Hey skincareaddiction,

Preface that this issue doesn't really happen if I'm lounging around in my PJs, or even if I go out to run errands in my regular street clothes. It happens way more with uncomfortable clothes and waay more if I'm traveling by plane.

So basically the issue I have is that about 2 hours after rinsing off my face in the morning and coming to work, my face becomes very, very sweaty and oily, and quite ruddy. My face is fine in the morning, but as soon as it gets this way any kind of wrong angle on the lighting and my face shows up as glistening and oily. Furthermore, and most infuriatingly, if my face is sitting in this oil sweat for more than an hour or so, sudden pimples and mini-cysts can develop seemingly out of nowhere. For these reasons I need to find a way to keep my face from getting this way.

I've tried to go every two hours to the bathroom and dab water on my face, but it comes back pretty quickly, and doing so isn't really practical. I've tried those alcohol and anti-acne wipes throughout the day, but they somehow leave my face feeling sticky and the oily sweat returns even harder a couple of hours later. I've also tried spraying zinc solution onto my face (they promised me it was like "constantly dabbing your face with a wet paper towel" but that didn't do much either.

The sweat is mostly in my t-zone but extends on my cheeks until my beard-line, and also on my forehead, close to where my hairline is receeding. Also shows up severely on my nose itself.

I'm tired of looking in the mirror and seeing this massive oily sweat layer causing surprise pimples to fester. How do I stop my face from secreting like this?

Context:

I used to use benzoyl peroxide daily for many, many years, but it suddenly lost its effect two years ago and I recently stopped using it (other than a very light benzoyl peroxide facewash applied once in the nightly shower and quickly rinsed off). My routine consists of a morning rinse-off with cetaphil cleansing and hydrating lotion, a nightly shower where I apply that benzoyl and exfoliate gently (otherwise I get a lot more ingrown hair acne), and air dry. I don't use anything else at all on my face. I don't drink or anything else, and I make sure I stay fully hydrated by drinking a lot of water at work.

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