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!

Baahh

Have just invested in a few bits and bobs thanks to this thread.

What I need to know is, should I buy a GLA treatment too and what would you guys recommend? I bought one about two years ago, can't remember where from, which I used once a week for about three months but wasn't particularly wowed by it.

Any help appreciated

buttons, what a fab thread you've started, inspired me to get my cleansing routine up to scratch, thanks! Loving that you do DiY stuff, do you have the recipes for home made ultra bland and the hyaluronic gel (and any others? Love DiY beauty!!!) thanks!! X

ladypenelope I am loving this thread too. I really look forward to coming and seeing updates and am so pleased that others are already getting results. It's amazing that such a 'simple' thing can cause such positive changes. The site I made my lush dupe from is this on www.lifecouldbeadreamblog.com/diy-ultrabland-makeup-removing-cleanser/. The honey makes all the difference.
Check out a site called eds forum. They have a great section on diy recipes and they tell you how to make the HA gel. It's very easy, basically HA powder and cold water!

ilove you are certainly not too young to start using retin A. Check out the Paula's choice website, it has amazing info on them, what they do, how to use them and why. I wish I'd started years ago before I felt I needed them. But that's life isn't it? We mostly don't address issues until there's a problem. Prevention is the way to go. They are cheap and they work!

I am sure my skin looks better just from using the hot cloth cleanser method! Im still not sure what my routine should be for the days I'm not using retin. If I should use liquid gold or not.

I'm finding it hard to read on this stupid phone but my laptop should be fixed soon then I plan to read the whole blog.

Thanks buttons!

What I don't understand is that if Retin A is so awesome why is it so hard to get (basically illegal, right?) It just feels wrong to me to buy prescription meds on ebay. Is there no way of getting decent strength stuff without going down that road? Bearing in mind I don't have significant damage that needs reversing. Is there a more readily available alternative?

Merrykat I have found that the more I follow the routine, the less I need to worry about products being non-comedogenic as my skin is just less bothered by stuff.

I haven't tried a massive range - Nivea was OK but balled terribly, Sunsense Daily Face should def be OK as it's oil free and has niacinamide in it - liked it but had a bit of probs with pilling sometimes, Heliocare oil-free I really really like.

If you do react to SPF (which I don't think I do) then going for a mineral sunscreen rather than a chemical one may be the answer, but then you get problems with them leaving a white cast. If money is no object, Skinceuticals do a mineral sunscreen, if you are in a more average budget then Anthelios has a mineral version I think as does Avene, Clinique Cityblock is a classic.

ilovetosleep the higher retinol products like Skinceuticals 1% are supposed to be equivalent to 0.025% Retin-A.

Why not start with something like Avene Ystheal or LRP Redermic and see what you think?

lovetosleep I think because its so potent an ingredient and not everyone is sensible enough to use it correctly. Ideally you would be under a DR's supervision. That wasn't possible so I went down the eBay route. The product I use is kosher. I've had no issues on that front.

Idiot yet Straightforward question - can I use LRP Redermic (gradually at first) as well if I'm using FAB Radiance acid pads nightly?

I have liquid gold but happy to put it to one side and just get going with acid pads and retinol.

I have the heliocare spf50 to use every day after moisturiser.

Going back to U2theEdge's question about Retin-A.

Whether to use serum or not on Retin-A night's depends what your serum is - basically as long as it's not a strong acid it would be fine. I still acid tone on Retin-A nights but I skip the Retin-A when I do my once weekly peel as I think it would be too much. Am guessing if you were using Liquid Gold this would be simpler - I've not used it and will prob be sticking to different SR Skincare peels for a while yet.

Paula's Choice recommends using a Vit C serum with Retin-A as apparently they work synergistically.

Twitchcoco if your skin is happy with the FAB Radiance pads, yes, just crack on.

Thanks kundry! I can go to bed now xx

Are the fab radiance pads the same thing as nip and fab glycolic pads??

And could anyone recommend an inexpensive vitamin c serum?

Thx so much!

Also I had a sample of the REN glycolic mask and it is v nice!

This thread has provided me with the inspiration and information I have been searching for to take care of my own skin which in the past year has looked very tired.

I purchased No 7 cleansing gel, serum and day and night cream which I have only been using for the past week and I can already see the difference in my skin.

Thank you to the poster who started this thread. I will continue to follow it with interest.

Thanks kundry! I really appreciate the great advice on here!!!

bigbuttons thank you for starting this thread. Kundry thank you for all your help.

This thread is fantastic! Although I've spent more money in the past couple of days than I had originally planned to - all worth it though.

The FAB pads aren't the same as the Nip and Fab ones but they are both acid toners so they are doing similar things.

If I knew an inexpensive Vit C serum, I'd be using it

Double cleansed tonight, was amazed how much gunk come off after the second cleanse! Am converted.
Ditching the eve lom now and switching to Emma hardy and cetaphil. Have also purchased 10% salicylic acid from SR for the horrid spotty nastiness on my arms (kp) so am chomping at the bit to get going with that. Got a ball in 6 weeks, time to up my game!

I'm loving this thread too.

Been double cleansing for a few weeks with Body Shop Chamomile oil and a cream cleanser. I think even just doing that has made a big difference to my skin.

I also had a course of 10 CACI Ultimate facials before xmas and now have one a month. They include microdermabrasion. Any thoughts on if they should influence the rest of my routine?

I've ordered the Pixi .glow toner
Have liquid gold and also salicylic pads

Thinking about incorporating retinol somewhere!

I'm currently using Philosophy Time in a Bottle serum but only have about a third of a bottle left. Thinking of the Hylamide one when its finished.

Was thinking of trying the Vichy Lift Active recommended up the thread.

I also use Kiehls Midnight Recovery Complex and eye cream at night.

I'm 50 - 51 next month gulp. Pretty good skin with crows feet probably my main issue. Occassionally get spots. Some redness although that seems better recently.

I'm a bit scared of retinol products - had the whole Obagi range and binned it. Couldn't cope with the peeling and soreness.

Thanks again frowns still need to read to beauty editor post on retin a you linked to.

Right now really simple question...Now that we are all cleansing 3 times a day, 1 x am and 2 x pm, are you doing this with flannels? So 3 flannels per day or do you remove with cotton wool? Until I buy a new cleanser I have only been using a hot cloth one so always remove with that.

I personally don't use cotton wool. I don't think you get clean enough with it. I either use my clarisonic, use a flannel, use my dermacloth or, if my face feels like its on the edge of screaming, "enough is enough", I just use my hands to wash and rinse with water.

I double cleanse but only one of them is hot cloth cleansing. I do use flannels though. Sainsburys value ones, 2 for £1.50. There's loads of cheap flannels out there. Ikea have a pack of six for about £2 and Primark are good too apparently.
I bought a selection of colors so I can wash them with whatever cookout wash I'm doing! :)