Hope that helps.
Kim Foster

Second, the eczema. There is a wonderful product out there called Acid Mantle. Won.Der.ful. My ds has been using it since he was a baby – off and on of course, as he flares.

Feel free to email me with any questions.
Blessings on your healings….all of you!!!!

Here’s what’s worked for me.

1) Drink plenty of water, get plenty of exercise and sleep and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. It sounds crazy, but in China (my family is bi-racial) some acne is caused by our body’s internal “heat”. Too many “heaty” foods (mangos, McDonald’s, ice cream, fatty meats or excessively salty things or foods containing MSG or lots of ginger) can cause your balance to be…off. (I don’t know why it works, but it DOES. If I don’t get enough sleep, or start to eat too many restaurant meals, without some good ol’ veggies and rice at home and plenty of water, I get sore throats and acne.) It sounds weird, but ginseng tea has always worked for me – when I get a REALLY bad breakout, I drink a cup of (very heavily sweetened!) ginseng tea, and go to bed a little early that night, and I can usually take care of the red beasties in a day or two. (Ginseng tea is VERY “cooly”.) Watermelon would also have a similar effect, though not as strong. (I know – I’m sounding crazy at this point. Just trust me on this. )

2) Wash GENTLY. In middle school, my mother (who never had acne, but the occasional breakout) tried nearly every brand of cleanser in the drug store. We even went to see a dermatologist. HE was the one who set me straight – even VERY dry skin will appear oily if you use harsh cleansers. The skin had to OVER produce to counteract the acid I threw at it! For the past ten years, I have used Cetaphil, morning and night, with FABULOUS results. This cleanser has no soap in it, a tiny squirt is all you need, and it’s available at Costco for around $7 for a huge bottle. All you want to do is get the day’s dust off your face before it can irritate your skin more.

2) MOISTURIZE. This was really the key for me. At first, I used an Aveeno face lotion in the morning, but I haven’t been able to find it at a reasonable price recently, so I use Oil of Olay with SPF now. (That might be a little sissy for your pirates, but you get the idea.) Look for a good moisturizer that isn’t too heavy, but look for one with NO extra medications in it. You just want to moisturize…that’s it. I actually use Aveeno body lotion (with oatmeal extract) at night. It’s a little too heavy for the day, but it gives my skin a chance to bone up during the night.

Have I talked your ears off? I’m fairly psychotic on this topic, since I worked through it for SO MANY YEARS.

Oh, and make sure they aren’t getting any hair gel or hairspray on their faces. I always break out around my hairline when I use hairspray.

I recently came across a cleaning method that has completely changed my skin. It’s The Oil Cleansing Method. I’ve used ProActiv in the past and loved it, but it became too harsh for me.

Basically, you mix olive oil & castor oil together, rub into your skin, and then steam it out with warm water. It sounds gross but it works!

The most complete site I’ve found is: http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com

Hope it works for you!

I now use Avon True Porefection. It is cheap and works for me. BUT I can only say that works for ME- I think you just have to go with trial and error. I would suggest just buying a few things and then the kids can rotate them around and see what works. I don’t think there is any one magic product, I just think you have to find the one that reacts to your particular skin the right way.

I also agree that consistency is key.