[Acne] What moisturizer will work for my combo skin? Ive been searching hesitantly for years

I've also been using Atralin for the past 6 months, and have experienced almost the exact same thing (redness and sensitivity to many skincare products). Recently I switched to a new derm, who told me that although I respond quite well to Atralin, in his hands, many patients find Atralin quite irritating for sensitive skin types and switched me over to a lower concentration and different formulation of tretinoin. I haven't gotten the prescription yet, so I can't tell you if this is the case, but from he told me, sometimes over-irritated skin can lead to breaking out from a lot of moisturizers that normally wouldn't (damaged skin barrier). I mention this because you say that you have a constant red tint and dehydrated skin, which sounds exactly like me, and I would ask your derm if they think the products you are using are too strong. :O

In any case, I like the Clinique Moisture Surge (I buy the 0.5oz travel sized tubes from sephora for $9 because I don't like jars. The travel sized ones actually work out cheaper per oz of product than full sized! Weird!). It's expensive, but it doesn't seem to irritate my skin or cause my breakouts to worsen. Still on hunt for good moisturizer because I feel this is not moisturizing enough with my tretinoin/benzoyl peroxide routine.

I've also had good experience with using pure mineral oil at night. I buy the cosmetic grade ones from GoW. My derm told me that mineral oil is one of the most inert substances there is and shouldn't worsen breakouts if you are cleansing properly and need moisture. I work in a research lab, and we use mineral oil universally to coat certain things because it won't react with anything or introduce variables to our experiments. :)

AB product, but Cosrx 96 snail essence is super mild and is the one I turn to when I have an extra sensitive skin day or after a peel. No oils in it though, and is not enough moisture by itself. However, when I pick my skin and have open wounds, sometimes other moisturizers will still irritate it, and this is the only one that I know won't. :)

/r/SkincareAddiction Thread