Colin Solves Your Problems 9: Skincare Struggles

A problem from Cath:

I have oily but dehydrated skin. After a course of antibiotics I became lactose intolerant and my skin became incredibly sensitive. It may or may not be rosacea. I’m finding it hard to find skincare and am thinking of making my own maybe. Cleansers either strip my skin, or leave it with a film of makeup and oil left behind; I can’t find one that will remove makeup but not leave my skin greasy or dried out. I use mineral makeup which is a dry powder and adheres well. I seemed to react to my last moisturiser also which was oil, water and emulsifying wax NF and I’m wondering if its the chemical components of the emulsifier that I’m reacting to. I’ve got some lecithin and have bought beeswax and am wondering if I could make a cleanser that will rinse or wipe off and not leave my skin oily and a moisturiser that will protect and not annoy my skin. Or even if you have knowledge of skincare I can buy that fits the description?

Thank you for the question Cath, and apologies for not picking up on it sooner. I am afraid it has been sitting in my spam filter for some time. In fact so long that there is a good chance you have already made some progress towards solving your problems, I certainly hope so. Anyway first off removing make up without making your skin worse. One idea you might try is using an oil based cleanser, or even on oil itself. Baby oil for instance is pretty much neat mineral oil. This should remove your make up pretty effectively while not stripping your skin of too much of its oil.
I would avoid emulsifying wax NF (Or BP for British and Commonwealth readers). This is a very old fashioned material and there are plenty of much milder alternatives. As to making your own products, well that would be a whole blog post series. I am not sure I have the time to go into that now. One thing I would say is that beeswax is an excellent basis for home made recipes and can be an excellent moisturiser. Lecithin on the other hand is quite tricky to handle and although people who make personal care products for a hobby do use it and presumably get good results with it, it can be very irritating. As you have senstive skin you need to take particular care with it.

I can’t make any particular suggestions about skin care products that might be suitable. I think you can only work that out by trying them to see how they suit your particular skin.

2 thoughts on “Colin Solves Your Problems 9: Skincare Struggles”

  1. Wow, I feel like I was the one writing when Cath said that she has dehydrated skin with oil. Mine is like that too. On most days my skin is like crepe paper with an oil film on top.

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