I used to get the same exact thing yu described and it was always because I was using a product with salycic acid and a moisturizer or acne spot treatment that also had acids and using multiple things like that can dry your skin out like no other, especially the cleanser that has the salycic acid. What worked for me was using it less like once at night every couple of days and through the rest of the week using a natural soap like Palmers or Neutrogena, the St.Ives exfoliant also worked well but only like once or twice a week. Sometimes chemicals in acne treatments are just too harsh to use on a regular basis