Caring for dry, acne-prone skin requires a unique approach that nourishes skin while clearing up breakouts in a gentle way. Once you find the right products, the result can be beautifully smooth, clear and hydrated skin.
Skin Care for Dry Skin + Acne
If your skin feels dry and oily plus prone to breakouts all at the same time, you’re actually struggling with dehydrated skin and acne, which is very different than dry skin and acne. Dehydration is typically brought on by using the wrong skin care products such as overly drying cleansers or harsh ingredients like denatured alcohol, mint, menthol, eucalyptus, and lemon.
While having oily skin with acne is not uncommon, only a small percentage of people find themselves with truly dry skin and acne. For those unlucky few, it’s an infuriating struggle. Trying to find a moisturizer that addresses the needs of dry skin without clogging pores and causing more breakouts is hard enough. Then there’s the issue that products that get breakouts under control often make dry skin even drier. It can be a real dilemma when shopping for skin care products.
Does this sound more like your skin type? If so, taking care of dehydrated skin with acne has a separate protocol, which you’ll find here.
Once you’ve determined that your skin is dry (not dehydrated), and you've ensured that your skin care routine is free of aggravating factors, you can focus on the gentle yet effective ways to get your dry skin and acne under control. Following are our expert recommendations.
Start with a soothing cleanser and toner duo, like you’ll find in our CALM Redness Relief collection for Normal to Dry Skinto leave skin thoroughly cleansed, yet replenished and soft. This combination is formulated for the most sensitive of skin and is even gentle enough for skin prone to eczema.
Bring in the big guns (though still ultimately gentle) with a BHA exfoliant to unclog pores. Our SKIN PERFECTING 2% BHA Lotion Exfolianthas a light lotion texture that softens and hydrates as it gently and naturally exfoliates to clear pores deeply and to reveal bump-free, smooth-looking skin. Perfectly gentle to reduce the appearance of those hard, tiny, white bumps on the cheeks and face. It's even suitable for skin prone to milia.
Stop breakouts before they begin with benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is a powerhouse ingredient for preventing acne eruptions before they happen. Use it consistently in your breakout-prone areas, give it a couple of weeks, and you will see what we mean! Higher concentrations, particularly 10%, can be drying for many people so we strongly recommend you try starting with a 2.5% concentration, like our CLEAR Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment and see how your skin responds.
Find the perfect balance in a moisturizer and/or serum. This is admittedly the tricky part. You want a moisturizer and/or serum that contains rejuvenating and skin-renewing ingredients but is also hydrating enough to quench dry skin. It also needs to be less emollient than a standard cream moisturizer so it doesn’t exacerbate breakouts. While it may take some experimenting, here are a few of our suggestions, starting with the lightest option in each category first.
Daytime moisturizers with SPF 30 or greater (you simply can’t take care of any skin type and overlook this fundamental skin care step):
ª RESIST Youth-Extending Daily Fluid SPF 50(lightweight, fluid formula loaded with key antioxidants)
ª CALM Redness Relief SPF 30 Mineral Moisturizer Normal to Dry Skin (creamy formula combines gentle mineral-based sunscreen with soothing plant extracts to minimize redness)
Nighttime moisturizers:
ª RESIST Anti-Aging Clear Skin Hydrator (one-of-a-kind, anti-aging gel-lotion hybrid that lightly moisturizes skin)
ª RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol(moisturizing cream that reinstates skin’s natural balance and kicks anti-aging into gear)
Serums:
ª CALM Redness Relief Repairing Serum (non-greasy, lightly hydrating, antioxidant-enriched formula smooths over skin)
RESIST Intensive Wrinkle-Repair Retinol Serum (velvety serum blends pure retinol and potent antioxidants to leave skin feeling silky and soft
