Hello fellow DSPW's.  This is my first post, and I am trying to get some information about what products to try with before I buy.  Many of the drugstore brands I can buy in Canada, but a lot of the other products I have to order online, and have shipped.  I would like to know if others have similar scores, and what have they tried that has worked.  Do you use products in the O or the D department?

My O/D score is 26 (slightly dry), and my R/S score is 49.5.  My skin has a lot of dry patches and can be quite flakey.  As a consequence, I suffer from Acne (moderate).  My acne tends to be concentrated on my lower cheeks, where I am most dry.  I don't suffer from much acne in my T-zone. 

I wash in the morning with Dove non-foaming cleanser, which leaves my face feeling normal (i.e. not tight).  I use the very expensive Esteé Lauder "Idealist", as it tends to smooth the flakiness.  I then use a moisturizer for combination skin.  I use Jane Iredale pressed powder as my foundation. 

At night I use Murad Clarifying Cleanser (1.5% salicylic acid, which is not too drying), because it thoroughly removes my make-up.  I have been using Avené Diacnéal (Retinaldehyde C.T. 0.1% and Glycolic acid 6%) every 2nd or 3rd night.  My skin really purged when I first started using it, but has settled a bit, although it is quite red in the area which I apply it to, which leads me to believe it is not the ideal choice.


Sorry for the long post. I think if I can get the dryness taken care of, my acne will improve.  It is just complicated by the fact that my skin is sensitive to products.  Anybody else have any recommendations based on experience?  Thanks in advance for your help .

Hello fellow DSPW's.  This is my first post, and I am trying to get some information about what products to try with before I buy.  Many of the drugstore brands I can buy in Canada, but a lot of the other products I have to order online, and have shipped.  I would like to know if others have similar scores, and what have they tried that has worked.  Do you use products in the O or the D department?

My O/D score is 26 (slightly dry), and my R/S score is 49.5.  My skin has a lot of dry patches and can be quite flakey.  As a consequence, I suffer from Acne (moderate).  My acne tends to be concentrated on my lower cheeks, where I am most dry.  I don't suffer from much acne in my T-zone. 

I wash in the morning with Dove non-foaming cleanser, which leaves my face feeling normal (i.e. not tight).  I use the very expensive Esteé Lauder "Idealist", as it tends to smooth the flakiness.  I then use a moisturizer for combination skin.  I use Jane Iredale pressed powder as my foundation. 

At night I use Murad Clarifying Cleanser (1.5% salicylic acid, which is not too drying), because it thoroughly removes my make-up.  I have been using Avené Diacnéal (Retinaldehyde C.T. 0.1% and Glycolic acid 6%) every 2nd or 3rd night.  My skin really purged when I first started using it, but has settled a bit, although it is quite red in the area which I apply it to, which leads me to believe it is not the ideal choice.


Sorry for the long post. I think if I can get the dryness taken care of, my acne will improve.  It is just complicated by the fact that my skin is sensitive to products.  Anybody else have any recommendations based on experience?  Thanks in advance for your help .

Hi there! If you are having troubles finding products in Canada, rely more on your ingredient lists moreso than actual products. I would bet you could fill your program with Avene products easily. I use Diroseal for sensitivity and absolutely love it, but I paid $10 in shipping to the US, so I hear ya! Another thing you might try is using Ebay. You might find some Canadian sellers for products you want. Good luck!

Thanks for the info Fidget... I appreciate the the advice.  I don't mind spending the money on shipping (I get free shipping from Sephora with a big enough order, and reduced shipping from a favourite seller on e-bay), I just don't want to waste money and space on products that aren't appropriate.

This is a great site, and I look forward to all the contributions.  Thanks again for the help.

Canadiangal

My sensitivity score is not that high... it is 33. Even at that lower score, I need to be careful with what I use. I've learned to stop using products that make my skin sting, itch, or turn red. Salicylic acid seems to worsen any redness I might have, as do many serums that other people love. I have really seen a difference by using very gentle, fragrance-free products, keeping the products to a minimum, and moisturizing more than I previously thought was necessary. I've also stopped using scrubs - and was surprised that my skin is actually feeling smoother. Also - moisturizing more has not broken me out, as I would have normally expected.

As for O/D scores - mine will vary (between 25 and 27 I think) with only one or two changes in answer. For example, my forehead and cheeks are different - forehead tends to be oilier and sometimes slightly shiny, whereas my cheeks are dry and sometimes slightly rough (relevant to question 1). Originally, I leaned toward O, because I thought the oiliness was more noticeable/problematic. But, as I tried certain products for OSPW and found them to bother my skin more, I realized it was important to first heal my skin...

Oh - and one thing I have done is checked to see what products might be recommended for both O and D types. The Eucerin cleanser I am using is, and it does seem to be effective at cleansing, while not drying or stripping.

Don't know if this will help!

Canadiangal - you gotta love Sephora for service and shipping. They are excellent, I agree.