Worrying Facial Assessment Report at Cosmetics Counter

[tetleymel]

Has anyone else had one of those Visia Facial Assessment Reports done? I had one today in a beauty products counter and it said I had:

Spots: 47%
Wrinkles: 60%
Texture: 60%
Pores: 7%
UV Spots: 33%
Brown Spots: 18%
Red Areas: 24%
Porphyrins: 91%

So, 50% is the average for a woman of my age. LOWER than this is WORSE than the average.

This means that I have worse UV skin damage than 2/3s of women my age and am I likely to be covered by old-age liver spots, as I had 18%?

Pores is bad. :(

Does anyone know how I can counterract these? I'm guessing I can't. :(

Bumpity bumpity bump bump bump bump!

didn't they give you any advise at the counter? What routine do you follow at the moment?

They said I should use a toner to help with the pores, but that there's nothing to be done about the UV damage or the brown spots. Is this correct?

At the moment I use Simple face wash and then M & S moisturiser. Nothing complicated!

Old UV damage is very difficult to fix. Do you wear suncream when you are out?

A daily facecream with UV protection in is probably a good idea to prevent further damage, and being really good with applying suncream when it's sunny.

Are you very pale?

Yes I do wear suncream and will make sure I buy a moisturiser with UV protection.

No, I'm fairly dark in colouring. A bit freckly on the face.

Retin A is the only thing that will actually reverse sun damage, use at night and then a high spf moisturiser every day.

Ah, great thanks for the retin A tip. I'll get straight onto that.

I hope I'm not at risk of skin cancer in the future.

I have never heard of this, so can't offer any advice

You can certainly stop it getting very worse - wear a high SPF suncream everyday (UVA rays can still penetrate clouds).

You can use a moisturiser with a SPF, but unless it is has a high rating, then it's next to useless, as you'd need to apply far more than you generally would with moisturiser. I tend to use Boots Solan Once and it's fine under make-up.

You could try Boot no 7 Protect & Perfect Serum, that is quite good. Also oils, such as rosehip may help with discolouration.

Boots no 7 also do a suncream with brown spot protection here Which I've use in summer. Again it's good under make-up.

Ahh okay. I was going to suggest Retin A and Boots no 7 Protect and Perfect too, but I'm v.v. pale (think Snow White with frostbite) and it's a bit too harsh on my skin. It sounds like it'd be fine for yours.

I have heard that these can be quite...temperamental. I have a few friends who do it regularly and there seems to be no pattern to what results they get, so don't take it to heart too much. You could always go back in a few months to see your progress?

Ah, thank you for your advice! I'll look into those.

I used to take Roaccutane for acne. I wonder if that had an effect.

Looking up Retin A here it looks as though it can help cause UV damage. Am I being thick with this?

I think the key phrase here is beauty products counter. Whatever a Facial Assessment Report is, it will have been designed to sell you stuff that they claim will correct or reverse a problem you never knew you had.
Don't smoke.
Don't sunbathe.
Eat a healthy diet.
Exercise regularly.
Everything else is a waste of money.

Thanks for that. Yes, it was at a beauty products counter, so I should be wary I suppose. It was this machine that they used.

tetley retin A can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, therefore it is even more imperative to use a high SPF cream/moisturiser whilst using. It still helps to reverse skin damage, to a certain extent.

Now is the best time to start with retin A, as it's winter :)

Toner does not "close" pores, so don't even begin to be sold on that idea.

I would concentrate on good moisturising with a decent spf every day and avoiding the sun whenever you can.

Like the OP said.... its designed to sell you products so i wouldnt worry too much.
Both Retin A and Vitamin C reduce photoaging.

Hey cedge, can you recommend a decent vit c product, preferably a serum to go under my day moisturiser. I'm alternating between retin A and glycolic at night and my skin is tolerating it well so I'd just like to step it up a notch.

This is utter, utter bollocks. It's the new Clinique 3-step slidey thing. Don't give it a thought, the numbers are probably generated at random. Anything that can't be seen by normal human eyes really doesn't need worrying about.

Also, I have just looked at their website and their punctuation is disastrous.

Muckingfunter - the best Vitamin C serum is one that you make yourself. Vitamin C is unstable and so manufacturers have to use a derivative of Vitamin C in their products which does not seem to be as good.
I use a vitamin C toner a couple of times a week (basically distilled water and vitamin c powder at a 10% solution). Others use a serum.
This site has a simple recipe

beautysnug.com/index.php?topic=152.0

But there are more complex ones online too

sorry still getting used to this!

beautysnug.com/index.php?topic=152.0

Can I also echo - that this was designed to make you feel bad, so you would be eternally grateful to the beauty counter, which can fix everything and empty your wallet at the same time.
Forgetting the Assessment, how do you feel about your face and work from there. Are you doing the basics - moisturise and keeping out of the sun? What kind of an approach do you have to grooming - are you willing and likely to want to spend time on a beauty regime? Do you have time to research products that may get rid of some skin imperfections or spend time learning how to cover them up or spend time learning how to feel comfortable in your own skin? Once you are a bit clearer on what you want to achieve then I'm sure you can find helpful answers on how to go about it...

What brand make up counter did this 'analysis'?

Bump

I truly would ignore that 'analysis'. Take a look at your own skin: how is it looking?

Protecting against UV damage is always a good idea. By my age (I'm in my 40s) you can always tell the women who smoked and sunbathed.

A good serum will make your skin feel a bit brighter and firmer.

Toner will make no difference whatsoever to your pores.

And everything else is just flogging you stuff.