Had my first " your skin looks amazing" comment-- THANK YOU Caroline Hirons!

[bigbuttons]

A colleague said this at work today, I was so chuffed.
I'm 47 and was looking not so good. This last month I have invested in serums, acids and what not have gone back to Caroline Hirons properly this time. I have been religiously cleaning and tending to my face AM and PM. I use a 30% glycol peel every couple of weeks and use tretinoin every 3 days.
I must say even I have noticed a difference, it has knocked years off me.
All blemishes gone, skin is ultra smooth, wrinkles reduced.
There is hope for us more (ahem) mature ladies!

Ah! Yes, that's a good point about liquid gold being used last. I was thinking about is it safe to use aha with retinol, which it is. Sorry to confuse!

I scrounged a sample of this yesterday

Lovely; I used it without any foundation and it made my skin all radiant. Looks a bit highlighted for a minute or so until it dries but then looks great

What with this and my new skincare regime I am starting to look a lot better

This thread is great! I started a skin care routine a couple of months ago and my skin is looking so much better, and feels so soft.
I started using an acid toner and indeed lab retinoids recently. I had 2 milia, one near my eye and one on my chin (weirdly) and within a week they dropped off (with a little help from my nail)! So pleased.
I have a question though about the order of applying products. So I double cleanse in the evening, then acid toner, then serum...then retinoids after serum? Do I need to wait in between? Then rosehip oil? I'm finding I don't need moisturiser at this point (I have combination skin) but should I still use it?

Yes, some clarification about the order of things would be really helpful!

Benefit dream screen (spf 45) is oil free and hasn't caused me breakouts. I've been using it with 2% salycid acid (10 mins daily) and my skin is almost perfect.

I have a future proofing my child/teenage skin question for carolinehirons and the rest of you please.

I had bad acne for twenty years, roaccutane etc., no joy. Now, after following La Hirons blog and adopting her mantra that skin is not the enemy it is improving.

BUT my beautiful toddler is currently covered in pox spots. He looks like a two year old with acne. I had awful pox and just have the fear that he will end up miserable and acne riddled come adolescence.

carolinehirons what good habits/skincare can I institute now for him (and his big sister who looks to have my husband's skin, paler, milia prone but not as reactive).

So far: morning- warm flannel, evening-lavera basis cleansing milk/balance me rose balm (what I use), Weleda baby face cream.
Diet is low glycemic load(ish), omega 3s, multivitamin, probiotic, drink lots of water. But quite dairy rich.

What should I do when they hit adolescence?
Thank you very much, this is something I am dwelling on a lot at the moment- slight bunker madness from pox isolation.

What's everyone been buying then?!!! Any recommendations?!

I have just started to build up my new products.

So far I have got. Superdrug hot cloth cleanser and LUSH ultrabland. Clearasil pads. Some Loreal serum but I can't remeber the name of it right now. Superdrug glycolic peel and liquid gold. Using my normal moisturisers.

I plan to get a better toner at some point. Do I need anything else? I have acne and dry skin.

Kundry I don't have blackheads or spots really. Just melasma, some wrinkles (and in one case, melasma in my wrinkle) and greasy, porey skin.

I do sound attractive don't I?

I think glycolic is what I need.

caramelgirl I don't think you can store up good habits for an adolescent! His skin will be amazing until the hormones hit anyway, and when they do hit he's a boy - he may not be as compliant with a skincare regime as you are His routine now should be wash and flannel - as pox is awful.

The best thing you can do for him is take him to the GP early, state yours was horrendous and needed roaccutane and don't get fobbed off with antibiotics. Or mess about with Clearasil when he needs prescription meds. Attitudes to acne have changed since your teenage years and so have the treatments, they are much much better now.

Hi Findingpeace Dr Sam Bunting talks about using moisturiser if you need it. I have combination/oily skin and often feel I don't need it, especially after serum so I don't bother. Just do what feels right to you.

In terms of order of products, retinol is after serum, before moisturiser (if using). CH suggests wash face when get home and then spend evening doing products gradually which really works for me - I just wander in and out of the bathroom doing another layer. or completely forget and do the whole lot in 2 minutes

I'd love to know CH's opinion on rosehip oil. Personally I can't see a few rosehips is going to cut it on my skin, plus I avoid oil like the plague. I'd guess if rosehip works it's because it's high in Vit C and I'd rather put that on in a serum. But it's so popular, I can't help think I'm missing out.

Can anyone recommend a retinol product to use?

Kundry- I read in one of her blog posts iirc that rosehip oil (which did precisely nada for me) is not enough once, like me, you are more mature...
I definitely agree with the using products gradually. Tonight I cleansed then toned, had dinner, then retinA'd and now have just used my oil and eye cream.

squeasey- what is the Vichy version of redermic please?

I am soooo loving this thread! Can we become a MN quiche do you think?

I love the Vichy retinol as well, I've got oily skin and it's just so light and non greasy and I've been really impressed with the results. It's the lift activ advanced filler.

Has anyone used any of the Oz naturals products? They have a 2.5% retinol cream which has great reviews on Amazon. I'm really tempted by the Vit C serum as well.

This thread was perfect timing - read most of it on the bus on my way to a shopping trip, the purpose of which was to revamp my skincare routine and came home with a much lighter wallet.

I'd like to try a chemical peel/ exfoliant product like the ones on the Bravura website. Can anyone tell me how/ when in my routine I use them? And evening or morning? Also, are they safe to use during pregnancy?

Interesting what someone said upthread about the Ren Clarimatte toner not being recommended anymore. I've been using that for a while and haven't noticed any results. I'm going to switch to FAB pads and maybe get another (stronger) one to try...

Yes, we should definitely be a mumsnet quiche!

Thanks for pox flowers kundry , may swap for gin if that's okay .
IIRC CH mentions rose hip oil promoting facial hair growth for some lucky laydeez.
I also really like reading all of the user comments on the blog. Some of my favourite products (eg a yonka peel, peter Thomas roth salicyclic toning pads) are from other readers.
This thread feels like a more organised version of those comments. Lots of useful advice, am planning to order the SR acid toner asap at that price.

Help please! I've read CH's blog and all this thread and am feeling rather mind boggled! Double cleansing seems totally logical and I have done it for years (Many years ago I remember the Clinique consultant explaining you wouldn't shower in your clothes, so why wash without taking makeup off first), moving from cleanser followed by Clinique soap when younger to two cleansers as my skin became older, but the rest ...I'm getting peels, acids, retinols, AHAs, hyaluronic, etc. in a real pickle!

There are lots of reference of treating acne / post acne, but what is best for post-menopause (almost 60 year old) skin with a few deep wrinkles, lack of firmness across lower cheeks, sagging eyelids, jaw and neck?

So - double cleanse ... then what? Please can someone give me a basis step-by-step guide, preferably with examples of the products?

Many thanks

Bravura doesn't sell any strong 'weekly' peels any more.

The salicylic 2% you could use as an acid toner twice a day but it's an expensive way to buy it.

The lactic and glycolic are stronger and they suggest 3-4 times a week like using Alpha-H Liquid Gold.

I think their best products now are their toners which you can use as a twice daily acid toner. It's sad they don't do the peels anymore.

No probs using acids in pregnancy.

citydweller i just received my 2% bha in the post today from Bravura. It says it shouldnt be used by pregnant or lactating women. This is how I slotted it onto my routine though :
I double cleansed, then applied the bha but then for some reason you have to rinse it off after 2 mins, whish is odd because when I had the Paula's Choice 2% bha it said to leave it on. Anyway I rinsed it off, applied a serum and eye cream followed by a moisturiser.

Anyone know why you have to rinse off the bha from Bravura but not from Paula's Choice?

AsBrightAsAJewel the easiest bit to understand is that the anti-ageing advice and the anti-acne advice is essentially the same:

AM:
Single cleanse
Acid toner
Serum
Moisturise
SPF

PM:
Double cleanse
Acid toner
Serum
Retinol
Moisturise

The key difference at 60+ is that you are likely to want to max out on hydration to try and fill out wrinkles so when you pick serums you will be looking for things like hyaluronic and peptides to try and minimize wrinkles. Plus your skin may have changed and you may want richer or oilier moisturiser than you did before. Unfortunately you have to be realistic about what skincare can achieve - sadly nothing is going to stop sagging whatever you do

Does this help?

I apply oil in the evening. I adore facial oil.

Thanks kundry and Coconut
I'm looking at AHAs anyway, rather than BHAs/ salicylic due to my skin type.

So kundry with the stronger Bravura lactic/glycolic acids, you just apply them after cleansing and leave them on overnight? I presume you don't also acid tone (e.g. Pixi Glow or FAB pads) in between cleansing and applying the Bravura stuff?