amazing faces-join our quiche and watch the years roll back!

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sorry for rubbish title, it's been a very long day!

dont I know everything is confusing and overwhelming when you first start! Coupled with the fact your skin may not get on with everything or you may find some products do nothing for you, it can take a few weeks to figure out what works for you personally. Im still learning myself, as are most of us here

I'm using 0.025% Retin a (lowest strength) bought on eBay, once a week with the intention of building up to thrice weekly, perhaps eventually upping to 0.05% strength(middle strength) in a few months. Im taking this step really slowly. I really rate retinol in the fight against ageing so this is why i use it and the other 6 nights i use a moisturiser which contains a much weaker strength retinol. There are loads. I use Vichy Activ Lift one.

Serum wise, you pick one or two depending on your skin woes. I like vitamin c for anti oxidant properties and niacinamide is highly rated too for it's anti acne properties.

Acids are either AHA's (lactic or glycolic usually) for drier or normal skin types and BHA's are salicylic acid and more geared towards oily spot prone skin. There are many many many diffetent brands selling aha and bha toners. They are swept over the face after you cleanse and before your serum. They work!

I hope this makes sense! As i said, I'm only learning myself. kundry has amazing skin care knowledge!

What's the deal with products in a jar, why are they such a no no?

Well I am continuing with my voyage of discovery, happy with hylamide, nip&fab and redermic but of course have a wishlist as long as my arm

I have watched hours of youtube vids, there is a good one with CH on Pixiwoos Body Talk where she runs through the routine basics and why for anyone still wanting a place to start

Last night I watched this vid from Emma Hardie on eye massage as I have quite puffy eyelid on one side, well a bit droopy actually so now have something else to add to my routine but at least it is free!

Also got rid of my tension headache when I massaged my eyeballs as instructed ....

coconutmany thanks wil get on to ebay pronto, have got combination skin, alittle sensative flaking on chin since the nip n fab pads, but settling down now.
Need to research serums etc am 55 with crows feet spreading down cheeks a little, smooth forehead just want too start doing more & maybe stave off agingprocess a little

mrsguy i think it's considered hygienic as in the dipping in and out with your finger can cause contamination. Also i think some products need to be stored in a dark container and aren't necessarily

*unhygienic even

Tiz will do, yes will try anything before surgery, she has a vid on facial massage too and talks about removing toxins and fluid and re-sculpting the face, I am skeptical as sounds a lot for pushing your face muscles around with a cloth but if it really is pilates for the face then I am in, at least some parts of me will be toned

I really want the Timeless vitamin c, will it just convert the money to pounds as you go through checkout? hopefully no hidden customs charges...

Not sure I'm loving the CH box. I think I may buy a big stash of stuff I really want for my own skin type and problems, I can get loads for 140

I'm waiting for my paulas choice order. got the trial of bha 2% and other stuff which I can't remember

So, I am doing the night shift tonight and don't want to miss my retin a.

If I put it on in the morning about 9.am and sleep until 2.00pm then cleanse that should be fine right?

I must admit i am really unfamiliar with the contents of the CH box. I recognise the liquid gold, that's about it. Not even sure what the others do. I'll be passing.

totallyaddicted I found when I started the routine I'd go through a phase of getting small spots in places I didn't normally get spots so this could be what's happening on your cheeks.

But otherwise both Effaclar and Clearasil are salicylic products - you don't need both and it's the Clearasil that's most likely to cause trouble as they are high in alcohol and may make your skin flaky. I think someone up thread is using them and started to get flaky skin - I just checked the Beautypedia entry and they warn this might be a problem because of the high alcohol content. If you are worried, I would stick to the Effaclar as it's a more moisturising product.

Baalamoree I have electrolysis for facial hair removal and I'm using retin a and peels Personally I find them helpful as my skin recovers far quicker than it did before and I can prevent the breakouts of spots I used to get where some hairs are removed. I'm now using Retin A 0.025% every night except peel night - I do the peel in the evening on the day I've had electrolysis (currently salicylic/mandelic, was just salicylic) and I don't get any spots anymore But that's prob the wrong thing to do, I've just made it up based on what seems to suit me.

I've just introduced the redermic r with no reaction using daily (pm) and I swear my lines are less pronounced already ! After a few weeks of this I may move on to Retin A , I currently
Am
Botanics cleanser with hot flannel
Nip and fap pads (glyclolic)
Balance serum. Or loreal revitalist serum
Youth code moisturiser

Pm
Double cleanse (same product )
Dragons blood nip and fab pAds
Redermic r half hour later

So far so good :)

MrsGuyGarvey objection to tubs, jars etc is two things: some ingredients aren't going to be preserved well in a jar that lets in the light when open and lets in the air - Vitamin C, anti-oxidants and retinol will all deteriorate and become useless more quickly in a jar. Given these are usually the most expensive products I want them to work on my face, not be wasted in the jar.

The second reason is basically hygiene - I'm dipping my grubby mitts in the jar, leaving bacteria, skin cells, oil and what not behind and then smearing it over my face. No thanks. Body lotions or creams I don't mind (people who know me know I am the least germ phobic person ever) I used to have a giant tub of 50:50 ointment I scooped great dollops out of when I had ezcema but for my acne ridden face I'd like better.

So given the choice between a jar or other packaging, if the product comes in a pump bottle, jar you can't take the lid off or tube with a fine nozzle and if necessary opaque packaging, I'll always go for the non-jar option

My mega expensive Clarins night cream comes in a jar. But it doesn't matter because apparently there's no great ingredients in it that could deteriorate
I now know to read the ingredients and do some research before buying anything!!

I thought the spaceNK offer had more products I was interested in than the CH box. Really surprised to see no acid products from CH. I know she was keen to include full size bottles but given that you are more or less guaranteed not to like at least one product, it's a lot of money to spend. A big selection of smaller sizes would have suited me better. Plus I know just by looking at it, that many products won't be magic finds for me - too many oil based, Alpha H Liquid Gold isn't going to replace my SR Skincare for less than half the price etc. Very disappointed.

While the SpaceNK I'd probably try everything even if it's not something I'd usually buy.

Either way, I'm not buying either as I'm off on holiday on Saturday and just blown a fortune on a dress

Yes twice the products in smaller sizes would have been very tempting.

After a week of clearasil pads which have really cleared my skin up (along with double cleansing) its nice to use the more gentle nip and fab pads for a few days to stop my skin drying out and my la roche posay effaclar in the mornings which is lovely and gentle.

I'm aiming to not have to wear any make up during the summer if it's at all possible but I really think I'm heading that way, the results with my routine have been amazingly quick already.

I'm finding retin a nights difficult because my skin feels very tight without serum/moisturiser although it's soft to the touch. do you think I should give it a miss?

Are you putting moisturiser on after the Retin A? - without Retin A I don't need moisturiser, with it I definitely do and I find Cerave seems to replenish whatever my skin is needing due to the Retin A.

I do cleanse, serum, Retin A, moisturise.

I haven't been moisturising after the retin a, so tonight for example I had a bath, double cleansed (Emma Hardy & Micellar) then nothing else until now-ish when I should be retin a - ing. Although it feels lovely and soft to touch it feels tight and even a bit stingy. Maybe I should have used serum after cleansing given that it's been a couple of hours since. I guess I'm still at the trial and error stage.