Good substitute for Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer SPF 35?

In My Humble Opinion
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Sorry, I know that’s ridiculously specific. I’ll take recommendations for any gentle face moisturizers with SPF. And actually, non-SPF ones too.

I was using the moisturizer in the title for a couple of years with no problems, but now my (ridiculously sensitive) face has started to be really irritated by it (burning feeling when I apply it, redness). Same with the non-SPF Equate version of Neutrogena’s Oil-Free Ultra-Gentle Facial Moisturizer (though without the burning). Haven’t tried the name brand one since the irritation started, but I compared the ingredients when I switched to the Equate version, and if I recall correctly, they were basically the same, so I’m guessing I’d just be blowing ~$10 for nothing.

Uh, and on that note, the cheaper the better.

My face is also quite prone to acne (suddenly starting around age 26, for no good reason), though now that I’m on the pill, that’s less of a problem, though still a consideration.

Anyone else with similar issues have a good one they use?

Also, would it be worth seeing my dermatologist to find out what ingredient(s) is/are likely causing the problem? I guess I should just see her for this anyway, but the wait time in her office is ridiculous and (of course) it costs money to see her, so if there are good alternatives I can try first, I’d rather do that.

Actually, now that I think about it, I should probably just go see her. But I’d like to hear your experiences and recommendations anyway, if you don’t mind. And if anyone wants, if I do go see her, I can report back with her recommendation.

Thanks.

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Have you tried anything by Cetaphil? They’re the gold standard of dermatalogical products for sensitive skin. It didn’t irritate my skin but I didn’t like it because when I sweat it would go right in to my eyes and burn the fuck out of my eyes. Like, without fail, any time I wore it. Not sure if this is a feature of all SPF moisturizers or just Cetaphil, but if you want to try it, keep that in mind.

I’ve had problems with moisturizers burning my face, especially when they have SPF. A few times I’ve really had problems it was due to medications I was talking that made my skin weird. The burning went away as my skin settled down and I got used to the meds.

I fell in love with First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream this winter when my face went haywire with dryness and redness (it HURT!) but alas, it has no SPF. It was amazing as far as not giving me zits, though.

I actually decided to try “face oil” too, and bought a jar of this Bobbi Brown stuff for $60. Everything I read about it swore up and down that it wouldn’t give you zits and it’s true.

I’m pissed because I recently bought some of this Loreal stuff (Youth Code Day/Night cream) because I had a coupon, and wanted to use it with this Youth Code Serum (it is not a moisturizer, in fact it dries you out), but it made me break out. The Youth Code Serum was doing pretty well with cleaning up some acne scars, IMHO. But now I have new ones thanks to the day/night cream. I used the serum for a while w/o the cream and didn’t have any problems.

My thing right now is the Youth Code Serum and let it dry while I brush my teeth, then put on some face oil. I like it - my face feels “supple” and there’s a definite difference after I use it as opposed to when I fail to use it.

Oh, also I abandoned the First Aid Beauty for the face oil because I felt that while the First Aid Beauty cream was doing a good job of making the owie redness go away, it wasn’t doing much to make my skin … better? Just not bad.

I do use the Loreal Day/Night cream still (because it’s expensive!) but never after a shower. I just use it for SPF if I need something before I go out in the day.

Oh one other thing is I was having a problem with exfoliating. Any time I exfoliated my face in the shower then turned around and put on face moisturizer, I’d break out like a greasy teen (I’m 34). My friend said I should stop using St. Ives and get something more gentle. I switched to Clinique which has much finer exfoliant. Now with using that and using moisturizer I know won’t break me out, I can safely exfoliate. I still only do it every other day, though.

Sorry to ramble on. I’ve been paying extra attention to my stupid face this year. Trying to look better without makeup because makeup drives me nuts with my sensitive skin. So I need to correct my skin as much as possible.

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Thank you. I’m sorry you’re having similar issues.

I actually started using a non-spf cetaphil moisturizer I found in the bathroom. It doesn’t irritate my skin, but unfortunately, it makes my face sticky and greasy and no amount of blotting gets rid of it. Sigh.

I’m wondering if part of the problem is that washing my face twice a day is too much for it to take. I’ll try going down to once a day and see if it helps (and doesn’t cause an eruption).

I’m afraid $60 is out of my price range. I guess next step is to try some cheap stuff at Walmart to see if it works?

And feel free to ramble. The more information, the better!

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That First Aid Beauty is only $12 for a 2oz tube which should last you 3-6 months. You can also go to Sephora if you have one around to try it out.

I haven’t looked at cheaper face oils but there wasn’t anything particular about the Bobbi Brown that I liked. It was just mentioned in a review once i think So if you find something cheap do let us know!