Facial redness, red dots, pimples.

by Kiki

I'm from Malaysia, a country which is constantly in humid and hot weather.

My facial skin basically started to have pimples at age 14-15. It become worse when I reached age 16-17. At that time,I have started to use facial products for oily skin and went for facial treatment as well.

The facial treatment helped me a lot, hence, at age 18, my pimples started to reduce.
And then at age 20, i have lesser pimples but I started to have sensitive skin (redness and red spots sometimes)!

Although my pimples have reduced at age 18, but I still need to use those oil control/anti-acne facial products to control the pimples growth. But I found that these products didn't reduce my pimples, instead it caused those pimples to grow back even more. Plus those oil control/anti-acne products makes my skin feel itchy and uncomfortable. Hence, I stopped using these products. *And I think thats why I have sensitive skin now, maybe.*

So now for my sensitive skin problem,
1) Usually after 9 hours of working, my facial skin will encounter redness on the cheeks and forehead. At first I thought it might be because of the hot weather, but I'm working the whole day in the laboratory (fyi, I'm a biotechnologist), where the environment is cooling. Hence, I doesn't understand why. Please help. :(

2) I have encountered itchy red spots all over the face during August2012 and November2012. Up till now, I still cant find the reason behind this. During August2012, I went to see a skin specialist. I have asked the doctor why this happened, and he seemed not really sure and said that it's probably due to yeast infection. Hence he gave me medicine and cream for yeast infection and antibiotic. I told him I worried that antibiotic will cause the red spots to grow back in later months. He said for now, better to cure my face first because the red spots were very terrible. It cured but the antibiotic really caused the red spots to come back in November2012. I went to another skin specialist centre. This time, the doctor gave me anti-allergic medicine, vitamin pills, anti-inflammation cream.
After this incident, my facial skin got really better.

Little red spots appeared too during January2013. The most possible reason for this is because of the dust/dirts/hot&humid environment in the store room where I was arranging some lab stocks in there. But I have applied the anti-inflammation cream and it cured.

For now, Im using a soothing essence (calms down facial skin), a non-oil-based hydrating essence/moisturizer (provides moisture to my skin and regulates the oil-water balance). I will also apply the anti-inflammation cream if there is any red spots appear or any parts of the face is very red/itchy.
Im now also eating anti-pimple/anti-oil pills. Alternate days.
I understand that pills is not good for our health as we intake it almost daily. But I really don't know what to use to control the pimples as now I cant use any oil-control/anti-pimples facial products anymore since I've got this sensitive skin. Please help. :(
But for now, my facial skin is now under control, except the redness on my face.

Thank you for having some time to read my stories here.
I feel much better as I can share my problem with you. Even my mother or any of my close friends/relatives doesn't understand how I feel about having sensitive skin.
I hope there are solutions to my sensitive skin.

Thank you again.

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My reply

Hi Kiki, thank you so much for sharing your story! Yes, sometimes just sharing your story can help you to feel better and get some perspective.

I am so glad that you have been able to find some solutions for some of your skin challenges, especially the pimples and acne outbreaks!

Yes, for many of us, hormonal changes when we are teenagers can begin the cycle of acne. Then in some cases, like you experienced, the medications and creams can actually make the acne worse.

Sometimes when our skin is really bad, we DO need the help of a medication. Even though it may not be the best long-term solution, for some people it can calm your skin down enough to begin the healing process.

I have two questions for you which will help me to better understand what to recommend ...

1. What kinds of foods do you eat regularly?

2. As a biotechnologist, do you work around a lot of chemicals?

3. Was there any large or small change to your daily routine between August 2012 and November 2012 when you developed the red spots?

Thanks very much Kiki, I appreciate your sharing your story!