"Tired" skin

[DanieMarie]

I've been noticing lately that my skin has been looking older, but not really "older" per se.....just tired. It's happened before and gone away when my life changed. But since I have no opportunity to change my life again until April, I thought maybe there was something else I could do in the meantime.

Basically, the problem is that my skin is very dull (even though it's oily), and it's littered with fine lines (which isn't really age-related...they go away after a few days off). I'm drinking lots of water, take fish oil and -try- to get enough sleep, though on work nights I never do (winter is counter-productive for me for a 9-6 schedule...in winter I have trouble sleeping at night but need more sleep, so I never get enough, wereas in summer I only need about 6 hours and can fall asleep at 11, so waking up at 5 am is normal and ok). Is there anything I can do to fix it?

I swear, working in an office sucks the life out of me

[Dez]

Re: "Tired" skin

Do you protect your skin when you go out? The sudden cold air outside can really tax it.

[DanieMarie]

Re: "Tired" skin

Yeah always...though, we haven't even had a frost here yet....highly unusual (usually it's -10 celsius this time of year) but it's happening!

[Ophidia]

[DanieMarie]

Re: "Tired" skin

Yeah my moisturizer has SPF 15 in it. I am fair and don't tan, but I don't burn either (I have NO idea why....it totally defies fair skin)...I just get a shade or 2 darker, and the odd time I've forgotten, even in extreme heat, I've not burned, even after 6-7 hours outside. I think it might be because of my very oily skin (which can look like a teenagers sometimes and it's really frustrating!)

Our winters are normally dry, but this winter has been above 0 (CELSIUS)....we haven't even had a frost yet, which is SO odd for here. It's also really humid (my hardwood floors even warped due to extreme humidity ). It's such a weird year.

Maybe it's also the products I'm using? Because my skin is oily like a teens, I have to use acne products like Proactiv....I don't use them all the time but I have bouts where I break out badly (as opposed to my usual oily glow but otherwise clear skin) and then I have to use oil zapping facewash, proactiv, etc, etc and maybe they're drying?

Overall, I don't have a problem with dry skin though....pretty much the opposite. I have to remove oil from my skin several times a day with those sheets to avoid looking like my pores went through a deep-fryer. It's just....I don't know....oily but dull. Oily, dull and tired-looking.

---------- Post added 01-07-2012 at 12:32 AM ---------- Previous post was 01-06-2012 at 11:10 PM ----------

We have super hard water here and I grew up somewhere with really pure water....could that make a difference? I know the hard water wreaks havok on my hair!

[Ophidia]

Re: "Tired" skin

You might simply be over-stimulating your skin by touching it too much. The more you mess w/your face, the more oil it produces and the more irritated it can get.

I've got rosacea, and the dermatologist kept nagging at me about how often I washed my face, used astringents/drying agents, washed with too-hot water/showers, and simply touched myself (huhuhuh i touch myself huhuhuh). So I started washing my face a little less often, starting taking slightly cooler showers, stopped using exfoliating scrubs, and started being more conscious of when I would run my hand up my cheek, do the 'facepalm' thing, cup my chin - which had become a habit. I also started being more attentive about wiping the phone receiver at work w/an antibacterial wipe, because I noticed a lot of the breakouts were in a phone-like pattern, from my temple to my chin (ewwwww).

It was gross at first - I felt like I was walking around w/a greasy, dirty face for the first two weeks or so, but then I started noticing that a lot of the irritated redness went away, the break-outs minimized, my pores started closing, and my face started looking and feeling softer. Now the only problem spot I have is my nose. It still gets really oily but I try to leave it alone as much as possible because I don't want the risk of developing the 'cauliflower nose' that's so common in rosacea.

[thalassa]

Re: "Tired" skin

Hard water supposedly can cause skin and hair problems...so its possible. It might be worth looking into a water softener for your water system......especially since build up from hard water can cause inefficiencies in your appliances and piping systems that waste money.

ETA: But from a practical perspective, I totally agree with Perz's assessment. I'd at least consider it. I have that problem with my hair, particularly in the winter.

[DanieMarie]

Re: "Tired" skin

Point taken about the doing less...will try!

How would a water softening system work? And is it something I could do in a condo? I'd love to fix that, because I'm still not used to hard water and I've ruined small appliances in the past from calcium buildup (and I HATE the amount of stuff you have to BUY for the larger ones...washing machine additives, dishwasher salt....wtf???) I went through 3 irons before I learned that you have to use store-bought 'iron water' or filtered water in the iron...at home we just use tap water straight from the tap.

Also, it's DIRTY...well not really but there's calcium residue and buildup on EVERYTHING and it's a pain to get off. I hate it so much. I miss the pure water back home (tastes way better too!)

[Amelia-Mary]

Re: "Tired" skin

I would say drink lots and lots of water, but not until all ^ that is sorted out a little

[DanieMarie]

Re: "Tired" skin

Oooo I drink like 2 L of water a day! I love it haha.

[Ophidia]

Re: "Tired" skin

We've got hard water in Vegas, too - I've got a Brita filter for the faucet, and just use conditioner for my hair.

I agree, though - the deposits are a serious p.i.t.a. when it comes to things like cleaning the toilets - they get a water mark at the filled bowl level. The dishwasher gets clogged because of the calcium & crap. Vinegar is this house's best friend, lol.

[Medusa]

Re: "Tired" skin

Ok so I have dull skin from being 40. I have some age spots and slight splotches on the face. I found this awesome lemon and sugar scrub. It takes mere minutes and feels fantastic and is cheap as hell! Try it!

[DanieMarie]

Re: "Tired" skin

Ooo cool....will try! Maybe the acidity of the lemon will counter some of the gunk from the hard water as well...

[Jembru]

Re: "Tired" skin

I HAVE to try that too. I also have oily skin and my pores are often huge. While I was living in Germany, my hair was like straw and my skin was even worse. I switched then to a cream cleanser and toner and this helped. My favourite product is Savlon, or similar, diluted, which I use as a toner before my moisturiser. It works wonders and is way cheaper than buying toners.

Even the cosmetic industry seems to forget that a lot of oily skins are also sensitive skin. There is a temptation to use harsh chemicals, that just inflame and irritate the skin, make it feel dehydrated and encourage it to produce even more sebum. I was very reluctant to start using a moisturiser, but once I did, it made a huge difference and I would hardly even call my skin oily now. I am not constantly shiny anymore and my makeup stays on for more than 30 minutes. So I really recommend you try a moisturiser, even if you choose one of those specifically designed for oily skin (I use a normal vitamin E cream from the body shop or superdrug). Good luck.

[DanieMarie]

Re: "Tired" skin

I do use moisturizer...It's a habit I got into as a teen because first I was on some really harsh acne cream that dried my skin and then in my late teens/early 20s I had horribly dry skin. More recently I had normal skin (I could do anything to it and it would be just fine...miss those days!) but now I'm back to oily. It's a good habit though...it really helps!