Combination skin issues... see details.

if you can, get your dermo to prescribe %2 retin-a (generic) and mix it with your moisturizer every night. it’ll really help.

Maybe take a look at the ingredients in the products you use on your face. Check them here. Toss em if they don’t look good.
Drink plenty of water. And try applying jojoba oil to the dry areas at night.

When it comes to aloe you have to be careful because that can actually dry skin out. I would recommend using a moisturizer that is gel based because it will still give you moisture without drying you out or making the oily areas worse. Exfoliating is excellent, but make sure you don’t exfoliate too much. Sometimes your skin will over produce oil if you over exfoliate or over cleanse your skin. Doing so strips the skin of it’s lipid barrier and also effects the PH balance of your skin. This will make your body produce more oil than usual to restore the lipid barrier and the PH of your skin.
If you want more specific help just PM more of your details and I can recommend a good skin regime for your face. It’s my job! :)

I don’t know which facial scrub you use, but St. Ives Apricot scrub is truly the best exfoliant I’ve found for dry skin. After the scrub, try a really good facial moisturizer to use on just those areas. For the oily parts, carry some facial wipes with you and do a little touch up cleaning once or twice a day. I just use either baby wipes or Kleenex Splash ‘n’ go wipes.

Whoah, be careful! I have the same combination skin problems, and I’ve found that exfoliant on a dry scaly area is exactly the wrong thing to do. It just irritates your skin. I use Origins Checks and Balances cleanser (it took me forever to find one that works!), a light moisturizer on my cheeks, and an extra drop of Borage Dry Skin Therapy for face on those dry areas (usually I only need this in the winter). I don’t put any lotion on my forehead or nose or chin, ever! Utter catastrophe if I do.

Anyway, everyone’s skin is different, but go easy on the exfoliant! Any scrubbing stuff is less than gentle on sensitive or problematic skin areas, no matter how much the bottle proclaims otherwise.

@juniper I work at Origins!!! Their products are superb, I use them myself! And you are right, one should only exfoliate up to 2–3 times a week max.

@IBERnineD: How cool! Most of my makeup and facial products are from Origins. I feel much more comfortable smearing paraben-free stuff all over the delicate, thin skin on my face. I just can’t get over the fact that skin is porous, and it just absorbs all of those chemicals….ugh. Anyway, it’s nice to have safer options.

@juniper absolutely, that is one of the reasons I like working there. I feel good and trust the products I am selling. My entire make-up collection is all Origins, same with my skincare, body care, etc.

oh, I don’t exfoliate every day. Only once a week in fact. I use um, Clean and Clear or something or other.

I also use aloe vera gel… so I assume it’s gel based… lol… it’s the clear goop people use on sunburns. I just found that it does a really awesome job as a general moisturizer. At least, on my hands it is. And my hands get ripped up because I wash them so much, especially in the winter.

I can’t afford anything fancy or expensive… is Origins pricey?

Oh and incidentally, I’m weird. The center of my forehead is dry. The outer sides are oily. I don’t understand how there is a difference between skin here | | <-right next to each other. Can’t some of the oil just, you know, move a bit to the left/right? lol

@poofandmook: Huh! I have the same odd distribution of oil on my forehead! I gave up on that long ago, and I found that I was much happier with the way it looked without any goop on it. Now, I just put a light dusting of powder on it at noon, when it starts to get bad. I leave it alone in the morning, when it’s pretty much in control.

Origins is kind of expensive, yes. The other product I used before, which I love, is Burt’s Bee’s Garden Tomato soap for oily or troubled skin. It’s awesome for skin like ours! The only reason I stopped using it is that it’s hard to deal with a soft bar of soap. You have to keep it well drained, and my current shower doesn’t have a place for a slotted soap holder.

Less is more. Whatever you put on, just put a tiny bit and check it out in the morning!

Also, I’m not sure about the Aloe gel. I got a plant at the Farmer’s market a month ago, and I’ve been experimenting with it. It doesn’t do much of anything for me…maybe just try something new!

@poofandmook the outer edges of your forehead are probably more oily because it is closer to your hairline.
And Origins is fantastic, but if they are out of your price range Neutragena, Oil of Olay, or even Biore are good. Alba is also an excellent line if you are interested in green products.

I second (or third or fourth!) everyone saying that you should not use a rough exfoliant. I have combination skin just like yours and it was very irritated by the face washes I was using (Neutrogena, Clean and Clear, etc) because, as I learned when I got a facial at a spa, that they strip the moisture and natural oils from your skin. Then, your face does into overdrive to produce oil to make up for what you just took off. Thus, she recommended that I try Cosmedix – all natural and incredible. My skin has never looked so good. A few bucks more than Neutrogena but well worth it.

http://www.cosmedix.com/