30, Tired, Skin needs Saving. Help?

[30andtired]

I always knew I needed to sort my skin care regime as it is completely non existant but I thought I had perfected my makeup until I checked a mirror outside a few weeks ago . I am 30 and only then realised my Double Wear Foundation looked horrific, so I've stripped right back and taken a good look at my skin which is in a very poor state.

I am 30, but never even used a moisturiser consistently. And now I have a 2yr old DS that refuses to sleep and has totally taken it's toll on my skin/appearance/life

I have congestion on and around my nose with blackhead marks from teenage years. Large pores at the sides of my nose, spreading out to my cheeks. Darkish under eyes. Lots of fine lines around my eyes and a few on forehead. And lastly redness across nose and cheeks.
My skin is neither dry or oily and occasionally I have spots/bumps under the skin.

I realise that in order for my make up to look good I need to sort my skincare first which I know nothing about

So after reading a few threads I can see all you lovely ladies have it down to a tee and I'm excited to have your advice...

I'm looking for,

which products to use best for my skin complaints?

Which order to use them?

How often to use?

How long should I expect to see results?

I'm not a millionaire so willing to spend up to £100 total on everything I need. TIA

[30andtired]

Anyone? I really am clueless

[OhBabyLilyMunster]

Nip and fab glycolic range. Also may be some hormonal issues post baby?

[Charitygirl1]

Recommend Caroline Hirons' blog, specifically the cheat sheet links down the right hand bar - try the 'routines' one.

[Kundry]

OK, it sounds like you have combination skin - some bits normal, some bits oily. Dr Sam Bunting's Q&A is full of advice for this. Caroline Hirons tends to think you need millions of v expensive products and has some odd advice about putting oil on oily skin. Another good place to look is Beautypedia.

You need a non-foaming gentle cleanser like Cetaphil or Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser.

Then you need an acid toner - you need Salicylic acid as it will dissolve in the pores and clear out the blackheads. Effaclar Duo is great and will prob be moisturising enough that you don't need a separate one. I use Paula's CHoice 2% BHA lotion and also don't always need a moisturiser. (BHA is another name for salicylic).

Finally during the day you need to use SPF! This is the single most anti-ageing thing you can do. Moisturising doesn't actually do anything to the structure of your skin and isn't anti-ageing, it just stops it looking dry - so if it isn't dry, you don't need to do it.

I use Cerave SPF or Sunsense Daily Face which have niacinamide in which also helps prevent acne.

Dark under eyes you can't do much about except concealer - they are genetic and you can't get rid of them.

You don't need a special eye cream as the skin under your eyes is still just skin - you should be including it in the same routine as everything else.

You should add one product at a time and expect it to take up to 6 weeks to work - it takes that long for your skin to renew so nothing will fully prevent spots until all the old developing spots have come out. You may get small new spots intially while things settle down - I got a load of random spots on areas of my face that never had spots but they went v fast and never came back.

This would be for starters. If you want to add in something else anti-ageing then you are looking at adding a vitamin C or anti-oxidant serum and a retinol night cream.

[Charitygirl1]

Hi Kundry

Can I ask why you think it's odd to use oily products on oily skin? Not being sarky! For an older skin, you wouldn't want to strip it of oil would you?

[Kundry]

If your skin is oily, it will produce it's own oil. While you don't want to strip it (so non-foaming cleanser) it doesn't need extra either. Oil is just oil, more isn't better for your skin. Which is why all the dermatology advice is about using oil-free products. Caroline Hirons seems to divide oils into good oils and bad - derm advice is that your skin just sees it as oil.

[30andtired]

Thank you all.
Kundry thank you so much for all the info and putting so much effort in, I'm definitely taking your advice and am going to locate all your recommendations tonight

I'm so excited to be on the way to having better skin!

[Kundry]

That's OK - I had a midlife crisis earlier this year (I found a wrinkle!) and became a woman obsessed. Beautypedia and Sam Bunting are amazing and full of info.

[queenofthepirates]

Flush yourself out with loads of water
think about a skin peel to help with getting rid of blackhead marks-I have one every few months and it cost £60.
I swear by retinol a-you can buy on ebay and it encourages cell regeneration. It's cheap too. Use it sparingly at night time only and every other day for the first few months whilst your skin gets used to the turnover.
Exfoliate every day but gently.