u/Intrepid_Variety_126

Hello! I am 24F, who lives in the hot tropics of Darwin, Australia. I am from NZ, but have been here 3 years, so my skin has got a bit more used to it as of late, but it still sucks. I have what I would consider dry textured skin. I don't battle with breakouts much, but lately, it has been quite bad for me, and my skin in general is a bit bumpy.

I have recently changed my routine, as I found my pores on my nose and cheeks were still looking dirty, and enlarged even after double cleansing. My routine is:

Every morning:

CeraVe salicylic acid cleanser (x1 cleanse)
Ordinary Hyaluronic acid serum
Ordinary Niacinamide serum
(Just purchased the La Rosche Posay Hyalu B5 light gel to add here today and haven't yet used it, was using cicaplast but too heavy for the day) (ideally, the gel is not realistic long term as $56 for 40ml is not great!)
Mecca Save Face SPF50+ sunscreen
Sometimes, I use Mecca Weekend Skin Glow serum when I need some extra glow

Evenings:

Night A
CeraVe salicylic acid cleanser
Dermalogica special cleansing gel
Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid
Ordinary Hyaluronic acid serum
La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Night (again just got today, as cicapplast too thick for 24/7 usage and think it was breaking me out from not being breathable. but this cream is also very expensive for only 40ml)

Night B
Dermalogica special cleansing gel (x2 cleanse)
Ordinary Hyaluronic acid serum
Differin gel 0.1% (just started this today)
La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Night

Night C
CeraVe salicylic acid cleanser
Dermalogica special cleansing gel
Ordinary Hyaluronic acid serum
La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Night
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 Baume (a little bit, just to lock in the moisturisers and help with recovery after actives)

My questions are:

- Can I use the CeraVe cleanser as often as I am with these actives? And twice a day?
- Are these the right actives for me?
- Any cheaper alternatives?

Next week I am FREEEEEE!!!! I made a post a few months ago, saying how hard this whole process was, and that was at 4 weeks. I am now 11 weeks post op, and i can tell you it does get better! (even though all you commenters saying this, i wanted to hit you at the time.. but you were right) I was SO depressed the first 6 weeks. the second i could put weight on my leg and bend it more, life got so much more enjoyable. I could sit in the front seat of the car, I could go out and sit at restaurants like a normal person, i could walk further distances. IT GETS BETTER!!!

My next point is trying to figure out how the fuck to reactivate my quads. My protocol was 6 weeks straight leg, 10kg only weight bearing. I am now at 90 degrees, I got this almost a week ago, but i can only really get 75 degrees (and thats my pushing it) when i went from 30 to 60, i got it within a two days, but 60-90 is really hard. I also still can't lift my leg up when laying down. I haven't started any physio yet, my surgeon didn't want to until I was bending properly.

My question is really, am I screwed next week when I'm supposedly meant to come off my crutches and out of this brace at 12 weeks? Are they going to let me?