hydrating other nights. im again trying to build a new skin care routine with the minimal things i have to work with. i plan to see a dermatologist. i have been able to overall brighten my skin but i still have dark areas i can see when i look in a mirror by a window. in muy house my skin looks great with no makeup its just the sun i dont like it then lol. im sorry this is soo long. just feels good to be able to share with someone who gets it. please share your thought's. side note for my eyes i use benton feremnt cream and avene retrinal eyes. some nights i just use the benton. i use neutrogena rapid repair cream only on my neck/ hands and versed press restart body lotion on my entire body it works soo great there. again thank you

i forgot to mention that i use azelaic acid with the differin on some nights too. i alternate between the acure or azelaic acid with the differin. i have not had any new commodore outbreaks since i changed my routine but these bumps have not budged. i know i have to be patient.

Thank you so much for checking in and sharing!

I think patience is absolutely key. I wouldn't be too hurried in trying a different type of retinoid. Adapalene still has an anti-aging benefit, and your skin needs to restore it's balance, even if it takes a year, it's better than assaulting it more with a different retinoid format. It doesn't mean that your skin will stay reactive forever. Once it rebalances, you might find out that you can suddenly tolerate more things - but it's important to give it as much time as it needs to get there. It's also not just your skin, also your body overall, especially hormonal balance. If you can, take a look at your nutrition too, supplementing with Omega-3 (fish oil or alternatives) might help long-term. Managing stress is important too - it's great that you are working out, it does help.

Also, try to reduce how much you are "inspecting" your skin in different light. A resilient skin with healthy skin barrier looks best in any light, and you'll get there. A part of the journey is accepting that it's not perfect now, and it's ok. It will be getting better day by day - especially if you let go of monitoring it looks-wise constantly. No one looks the same way at your skin as you. Our brains take other people's faces as a whole. The general complexion matters of course, but we don't focus on small marks and color variance on other people as much as we do when we inspect our own skin. The brain takes the "whole picture" - eyes, smile, overall face expression, other features. Trust me, your skin looks better for other people in the harshest sunlight than it does to you.

In terms of skincare, I think the main part that you still will need to figure out is a sunscreen. It is the best thing you can do both against the pigmentation and for anti-aging. Unfortunately, powders do not protect all the skin uniformly. Spray is better, but you need to make sure you apply enough and it actually stays on the skin for the day.

I've just searched our database for the most minimal mineral sunscreen formulations, maybe one of those could work for you:

- https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/cotz-sensitive-sunscreen-lotion

- https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/tizo-2-age-defying-fusion-face-mineral-sunscreen-spf-40 (contains vit E)

- https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/mcobeauty-mineral-mattifying-sunscreen-spf-50 (contains vit E)

- https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/shunly-skin-care-zn20-spf40-light-moisturizer-with-20-zinc-oxide-offers-high-protection-from-photo-aging (contains vit E)

- https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/eleven-unrivaled-sun-serum-spf-35 (thought this one contains coconut alkanes - they could be comedogenic).

I'd also recommend to skip the cosRX toner- because your skin is so reactive, less is more. If you feel you need to use smth, I'd go with the aveeno serum or vanicream.

Also, maybe this guide to cleansing could be helpful to check if you could make your cleansing routine even gentler: https://whatsinmyjar.com/skin-concerns/all-about-cleansing-wimj-cleansing-guide

Another thing to check out might be this brand: https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/dr-elsa-jungman-oat-power-moisturizing-serum. They are pricey, but I was in touch with the founder, and she shared they were themselves surprised by the positive feedback on this serum for acne-prone skin, even though they targeted just sensitivity with it (of course, there is bias in their assessment, but the ingredients are good and it is possible that the product can help very reactive acne-prone skin).

Please keep us posted on how things will develop for you and your skin - lots of love to you from us at WIMJ ❤️🤗

Thank you so so much for taking the time to help me and provide all of this advice and recommendations this was extremely helpful. Just by backing off the last few days I've already seen a big improvement in my skin and the commodones are still there but not as inflamed. You are right I got into skin care about a year and a half ago and I went in way too fast. My skin was crying out for me to slooooww down. Thank you for again. One more thing do you have any recommendations for spray spfs. I have one that seems the most gentle even though it has fragrance its the milani spf 30. But any other recommendations would be so helpful. Also since I cannot use salicylic acid at the moment because my skin is so sensitive right now would be adapelene be enough to get rid of them or do you think they will go away as my skin heals. I've literally had a few on my skin at one given time since my first outbreak after using niacinimide. They just have not gone away. I can't express again hoe grateful I am for your help.