Is it too late to save my face?

[insaneinthemembrane77]

I’m 45, have always been quite lax about skin care 😬Dove soap and a moisturiser. I don’t have too many lines (just yet) but have started to notice my face becoming puffier and big bags/puffiness under my eyes 😫it looks terrible.
I’ve decided on a skincare overhaul…any experts out there to tell me if I’m making the right choices?
I've now started using a Nivea cream cleanser for sensitive skin at night with s Nivea night cream and then Tretoin a few times a week. In the water I just use water to clean my face and then use Garnier Vitamin C illuminating moisturiser, followed by a tinted bb type cream with factor 50 in. If in direct sunlight (at the beach etc) I use sunblock factor 50 on my face)
Should I add an eye cream in too at night?
Can my skin be saved/rejuvenated?
What do you all do/use and at what age?

ive heard most skin damage etc is sun damage so as long as your wear and spf moisturiser daily I think you’ll be fine. I use the Elemis marine cream daily which is spf 30

Drink water. I noticed I was becoming puffy/ looked awful. I gave up booze in January and my skin looks so much better. Aldi does a relaxation face mask (blue tube) that seems to help even my skin tone and is very moisturising.

I use retinol and hyaluronic acid.

Both purchased from The Ordinary. Their products are good value.

I team this with moisturiser from Origins. I use a night cream, day cream and an eye cream.

I also use their tinted moisturiser. It is spf 40. It has great coverage and I haven't used foundation since I started using it. (The one in the orange tube)

The single biggest thing that has transformed my face is giving up/cutting down booze!

Charlotte Tilbury magic cream
It makes a huge difference to my skin that's noticeable after the one use. I use the night time one

It depends what you are trying to address, one idea is use the Trinny website which designs a personalised regime then find alternative cheaper products as she is very pricey? Sarah Jossel in the Sunday Times and prob Twitter etc too recently did an article about skincare products for each step for under £10

Do you drink? Giving up alcohol majorly reduced my eye puffiness.

Couple of things to add to the already great suggestions.

Face gym, face yoga, whatever they call it, find someone you like on YouTube/tiktok/IG and follow their advice. From lifting hooded eyes, depuffing eyes and defining a jawline, these all work wonders.

I had tear trough and cheek fillers, and later jawline, to add a little "scaffolding" to my face and the difference is amazing.

Also I have Profhilo every 6 months, which tops up skin moisture levels and my skin feels so much firmer and lifted.

I have the kind of skin that dermatologists are complimentary about. I did contemplate a facelift a few years ago and the plastic surgeon looked at me and said that most of his clients in my age group who plumped for a facelift wanted to look exactly the way I already looked. I am in my very late fifties and people think I have children in primary school rather than in medical school. My GP recently thought my age was wrongly recorded.

I never use moisturiser. My dermatologist told me that it would simply make my skin break out. He was totally right about that when I have tried it for a few days every ten years or so. I use tretinoin at night and sunblock every day. I take my minimal makeup off with a microfibre facecloth in the evening with plain water. I might use a little Cetaphil in the morning when I shower. I have had a little tasteful botox and a tiny bit of filler in my nose to mouth lines which was done by a plastic surgeon. A dermatologist recently removed a whole lot of skin tags. I think you can save all the money on expensive moisturisers and serums and just get people with syringes and prescription pads do things to your face that actually work.

I really do look very natural with minimal makeup and my face does move. I doubt very much that anybody could pick I have had a minimal amount of work done. I am not keen in any way shape or form in plumping up my lips or restoring the volume I had in my face in my twenties with filler. Even though I was originally dark-haired I also have no interest into turning my eyebrows into dark hairy caterpillars. Yes, I do have lines and a little sagging which in a few more years I might take care of but really it comes down to hereditary factors, keeping your weight steady, staying out of the sun and prescription strength retinova.

I am pretty sure that tretinoin does not disrupt your DNA though you mustn't take the oral form, roacutane, when pregnant. I mean if you could affect your DNA by smoothing a cream on the skin, geneticists would have discovered the Rosetta stone for gene therapy.

I use tret three or four nights a week, in the winter I use bio oil on one of the nights off, it makes my skin feel lovely by morning.
Washing face in cold water is great for under eye puffiness sometimes and intermittent fasting with the fast period being later in the day is brilliant although I don’t do it as often as I’d like. So much repairing magic happens in our sleep but when you have food in your system that energy is diverted to digestion.

In truth, magic products and cosmetic rituals are not the first or best answer to looking less puffy and tired, to being as healthy and vital as you can be.

No alcohol, smoking, caffeine, sugar, wheat, dairy. Eat mostly plants, drink only water, get plenty of fresh air, exercise and rest. That's it. Transformational.

This comment fuelled by syrupy black coffee. It's hard not to reach for the easy feel-good, the promise of a quick fix.

I have good skin, in fact it is better in my 60’s than in 30’s. I use Clinique moisturiser am and pm and have done since I was 25. I use their foaming cleanser and eye make up remover to take off my make up.

FFS the OP is going way over the top. "Saving my face" etc. Sure, any anti aging tips? But we need to move away from a society that things faces need to be saved.

I agree with the above, for me the best skin care routine is as follows:

1. External

No cleanser or toner (use olive oil to remove make-up/grime in the evening), and rinse with water Tretinoin or lactic acid Simple moisturiser like nivea SPF but splurge for a good one

1. Internal

Cod liver oil and floradix Green smoothie every morning Loads of vegetables Lay off the booze, smoking, caffeine Water water water water glue glue glug

I've read about people using Vaseline under their eyes on here, that seems counter intuitive but does it really help? Is that for crepey crinkly eyes or for eye bags?

I would like to know this too 😊

Thanks for your reply @Novatherova

That isn't like the stuff advertised on QVC is it, that dries up on your face and tightens like the old egg white mask trick?

Tretinoin is only available on prescription isn't it?

You don't need anything expensive or fancy, just a hyaluronic acid serum, a moisturiser and spf. If you like also maybe a vitamin c serum

No, you can buy it from abroad or use dermatica or skin and me for the prescription

I use Roche posay tinted moisturiser factor 50 on my face- and Olay at night- people always ask what use as for 61 I've got good skin (body is shit but face still quite good)!!

Just here for the 'I use Fairy Liquid to to remove my make-up then Ponds Cream like my grandma did and people are always amazed when I tell them how old I am' :-)

Honestly @thegrain people are allowed to look in the mirror and think 'yuck! I look dreadful' occasionally. It doesn't undermine others who have medical grade scars and deformities. And the language the OP is using about 'saving' her face is fine! Stop being offended and take it for what is intended.

Another vote for The Ordinary face oils here. And Cerave is very gentle but seems effective. I used to love Beauty Pie but it all got a bit too complicated.

Just water on my face. If I use moisturiser then my skin seems to become reliant on it and invariably becomes much drier when I get bored and stop. It takes a couple of weeks to regain its usual softness.

I should also look like a raddled old prune- but I don’t. Much of it is down to the genetic lottery and I’m not the least convinced that all the fancy creams and serums make much difference other than in the mind of the user.

I think it's 90% genetic luck!

Sunscreen every single day, not just on sunny days.
Drink plenty of water - more than you think you need.
Wear sunglasses at the slightest sight of the sun, and reading glasses if you even slightly need them - stops you screwing up your eyes, which causes wrinkles.
TBH it's mostly in the genes, but the above actions can help a lot. Good luck!