Skincare for face-what's your secret?!

[Flumpnugget]

Would really appreciate some skincare advice for face, please :-)

I'm 36, and suffer with hormonal spots around my mouth and chin and sometimes in the crease next to my nose.

My forehead is dry and prone to flaking.

I wear a bbcream foundation with spf30 most days.

I'd love dewy, even skin tone!
I never had any problems with my skin until 2-3 years ago.

I wash my face with a really mild Neals Garden face wash and I've started using the new No.7 face serum. I've tried cleansers and toners but they dryness seems to increase on my forehead and can appear on my upper cheeks.

Any tips really gratefully received.

Thank you.

[oldlaundbooth]

Loads of water

Loads of moisturiser at night

Mild cleanser

Always remove make up at night

Loads of veg, fruit, good fat, little alcohol, little caffeine, little sugar.

Obviously don't smoke

Avoid the sunshine

Sleeping lots helps

Fresh air and exercise

So, in a nutshell, you need to live like a monk

[NatalieRushman]

Do you eat dairy? I found that cutting dairy really helped with my skin. Unfortunately, I love cheese just a bit too much to stick with it. Nowadays I just drink a ton of water - usually about 2 litres a day. I can really feel the change in my skin when I don't get enough water.
When I feel spots coming on, I dab on a bit of diluted tea tree oil. Usually that stops the spot from ever developing into a whitehead. Other than that, acids are definitely great for keeping spots down.
Have you ever tried evening primrose oil? I take a little capsule of it and rub it onto all the dry patches of my skin and leave it overnight. It really makes a difference for me.

[Flumpnugget]

That's great, thank you!

[HoneywithLemon]

Just marking this thread. I would recommend serum of some sort plus moisturiser and I also second searching for stuff with hyaluronic acid. A good cheap brand is balance hyaluronic youth serum www.amazon.co.uk/Balance-Hyaluronic-Youth-Serum-30ml/dp/B0063E45WG?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[WilLiAmHerschel]

I get those hormonal spots and the only thing that's ever worked for me is benzoyl peroxide. I used to get it for acne when I was a teenager and started using it for hormonal spots as an adult. Usually about two weeks before my period starts I start to see my skin get clogged up and I start applying the cream before I get any spots. You can buy it OTC in any chemist. I think the brand name is Panoxyl.

For dryness, when I'm really suffering I wash only with warm water and a flannel. If it's extra dry I might use oil - olive, coconut or whatever I have in. And I'll use a specialist dry skin moisturiser at night if it's very bad, or a normal night cream for dry skin. And also moisturise in day.

I think fish oil supplements are good and I take vitamin d and a vitamin b complex.

[Flumpnugget]

Cheers all- am really grateful of the pointers- especially as I come into my hormonal skin phase this week!

[Shenanagins]

In the last three weeks I've started taking cod liver oil tablets and using nip and fab glycemic exfoliant and superdrugs glycemic overnight peel mask and noticed today how glowing my skin looks - the best in a number of years.

[NattyGolfJerkin]

Vichy aqualia serum is ace. The Sarah chapman I use is just a slightly more technical version with more active ingredients but it is still essentially a hyaluronic serum at its heart.

[puddlejumpingqueen]

Another Liz Earle fan. Dry skin on my forehead had plagued me for years, was gone in a month and the redness on my cheeks is starting to fade after 2 months. Skin starting to even out a bit too.

[BatteryOperatedBoyfriend]

I though you were taking the piss expat then I googled Lush Ultrabland...

[expatinscotland]

I use Dettol anti-bac handwash in the morning and then Lush's Ultrabland at night.

[Scarydinosaurs]

I've made a small change of adding a drop of oil to my foundation (primer on first) and it has made a huge difference. My skin looks 100% better- both when my skin is naked and made up:

[BatteryOperatedBoyfriend]

Dove soap and Aveeno, my skin has never been better, I used to spend £££. I use no.7 intelligent colour foundation and everything else Benefit, and don't wash it off at night. naughty

[Flumpnugget]

I will look into Liz Earle and the acid- thanks guys!

[Spam88]

Should clarify I only meant for a short time (although hopefully that was clear lol). My skin is spot-free and super soft now 👍

I used to have really dry sore skin on my cheeks and had stuff on prescription for it, but since starting with Liz Earle I only need a very light moisturiser.

[MazzleDazzle]

I second Liz Earle!

Also, plenty of fruit and water.

[TheBananaFaceOfEvil]

You need hyaluronic acid for your flaky bits. I had flaky skin since childhood and tried everything under the sun. Once I discovered hyaluronic acid, it completely sorted my skin out.

The French pharmacy brands are great for this. Pretty inexpensive. At the moment I'm using Vichy Aqualia serum, which I find really quenches and plumps up my skin. On top of that I use Bioderma Hydrabio Rich cream (they also have a Light version if you're not as dry as me, but it still contains hyaluronic acid).

[Flumpnugget]

Eeek re almighty spots. I already get some absolute beasts near my period (think 3/4 heads in a cluster- gross and agony!)

[Spam88]

Liz Earle :D

I'd go with the Cleanse & Polish, Skin Tonic and start with the moisturiser for normal/combination skin (you can adjust up or down from there). If you do decide to give it a go though just be prepared for some almightly spots around a month after starting.

[NattyGolfJerkin]

Exfoliants are not exfoliant so are

[NattyGolfJerkin]

Some acid exfoliant so are harsher than others though. Glycolic can be harsh if you are sensitive and not used to acids. Lactic is supposed to be good for sensitive, first time users.

[NattyGolfJerkin]

I have normal-dry and dehydrated skin and I find exfoliating helps my skin to absorb the moisturiser and serum better.

[Flumpnugget]

I've just ordered some fish oil capsules- thank you. My fav fish is salmon but I can't afford to buy that to eat other than on an odd occasion; the capsules make sense.

[Flumpnugget]

Thanks Natty...
I'm always worried to exfoliate in case it irritates my drier skin