Hi, Meandra. Your solution is to stop using cleansers on your face all together. I have the exact same skin problems. My whole family gets this skin with age and it's no fun. My skin is the worst - it's sensitive, like an open wound, I've always had pimples and scalp problems. I'm allergic to just about everything on Earth (it seems). Sound familiar? It sounds to me like you're heading into acne rosacea territory (strawberry nose), and the only solution I know to work is homeopathy. I use herbal remedies and natural remedies of all stripes for all kinds of stuff, but there is not a tonic that will help your skin, I promise. The two homeopathic treatments you can use (wouldn't advise while breastfeeding - could be harmless, but I don't know): calc sulph and calc carb (Boiron has appropriate strength ready to go for this purpose). Calc sulph is for acne and boils and seems to take the red out, and calc carb is a treatment for cradle cap - does wonders for seborrheic problems of all kinds, keeps those black/brown heads down to a dull roar. When I first started this regimen, it seemed to make my skin worse (had a minor breakout on my neck), but when that cleared up, my skin looked 100% better. My cheeks are white-ish, my nose is pink, but not red/bloody/awful. Back to no soap on your face! Warm water rinse twice a day, use a very soft, dry wash cloth to massage (gently) your skin dry (broken veins aren't nice and irritated skin is unpleasant). No toner! You can moisturize and I find that a mild, sensitive skin type is fine... many herbal/natural moisturizers actually contain lots of things that I am sensitive to. I hate to say I use generic oil of olay, very sparingly. Cold and hot water will make your skin unhappy! Hot especially. My sister also put me on to flax oil and zinc. I take those too. This might also be contributing to my skin success. Sorry for rambling - finding these things were like finding the holy grail for me!

OklaMoni - I suspect that you won't like cheaper products after using EL (depending on the EL that you use) and of course your skin type. I can't use EL except, surprisingly, for the Verite cleanser that I can just use to wash my face. I wish I could use any of the products mentioned - I can't. I have very thin, fair, naturally extremely dry skin, and am allergic to just about everything - especially botanicals (and antihistamine) and of course can't use any form of acid/retinol/C - or fillers. Skin is right colour for laser, but skin is too thin. So I have always used the most hydrating toner I could find along with a hydrating serum/cream, followed by a night cream during the day (this was post the period when SPF started being added to day creams - can't use a combo product). Finding a sunscreen that doesn't cause a rash is the devil - and I need one that is moisturizing and doesn't eat my makeup. I am 63 and agree with those who posted that they can see aging basically all of a sudden. It happens - and often in 5 year bumps. My face is thin - always has been, even when I weighed 200 lbs. during my teen years. At 63 it is still thin which does not help. I am not overweight now but my weight is all on the bottom. I have a long waist and short legs - so always wear long skirts (and at 5'7" hard to find) - of course I use to be taller. Cost is definitely becoming a problem - not developing a burning rash from a product is of course a primary concern - but absorption of a product is key. Products that I have tried that cost less and resulted in a rash also did not absorb. My foundation contains oil - has to - and since I am yellow based with a ph of 3.5 everything changes on me - so not easy either. I guess it is a good thing that I have only one lipstick, blush etc. since I have only been able to find one shade in everything that I use - and they have now been d/c. I hate reformulation - everything these days is about actives and botanicals - deadly for my skin. So I need high end products - but fortunately I am at the low end of the high end due to my botanicals/actives issues. I will try just about anything provided there is a chance it will work - I will not rule out say one botanical or 2 if they are at the bottom of the list - but when the listing starts off with Linden Blossom, Lily, Lavender, Rose etc. - forget it. Forget anything "natural". I can't even make a cheap masque using honey and egg due to the honey. I can't use yogourt on my face because of the lactic acid - this will guarantee a rosacea attack. Soy is also a major problem. And forget perfume/fragrance. I can't even use Clinique - there is something in the products - I know it was Aloe Vera at one time - maybe still is. I have been trying to find cheaper products that work especially with the high cost of living and my husband's retirement looming. I worked for a company that did not provide a pension. Then there is hair. My natural hair colour is auburn. I greyed in my 20s - and it is ugly iron grey that does not look nice with a yellow-toned skin. How I wish I had that gorgeous silver or white hair with a pink-toned complexion. But I don't. I tried on wigs in other colours - horrible. Natural auburn (nothing with a purple tone) is perfect for me but now that I can't get the colour shade at the drugstore - not to mention the full grey that I would now have - it would be tough doing it myself as I did until 15 years ago because I would have that awful line of demarcation - and I do need to pull the colour through. Red fades, no doubt about it. I always wear a hat. I have extremely thick, very dry, naturally wavy hair that grows like a weed. Last time I went for my colour the growth was twice that of the normal person. And living in Toronto going to the hairdresser is not cheap. I need to have my hair cut by someone who knows how to cut curly hair and I need to have layers so that it will curl properly. I do not suit it really short - and I would look (I know because I wore it short until I was 30) like a brillo pad. There are people that I know (my husband is one) who can use anything. And yet, I could look worse - well I am about to. I have been on HRT for 6 years - so am about to be taken off it. There were no health reasons for me not to take it so I did - my reason being my very dry skin.

I've had issues with seb. derm on and off since HS. (And I totally know what you mean about fantasizing about shaving your head when it gets bad) The old school coal tar works for me but takes a long time, as does Rx ketoconazole shampoo. Selsun blue and some other dandruff shampoos don't. For me (sample size of 1 ;) ) one of the triggers seems to be any kind of shampoo or product buildup on my scalp. (I have no idea why this would cause yeast or other microorganism overgrowth but the correlation is pretty strong) I barely had any problems for years and then I moved somewhere with very hard water and it got really really bad within a few months. I finally realized that the shampoo I was using wasn't rinsing well. I've figured out that with hard water I have to use a good quality shampoo with sodium laureth sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate. I use it sparingly and only wash my hair every 3 days so the SLS isn't too drying, do a weak ACV or citric acid rinse once or twice a week, and I've only needed to use medicated shampoo once in the past few years.

I haven't tried Miele sensitive.. but when a detergent says Sensitve..to me it means the Scents used are more tolorated by more people, it may still have a strong scent but its a scent that either less people have reactions too..or perhaps the scent is from real essential oils instead of a chemical. Chemical Scents are the #1 cause of detergent allergies/sensitivities. Yet some people that have these issues still want a scent..so some manufactures chose scents *less* likely to cause a reaction. This of course is IMHO. I