u/Electrical-Code1757

It was a few years ago during spring-summer that I first severely ruined my skin barrier by compulsively over-washing my face several times a day with multiple active ingredient containing cleansers combined, seeking a sense of cleanliness/refreshment from the increasing heat and dust/dirt, sweat etc. as I was spending long times working in both poor ventilation and outside. I barely paid any attention to what I was using or how, as I had relatively healthy skin, other than occasional flares of some dryness & eczema, and no major struggles with skincare prior.

Although it did superficially clear whatever mild acne I used to get then from time to time, it unsurprisingly soon lead to extreme oiliness such that my face would look completely drenched only a few hours after washing, yet irritated, red and dry/dull immediately after. Eventually the hinderance to my life and comfort this caused became unignorable, and the next few months I tried in numerous ways to fix it with varying but only partial success.

Once I quit overusing the active products, and gradually only washing with water 1-2 times per day, the oiliness and irritation did recede somewhat, but was still beyond manageable compared to before and I additionally experienced a sort of drastic rebound with severe painful cystic acne which I had never had anything close to previously. Any product including even moisturizers I tried either did nothing or were further aggravating, so after some months I went to a derm, was prescribed differin, and later on some kind of other similar cream/gel that was supposedly less drying. This did clear the acne and other than dryness/flaking/itchiness (for which again no recommended moisturizer helped) it seemed to stabilize.

I gradually stopped using the cream as I became preoccupied with other physical and mental issues, and the meaningful result largely persisted, some flares did return no doubt in part due to my generally poor hygiene and skin picking habits during this period, but nowhere near as before and once i got those factors under control, still only using water once a day, it seemed to be improving or stable in terms of health/clearness.

The next year I started using minoxon gel for facial hair, though I was cautious seeing my previous luck with incorporating anything even supposedly non-irritating, as well as having had several flares of atopic perioral eczema in the past, so nevertheless I did test it and start slow, also going through several different moisturizers, which in retrospect also seemed to also either only sit on my skin with no effect or further aggravate something. Other than some relatively mild/manageable breakouts, dryness and itching it seemed okay with promising results for around a couple months, at which point however the irritation started turning into actual burning and causing eczema rashes, along with increasingly worsening cysts/pustules and nodules, which would spread even outside the areas of application.

For some time I remained adamant in continuing to use it, and tried adjusting the schedule or routine in various ways, using less, less often, taking a break, using moisturizer or not etc., but it proved unsustainable and increasingly hellish with the topical side effects. After I tapered it down and stopped, the irritation again did gradually alleviate somewhat, but the next few months largely mirrored the aftermath of the first situation several years ago, aside from less extreme oiliness.

Throughout this time, my face felt essentially constantly inflamed, tight, dry, itchy, extremely sensitive/reactive to anything, with new large painful pus-filled cysts and nodules coming out of nowhere every other day the moment others would momentarily recess, making it painful to even wash, and an uncomfortable cold clammy feeling as though a wet cloth were pressed against it even after it had dried, with flakes and mushy dandruff-like residue coming off under my nails whenever i would scratch it. Once again, no moisturizers helped, and after the sum of the listed previous experiences i did not want to risk even more unpredictable product side-effects, so with only using cold water once a day this condition persisted in more-or-less a stable fluctuation for those several months. When I retried the minoxidil again for a one-off last time on a small spot a few months after the dermatitis had calmed down it turned into a chemical burn over the course of the same day and that was that.

A few months ago from now, I got very sick with some kind of gastroenteritis or food poisoning, that left me too fatigued to even leave bed or walk, let alone wash my face. My focus was also too consumed by feeling awful and needing to vomit every few minutes to allow for any bad habits such as skin-picking, scratching etc. . This lasted for a few days, yet afterwards my skin somehow looked better/closer to the 'baseline' prior to ruin than it had in years, and the issues of irritation, inflammation, dryness/oiliness etc. appeared to be seemingly magically resolved, despite being actively sick and not having cleaned it for several times longer it looked less oily than it used to in only less than a day's duration, as well as clearer, more hydrated and smoother/softer.

Since then I stopped washing it daily and have found a similar effect, namely, the day and day after i wash it it goes through the same cycle of feeling dry/tight/itchy, being extremely reactive (even touching it with a regular paper-towel/wipe would cause inflammation/breakouts) and then becoming oily, yet this would increasingly resolve if i pushed through to the 3-4 day, with less visible oiliness, itchiness, far less and more minor/easily self-resolving random reactivity/breakouts (even in contact with actually unclean things), and generally both looking and feeling healthier, less dehydrated, smoother, softer etc. over time, no more flaking or wet dandruff that I could literally scrape off anywhere seemingly without end, along with decreased overall oiliness, even if i only end up washing it like once a month. Consequently, all the way up until now I have been using solely cold water as needed but not more than once every 3-4 days.

The obvious problem is while in isolation this may have had more apparently beneficial results, there are still always contributing external negative factors such as accumulating dirt and dead skin & this is really only manageable now due to me spending nearly all of my time at home and not going out/working 'traditionally', which is bound to change.

So I am not entirely sure how to balance or what conclusions to draw from this to implement in a long-term practically sustainable and further beneficial way, as I do still get some nodules and the like, though mostly solitary and much less severe, as well as lasting hyperpigmentation from past breakouts, that I'd also anticipate to increase when I do change my lifestyle. The most obvious thing would be to go to an actual derm again, which I plan to if I cannot find anything until then, but that is not and will likely not be possible for the near future

In essence, all I know with high certainty from past experiences is that 1. anything with HA burns, and 2. I am apparently very prone to suddenly developing unpredictable and often extreme negative reactions even after some time of use and/or previously tolerating a product, as well as experiencing irritation/aggravation in general even from products most oft recommended for sensitive skin