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!

Hi TheBlackRider

I can't see the point in double cleansing on the days I don't wear makeup (99% of the time). When I do wear makeup I double cleansed without actually knowing that was what I was doing - everything off with micellar water and then my normal cleanser.

Cetaphil is amazing as a cleanser for oily skin.

When I used Effaclar Duo it was a kind of toner/moisturiser in one - I didn't really feel I needed a moisturiser afterwards. If you have really oily skin you may not need one at all, obvs the beauty industry would like us to believe we do so they can sell us product! In the mornings I don't bother with moisturiser and just use SPF.

If you do use a moisturiser make sure it is oil-free. If you went for something like Avene Ystheal you'd get retinol in as well.

Trucking? - the joys of photoshop

I got Effaclar Duo for dd, as although she is only 11, she has that very fine, pale, already prone to breakouts skin.

It has been bloody amazing. Within 24 hrs you could see a difference on her forehead.

I think it's a treatment moisturiser.

almahart- the best I have used recently is good old n7. I use lift and luminate but thr protect and perfect is good too.

Thanks Drank, those are easy to get and I've got a money off voucher for no7 so that's great

Any tips for majorly spotty skin?! I'm so down about my face and the scarring from having acne for so long. I've tried every cream going, now using johnsons baby soap, oil free moisturiser and have invested in a bravura dermaflannel ????

Clarabumps yes it arrived Tuesday finally! Have only used it once so far so not sure there's much to report. I think my make up went on better though perhaps.

I got mine from lookfantastic which worked out cheaper using quidco and the p&p

This thread is inspiring - i've bought the superdrug hot cloth cleanser currently half price, likewise the nip fab glycolic pads at half price in superdrug, ordered the Ren Clarimatte toner and am eyeing up the La-Roche-Posay-Redermic-R-Retinol-anti-wrinkle-solution as a serum. Not sure i'm ready to give up the nivea blue pot moisturiser though.

Tamanu oil is amazingly brilliant for scarring.
I'm really chuffed this thread is inspiring and helping people.
It's wonderful when, having given up hope, you can look in the mirror and be pleasantly surprised rather than feel horrified and hopeless!

I have also noticed that my lips are baby soft and unlined now too. So I'm off to check out some decent lippie.

Neck exercises are helping to firm things up there as well!

Sorry, just a place marking post. My 40+ skin needs all the help it can get. Never heard of Caroline Hiron before this thread.

Can I ask where does the oil come in - is it just the cleanser? And the massage?

Ive just ordered the liquid gold . This thread is costing me a fortune

coconut look upon it as an investment- cheaper than expensive fillers and the like though, that's for sure!

Gavlarr - I'd suggest you watch Dr Sam Bunting's youtube video with Caroline Hirons or read her Q+A on here.

Basically it's non-foaming cleanser (Cetaphil), acid eg Effaclar Duo and oil-free moisturiser. If that doesn't work up it to Benzoyl Peroxide. For long standing adult acne a bit of rubbing with a flannel isn't going to cut it as the problem is under the skin, not how clean it is.

However if you have acne so bad it scars still, you prob need an actual dermatologist and something like Differin or Roaccutane.

I'm sure she's written something about if you have more than 10 spots you'll probably need a prescription - but after I followed her advice my >10 spots vanished and I've been spot free for ages now with no need for a prescription unless I slip up and stop doing the routine

ooh I LOVE a good skincare chat! Really like CH, think she's great and straight talking, and I agree with the earlier poster who said she only works with brands she genuinely loves and would recommend.

I wear so much less make up since I started hot cloth cleansing/acid toning/using face oils and get quite a few compliments on my skin. It really can make all the difference to your day

Happy shopping everyone! enabler, me?

I had constant spots on my chin and cheeks, constant. When I started the routine it got worse! Now I don't have a single spot. First time I've been spot free in years.

I'm on differin after watching the sam bunting video. So far my skin on my cheeks and jaw has cleared totally but the chin hormonal spots are clearing quicker but they are still happening. I need to give up sugar totally I think. I'm going to try the glycemic load diet to see if that helps. I had cut down but Easter eggs have foiled my plan. bloody cadbury's

okay- sorry for all the questions- but how do you reconcile using an oil- but not an oil based moisturiser? I've double cleansed, used effaclar duo as my acid and then some rosehip oil--- of course it depends on my individual skin but does that sound reasonable to people?

Following with interest. Just hit 40, 20 years of finally acne finally gone (mad I know but daily spoonful of Turmeric finally did it). Desperately trying to get rid of my one atrophic acne scar I've managed to get at 40 - gutted. Any suggestions for scarring welcome, please?

Great thread. Interested in acid peels- is that something I can buy to do at home bigbuttons?

CH email came through this morning. She is recommending a book about eating.
I've downloaded a free sample to my kindle app.

But I do believe that quitting sugar makes a huge difference.
Shame I can't stick to my own advice.

gotta try the cleaning my face after work..I so cannot be arsed to do the whole shebang before bed..crawled into bed last night without even using a wipe

I find using a derma flannel from bravura is great for exfoliating .

pinkelephant I can't reconcile using an oily on oily skin so I don't. Caroline Hirons talks about good oils for oily skin and says mineral oil is the work of the devil, and recommends coconut oil. Sam Bunting says stick to oil free, doesn't appear to give a toss about mineral oil and says coconut oil causes acne for many people. Personally I'd always go with the dermatologist over the 'beauty industry insider' so on this issue I stick with Sam. Again, happy for people who have found the 'good oil' advice works for them.

My experience is that adding any oil to my face makes it look mega greasy so it's not something I'll be repeating

Back2Two Cetaphil cleanser is just generally great because it's so bland and non foaming which is what both dry and oily skin want. It's universal.

Serums are supposed to add something that the rest of your routine isn't doing. This usually boils down to a) a hydrating serum containing lots of hyaluronic b) claiming to be anti wrinkle and having lots of peptides in c) anti-oxidants, sort of anti-wrinkle and brightening or d) brightening and anti-pigmentation - might be more AHA or something like kojic acid. Or a mixture of the categories!

So it depends what you want from your serum - haven't really got into them yet except for Hydraluron. Am happy to accept that other people think it's brilliant but after a fortnight I can't say I've noticed the slightest difference with it.