Better skin - any recommendations?

[PathOfLeastResitance]

I've decided that enough is enough with my skin. It's got dry patches and red bits and is just generally badly behaved!

I use moisturiser every day and a different one at night (both Garnier) that claim to sort these problems but my skin doesn't want to play nicely.

I've heard people talk about getting a 'skin care regime'. Does anyone know what one of those is? Also where do I get one? I'm happy to go into the confusing world of the counters in Boots and talk to the girls there but I was hoping that someone would have a recommendation as to which one is a good brand to use. I'm willing to spend some money on this but feel wary of being ripped off.

Can anybody help a bad skinned lady??

Well, I had really bad skin and I found the following made a big difference.

Cleanse and polish Liz Earle nightly.

Alpha H liquid gold- twice a week.

Liz Earle Concentrate oil nightly

Body Shop Aloe night cream to moisturise.

Fab, fab, fab.

Thanks for that. I've never heard of liz Earle.
Where did you get it from?

Could I ask, how did you work out what you needed to buy? Was it a process of elimination?

Liz Earle is available online or from John Lewis. I think the bigger branches of Boots now do her products.

The rest I choose from recommendations here, youtube, sali hughes and other makeup reviewer/websites.

You'll get a lot of other recommendations on here and there will be a lot of cheaper options. I think it's a case of trial and error and whatever suits your skin.

I'd concentrate on finding a good cleanser and a good moisturiser, and personally I think trial and error is the way to go here, as what works for one person will not always work for another. Having said that, I agree that Sali Hughes is good for recommendations - I also like intothegloss.com (although it's v American).

I'd say that you don't necessarily have to spend a huge amount to get good results, but in general, the more "difficult" your skin is, the more likely you are to have to go for the really good quality or organic stuff.

The one product I'm always recommending to people is Neal's Yard Rose Facial Oil - it's not cheap but it lasts ages. I use it at night, after cleansing, and sometimes with a moisturiser over the top but often just on its own. It's excellent for improving skin tone and texture, and is lovely to use. It leaves the skin feeling nice and moisturised and glowy, but never greasy. Clarins also make lovely facial oils.

Cleanser-wise, it may be that your skin is happy with something as simple and inexpensive as olive oil soap or it may be that you need something richer/creamier. I would go to John Lewis and ask at the Clarins, Elizabeth Arden and Liz Earle counters (those are my favourites) and see what they suggest and what samples they give you. Don't be bullied into buying anything if you're unsure and want a sample first! (it can be very expensive, trying to get skin are right)

Good luck :)

Thanks everybody. I don't mind spending money if it works! Just worried about making expensive errors.

I get a bit shy around the counter girls and then feel bad when I don't buy anything or worse (for me, not them) is when I buy stuff I wasn't really sure about. I may have to take a mouthy friend with me.

I've heard of face oils before but haven't tried any. I'll look into that.
Thanks again.

I have combination skin with dry patches and use Superdrug hot cloth cleanser at night followed by Aldi serum and moisturiser.
In the morning just splash skin with water, dry and use serum and moisturiser.

I'm very happy with these products which are cheap but get great results for me. If you're going to experiment. Would humbly suggest you try the cheaper options first as you may not need to spend £££

I use Liz Earle cleanse and polish twice a day and liz Earle skin oil at night.

a good gentle exfoliator, perhaps Espa or Boots microdermabrasion
a natural face oil, e.g. Neals Yard, Clarins Blue Lotus, Argan oil or jojoba oil - any all-natural should do it
a gentle cleanser, I second Liz Earle cleanse & polish, or Elemis Tri-Enzyme
A glycolic acid product once or twice a week, depending on the strength of the preparation and how sensitive your skin is
Moisturiser, again Neals Yard, Clarins or Elemis are all good. For less expensive but still organice, Dr Organic from Holland & Barratt is pretty good and the rose range smells lovely

Neals Yard is excellent and has a great website where you can search by skin type, you can email or Facebook them for advice and if you have a store near you they will advise and give you samples.

I find their products actually do something for your skin.

I have combination, sensitive, dehydrated oily skin. Woohoo, it's fab. But NYR generally helps sort it out.

I think a cleanser is the most important thing to get right. After that, a moisturiser that suits you is easier to find. A flannel, hot cloth or muslin is important to get skin properly clean. And the right make up is important - oil free if you have oily patches, for example.

I battle endlessly with my skin, mainly because of hormones, and unfortunately it really is trial and error.

I agree that you don't necessarily have to spend £££ to get good results.

A skin care regime is basically how you clean and moisturise your skin.

Over the years I have tried all sorts of expensive facecare from Clarins to Liz Earle to rosehip face oil to Neal's Yard to Clinique. I have to say some of the Clarins stuff was nice but it didn't do anything magic. I believe that for some people, too many products and poking around with their face, peels, brushing, etc does more harm than good and can really irritate sensitive skin, which is what it sounds like you've got.

I wash my face with a foaming cleanser (Johnson's), use an exfoliating facewash once every two days (also Johnson's, very gentle). I use Oil of Olay face cream for Normal/Dry skin with SPF15 which I am quite generous with and I recently introduced an eye cream (Nivea Visage). Every so often I do a face pack (brightening or clarifying depending on what I feel like).

I can honestly say I have great skin and do not look my age. From friends to total strangers to work mates. Nobody believes my true age and they are not just being polite - I'm in my early 40's and don't have the eye lines or forehead lines. I have used an SPF for probably 20 years+ though and always take face cream down to my neck and decolletage.

I believe that rubbing at your skin with cotton wool + cleaner isn't very good for it, whereas facial washes are a lot lighter on the skin. The other tip is an SPF, always. Some of the moisturisers (Clinique for example) don't have SPF's in.

If I were you I would go around all the beauty counters, explain your skin problems, let them analyse you and see what they recommend. If you feel awkward about not buying, you can always say initially you will be visiting several counters to try and see what brand you feel would suit your skin best before purchasing, then you are being completely upfront and they won't expect you to buy straightaway. You might find they work harded to get you to come back but don't feel guilty if you don't.... you are entitled to shop around before making a final decision.

I meant to add, NYR has a lovely chamomile cleanser that might suit - sounds like your skin is red and irritated. They have a range for sensitised skin, sounds like you need to bring it back to basics and start with gentle, clean products.

Ren is another brand that is good for sensitive skin. If there is redness I would avoid cleaners with SLS and too many chemicals. I get red flaky patches too and SLS is just the worst...

Dr Organic from H&B has a lovely rosehip facial oil for about £12 which is quite good.

TigerseyeMum have you any experience of comparing the NY rose facial oil and the H&B one? I didn't know H&B did a skin are range but like the sound f the price... sadly eyes empty wallet

OP, you definitely shouldn't feel guilty about asking questions/getting samples at counters and then not necessarily making a purchase - those women make enough hard sells without you adding to their profit! ;)

Thanks everyone. Going to have a poke around the counters and get some samples.
Will also try out the aldi recommendation. I love that place for a good deal!

I've recently had v good results with boots botanics. The hot cloth cleanser and the nourishing day cream

I've had pretty good skin all my life, but a few of months ago I posted a very similar question on here as I was looking ^old^ and worn

I'm not convinced it matters what products you use - but having some sort of skin care regime has reduced my need for loads of make-up and loads of people have commented on how 'well' I look.

Sooooo

AM:

I wash with any old soap. Usually Dove.

Then I use a Garnier roll-on eye pen, followed by Loreal Youth Code serum. I leave that to sink in for 5 mins while I get breakfast, then I apply SunSense SP50.

PM:

I wash my face with whatever soap/showergel is near the bath. Clinique eye cream followed by an Estée Lauder night serum and Bravura night cream.

When I read that back and it looks like im a crazy beauty junkie. But I honestly never put a product on my face until very recently and after a few months of experimenting my skin has never been better.

What one person sweats will work for them, may ruin the face of another!

Go to the beauty counters in your nearest department store and get as many samples as you can

Enjoy x

Oh I forgot to add that the Bravura night cream is 15% glycolic acid. I also use a Bravura dermaflannel to cleanse which has really cleared up the congested pores around my nose

I have done a couple of glycolic acid peels too. There's loads of threads in S&B about it

Another one to say that the key isn't spending money - it's CONSISTENCY! If you cleanse well for your skin and treat it every morning and every evening you'll soon see a difference.

I'd be a bit careful with liz earle's cleanse and polish if you have dry patches because it has camphor oil in it which can irritate some skins.

You can use ANY cream cleanser as a 'hot cloth' cleanser - if you buy yourself a week's worth of cheap flannels you can use a clean one each day. The body shop's aloe range is gentle and if you get their newsletter they're always emailing codes (in fact there's £10 and free del on orders over £25 today - you could get everything you need for £25 easily, for only £15 today).

Also take a fish oil supplement.

Good luck! Let us know what you get (nosey)

Laquila I have used the H&B face oil and it is nice but my skin was a bit too combination for it. I have not tried the NYR facial oil due to price, I tend to use a decleor one but when that is gone I might treat myself - NYR stuff lasts me ages because it is quite thick and nourishing so I only use small blobs on my fingertips as opposed to cheaper/thinner creams which soak in and I need more.

I'm tempted by the bravura hyaluronic acid stuff too. My NYR day cream has some in and I think it's made a difference.

I also use a flannel daily to take my make up off, it makes a real difference, but am also using the Sonicleanse as well and my skin looks clearer and brighter after a week.

There's so much on the market now, samples are the way to go.

Oh Back2To I had a sample of the Immortelle eye cream and tried it for 1 week and looked amazing! Everyone asked md why I looked sob right and had I had tons of sleep!

Alas it's too expensive to buy but if I had the cash i would.

I agree that it's having a consistent, gentle but thorough routine. I really persevered with Liz Earle but I found constantly scrubbing my skin with a cloth (which never felt clean) wasn't doing my skin any favours.

My skin is better than it's been in ages with the following routine morning and night:

Cleanse with Avene gentle gel cleanser, rinse by splashing warm water. Moisturise with La Roche Posay Cicaplast - this is utterly amazing for my skin, deeply moisturising and nourishing, don't need much, and is antibacterial too so doesn't clog my skin and seems to keep spots at bay while being really rich. I'm quite evangelical about it!

For day I don't wear makeup, just La Roche Posay SPF50 tinted moisturiser.

I do exfoliate/scrub/peel/mask a couple of times a week, but my skin is thanking me for letting it do its own thing mostly.

French pharmacy brands such as Avene and La Roche Posay make really effective skin care products full of genuinely active ingredients that don't break the bank. They are, in my opinion, much better products than the hideously expensive cosmetic brands make although I am just as gullible as the next woman and can be just as susceptible to clever persuasive marketing

The reason these products are superior is because they are made for dermatologists to prescribe to their patients. They are non comedogenic (meaning they don't block pores) and designed to be as non irritating as possible to sensitive skin. Most importantly, they really work.

Both brands sell moisturising creams designed specifically to tackle any redness, as well as dry skin. Avene extremely gentle cleanser does a through cleansing job without aggravating the skin. Perhaps these might work for you op?

The only drawback to these products is you don't get the beautiful packaging - it's all very functional I'm afraid. However this also means that they are very reasonably priced, and for a product that actually does what it says on the tin, I'm willing to forego a pretty bottle.