Is my skin barrier inflamed or is this something else??
39F and suddenly dealing with tiny, colorless, painless bumps mostly on one cheek. They’re not itchy, inflamed, dry, or irritated — just a weird texture change that you can really only see when the sun hits it right, or when I touch my face. Naturally I have very oily skin with large pores, and my skin usually loves acids/exfoliation. I would say my skin is typically not very sensitive at all.
I’m a skincare junkie and admittedly always trying to optimize/find the “next best thing,” so now I’m trying to figure out if this is irritation, clogged pores, or some sort of reaction. The newest thing I introduced was Platinum Skincare’s vitamin C (Secret Agent), but it never burned or felt irritating. I switched back to CeraVe vitamin C serum once the bumps started, but they’re still there.
Routine is generally:
- Gentle cleanser AM
- ZO complexion renewal pads (used for years with zero issues) AM
- Vitamin C + Korean sunscreen AM
- in the PM it’s usually: Gentle cleanser + renewal pad + barrier serum + either Adapalene or Medik8 Retinal 20. Sometimes Cicalfate if my skin feels compromised.
Only thing my skin truly hates is tretinoin.
Has anyone had tiny flesh-colored bumps like this from vitamin C, over-exfoliation, fungal acne, damaged barrier, etc.? Trying to figure out what direction to go before I strip my somewhat already simple routine completely 😅