Q: I have always had good skin, but now that I’m in my mid-30s, I’m breaking out like a teenager—help!

A: Believe it or not, this is pretty common—in fact, it’s one of the most frequently asked questions I’ve heard during several decades of helping people solve their skin problems.

There is a hormone shift that seems to happen around age 28 to 38 and it can change the chemistry of your skin. It’s sort of a wake-up call to take a look at how you care for yourself. Take a good look at your diet; things such as dairy products, fatty foods and food allergies may be contributing to your break-outs. Also take a good look at your skin care regime, because it may not be right for you anymore, including how you wash your skin and remove make-up, which you should be extra-careful to do thoroughly every night. It’s important to keep your skin calm, which means no products with benzoyl peroxide. I recommend Cellular Clay Mask on pimples, to heal without drying out. You can either use Facial Wash or Cleansing Lotion for daily washing, depending on whether your skin is oily or dry.

You would also benefit from using a Glycolic Moisturizer. Start with 5% and slowly move to a higher strength. If you have a really bad case of acne, use Oxygen Treatment Cream at night to kill all bacteria. You can also use Glycolic Moisturizerduring the day with SPF 30 Moisturizing Sunscreen, or alternate the two products at night.

Hydra Aloe Mask, or Purification Seaweed Gel Mask, either alone or used together with Cellular Clay Mask, would all work well for your skin.

If you are feeling dry, try Bio-Active Serum, which can go anywhere, even the eye area. I would also recommend daily use of Line Diminishing Cream around your eyes and any fine lines, so you can fight the signs of aging along with the acne.

Q: My skin is so oily that I have to wash my face several times a day, or else I’m embarrassed by my shiny face. I use Oil-Free Moisturizer, but I keep producing more oil. Will this ever stop?

A: Used by both Native Americans and modern herbal medicine as a natural antibiotic, goldenseal tea is a folk remedy. First of all, you are very lucky to have oily skin, because as you age, you probably won’t get wrinkles until much later than your friends. But yes, you can control the oil production, and it will eventually diminish with age.

Try using Facial Wash to cleanse, followed by Fruit Tonic for your cleansing routine. In the morning, use Oil-Free Glycolic Gel followed by Oil-Free Moisturizer and SPF 30 Moisturizing Sunscreen. The strength of the Oil-Free Glycolic Gel you should use depends on how sensitive your skin is, but often, extremely oily skin can take the strengths of 10% or 15% without any problem.

At night, after you wash with Facial Wash, use Oxygen Treatment Cream. You can also use Problem Solver—Aloe C at night directly on pimples, or under your make-up to decrease oil during the day.

Watch your diet and stay away from sugar and salty and spicy foods before your period. This may help reduce water retention, which may also be affecting your skin.

Q: I am African-American and I have problems finding products that agree with my skin. I am very sensitive, and it seems like everything I put on my face either burns, or feels too greasy. I also get brownish-black spots that do not go away. Is there anything I do?

A: Black skin is the most sensitive skin at all. In my years of experience, I have learned that you have to be very careful about chemical peels, and harsh products. You will find Naturally Lindy products to be very effective while also extremely gentle and healing.

Be very careful with the sun, and always use sunscreen, because black skin is sensitive to UV rays, which can create brown sunspots.

For your regular skin care routine, try using Facial Wash, Aloe Vera Mist, and Bio-Active Serum, followed by either Day Cream or Hydrating Cream.

If you want to use a Glycolic Acid product to exfoliate your skin, start slowly, and use a low 5% strength. I would
recommend starting with a 5% strength and using it at night, twice a week at first, gradually building up until you are using it daily. At that point, you can try a 10% strength, but again, go slowly and build up, and don’t “push it,” especially if your skin feels irritated. In addition to exfoliation, regular use of Glycolic Acid will help fade any brown spots and give you an overall good skin tone and color.

If the brown spots are very dark or pronounced, you can use Kojic Lightener first on the spot, and then Glycolic Acid all over the face, including the spots. By doubling up these products, the process will move quicker.

Q: I get these bumps around my chin. They are sore and painful, then they go away, but they come back again.

A: Try to see whether these bumps come around your period or ovulation. If so, that is normal. Do not try to dry them, or (worst of all) touch them, because that can make them very “angry” and inflamed.

Hormonal bumps come and go and need to be calmed, not dried up. You might try taking Evening Primrose Oil
supplements (internally), which sometimes helps. I also recommend using Problem Solver—Aloe C directly on the bumps, and the Hydra Aloe Mask is perfect for calming flare-ups.