wilting when starting with acids you have to do it very very slowly. 1-2x a week to build up as needed, iirc the Extreme Glycolic Pads are only meant for 2-3x a week per the box. I thought I was alone on this but many on this thread seem to have issues with sensitivity and glycolic so I would monitor it closely.
I think Dr. Sam Bunting is a good resource, but as mentioned before she does approach it from a medical practitioner's POV and that doesn't always translate as easily for at home use. I like her minimal approach but it can feel a bit too minimal if you're not on something like Retin-A or under dermatoligist's care at the same time iyswim. I have my issues with Sali Hughes sometimes but her videos on dehydration are good (I think for the Guardian).
Korean (American) beauty bloggers are exemplary in their approach with research and disclosure but it does seem in some cases that the mere linking of a study proves their hypothesis that a certain ingredient is attention worthy, and while I genuinely do believe they do the very best of their ability to understand the science involved it has to be pointed out that it's very difficult to peer review scientific research without any actual training in it. I sometimes have to raise my eyebrows a bit, especially in the anti-ageing department where unproven ingredients are touted as such on the basis of a few found studies (it's not unlike Paula Begoun's approach). It also bugs me somewhat that they're all on Curology which is a sort of internet derm service for a set monthly fee in the US. You basically get Retin-A and a few other choice vitamins in moisturiser form so all the potent active stuff is basically covered. I'm sure some of the things they try do great things but the majority of skin improvement won't be derived from the products they trial so it's difficult to assess how well those products are really working. Gothamista on Youtube sometimes whiffs a bit of product placement and press samples but she is very informative, even if not interested in AB it's very informative on a lot of skincare ingredients.
It's an old trick to put tea bags (which has caffeine, a known dehydrator) on puffy eyes to take them down but if I have to hazard a guess it's most likely a temporary effect. Great that it is working though in TO serum, Jane. I tend to find eye creams make me puffy when used at night and actually prefer serums.
Didn't mean to scare Wellhellothere1, it usually happens when continuing to use AHA/Retin-A/Retinol despite irritation, usually at the higher concentrations.
Wrt Retin-A, provided you're under supervision of a medical person they should be monitoring it. The Nip&Fab concentrations aren't terribly high iirc so don't think it would be too much of a concern but something like P50 definitely requires a careful approach and why they're so limited with their sales points. I would switch out BHA for morning and AHA for evenings as AHA is more photo-sensitising and mostly recommended for night time use, don't know how it fares with Retin-A though as most stronger AHA recommend not to use it with Retin-A/Retinol, so it is a tad difficult to recommend what is best in your case.