Yet More Fantastic Skincare and Where To Find It

[botemp]

Thread 1

Thread 2

Thread 3

For those who are taking a peek and wondering whether thread 1,2, and 3 are worth reading, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients for our particular needs. Distinguishing the acid toners from the actives whilst avoiding the truly unimpressive and harmful ingredients with a hope to achieve a bit of anti-ageing, alleviate irritation and sensitivities with some idle chat in between. Deviations on this thread are mostly my fault.

This January we're doing some added extra chitchat about food and diet and reducing or eliminating sugar for both overall and skin health. Recipe sharing encouraged.

If you're in need of some advice coming to grips with your skincare routine please don't hesitate to ask, we don't bite, only occasionally sting with a bit of Biologique Recherche P50 now and then . Just make sure to state clearly what your concerns and needs are in as much detail as possible, skincare is highly individual and a random recommendation for a 'good' product will be completely different from one person to the next.

If you want help, please do read through the previous threads first. It takes a lot of time and effort to answer these queries and often the answers can be found in previous threads, but if you still have questions use the following form to make life easier on us. We generally answer one or to two people a day on a first come first served basis. Not everyone will have answers and sometimes we can't answer you at all. We're only a bunch of amateurs that can respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

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Skin type:

Approx age (range):

Primary skin concern:

Routine :

AM :

PM :

Makeup : eg. no/light coverage/medium coverage/heavy coverage

Occasional treatments:

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results:

Things that are really working well for me now:

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant:

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. >£10, £10-20, £20-50, £50-100, no limits.

I specifically [want help with/am looking for a product to/am curious about trying]:

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Ahem, and finally a little note on spending. I'm well aware these threads cause many to reach for their wallets and spend with wild abandon. There can sometimes be a bit of a frenzy surrounding the excitement around a newly discovered product or on the back of great improvements when someone reports back. This is all great, it doesn't however, mean everything that's a sudden miracle for one will be it for you. Usually, it's a light bulb moment for connecting the right skincare ingredient with an individual experiencing a specific problem. Take your time to mull over decisions and question whether it's right for you too. Skincare is highly individual, it's a slow game that should cost mostly in patience, input, education, and perseverance. Please don't make it cost you financially needlessly either.

Can anyone recommend anything by way of a body lotion or something, for reducing ingrown hairs? I get particularly bad ones on my legs if I wax or even shave. Or possibly a spot treatment for soothing the irritation quickly so they don't leave a lasting mark? I've got fairly pale skin & any blemishes always seem to leave a sore, raised pink mark for ages, which pretty much negates any possibility of my wearing skirts etc. I tried the Lumea but it takes so long per session, & battery doesn't even last for 2 full legs, that I gave up. I've tried various body scrubs to no avail & I always worry about whether they have microbeads in or if I'm going to block up our terrible drains.

Sunday Supplement

MN Discussion of the day on AIBU to ask what the best undereye concealer is? - not a mention of Sisley clearly they don't know shit on AIBU

Drugs seem to be a theme this week, I guess on the back of detox January? A remarkable new study of the use of Botox in America has revealed that some women suffer a “crack-like” addiction to the process, as they attempt to top up previous treatments.

The Guardian long read, Is sugar the world’s most popular drug?

I'm stretching here wrt skincare, but still related to our discussions on here about fact/fiction when it comes to blogger 'truths' and the erosion of fact and discrediting of experts and how that plays out on a larger scale in our media landscape, and the danger of the clean eating brigade. Hadley Freeman's column, From Deliciously Ella to Donald Trump: the evolution of 'truth'

Traditional media, not to be outdone either. How the UK media take one scientific press release and declare it a 'miracle cure' for wrinkles, Reports of a 'wrinkle cure' look a little saggy

While we're on the subject of wrinkles, Kiehl's is looking to invigorate their skincare sales by appealing to Millenials for healthy skin, actively avoiding words like lines and wrinkles. In other words anti-ageing in a new more subtle passive aggressive cloak. Kiehl’s makes a play for millennials with healthy skin pitch.

I'm known for not being overly impressed by moisturisers doing any more than, well, moisturising but Zein Obagi (of the overpriced prescription method) thinks it's actually bad for you.

New kid on the block Beauty Pie (UK based, only US/UK for now) is getting some buzz, the subscription cosmetic program with a difference offering high end cosmetics for factory prices. Makeup for now, but they will be launching skincare in the near future too. This New Beauty Startup Is Selling Luxury Lipstick for Less Than Your Daily Latte and an initial first impression and how it works here.

I already mentioned reading about a facialist insisting a skincare routine should start with an oil after cleansing and it definitely seems to be an upcoming tredn to use your products in different order. I give you the skincare sandwich review.

The beginner's guide to layering your skincare

I tried the Korean ‘7 Skin Method’ and it rescued my dehydrated skin -super instant hydration technique. May just try this with a Casmara mask.

Scientific selfie: the new skincare app that guesses your age - and then offers tailored beauty advice

All About Over-the-Counter Differen (Adapalene) for Acne. I haven't quite formed a full opinion on this, but this is about the OTC version of a retinoid prescribed for acne and anti-ageing at a lower strength that is less irritating and sensitising than Retin-A. So in theory, I think it's great that this is becoming available for those with acne that's moderate, not enough to really warrant a dermatologist or for those having trouble accessing them where cosmetics just aren't cutting it. The thing is, it's available OTC in the US, so in the US it's great. Elsewhere it would fall under the illegal prescription territory (I assume) but a few simple clicks informed me Amazon will deliver this to me . So not quite dodgy tret from eBay but not far from it either. Naturally, it's sold out. I'll be curious to see what the professional bodies make of this, as they can't really slate a product they happily recommend and prescribe in a slightly higher strength.

Lego I know what you are talking about! Those ingrown hairs that leave marks that can last the whole summer
That is one of the reasons I want to buy a Lumea. I've epilated for years and that also takes time (waxing gives me veins) so I'm pretty sure I'll have the patience. Which model did you say you have? Have you totally given up on it...?
Back to ingrown hairs - I've tried scrubs and an allum thing but the difference it makes is marginal. I always get them at the side of the shin and back of the thighs.

Bo thnx for the links. I've already read the sugar article (of course ) and the Botox one but just finished cooking and DH and kids are away for the day so I'm sure I'll enjoy reading Hadley.

And what no mention of the concealer? Ha, surely that confirms that this is the place to be

Do you still want to order together? I think I'll order that face eye cream version as you can use it on eyes as well plus a sample of the galactomites thing. The cream looks great but I won't spend that price (even though it's 75ml) w/o trialing first.
There is a lot of tempting stuff on that site....

Which site? Sweet Corea or from Manyo Factory?

I have yet to discover the secret to no ingrown hairs, mine also do the round growing thing so it just looks like black little spots, red little spots and if I decided to shave a lot of inflammation. I'm still looking into it but that 30% glycolic body lotion may be the answer. I find acid toning helps a bit (P50 definitely does the job in the bikini area) but body stuff is always prohibitively expensive and hard to source and the face stuff just isn't up to par strength wise.

Sweet Corea

Ok changed my mind - the INCI is too different or rather the face cream has a lot of water and the eye cream not, and found the eye cream for 22-25$ on eBay

I found applying moisturiser right after shaving stopped any problems but most moisturisers sting like a bitch straight after, especially if wet shaving, except Aveeno so I put a load of that on my shins and use different ones everywhere else. Seems to do the trick but if you get a lot I'm not sure. I'd suggest the Eucerin 10% but think that'd sting?

clearly they don't know shit on AIBU

Going to read links now.

Thanks again for the Sunday reading Bo - I enjoyed the Hadley Freeman piece... Also wrt the discussion of nutrition on this thread, it fits really well, because the condition of the skin and what we ingest are so closely linked. However, I'm not a fan of the rise of "orthorexia" and the obsession with "clean" eating: I've been involved academically/professionally (and personally, of course) in the nutrition field for many years and had both alternative and orthodox training so it's been interesting to see what were fringe/alternative ideas become mainstream in recent years.

"The concealer" - amaaaaazing! I had an awful night last night and thanks to this miraculous stuff, I'm not doing an impression of a corpse today.

P50 - I received my decant from Pupsie (thanks :)) this week and can confirm that it is indeed potent! I managed to spill a little, mopped it up and then just slapped it all over my face after a double cleanse - and then turned into a tomato!! My face is used to acids but this was much stronger than I've experienced before. The redness calmed down after a bit and my skin looks great today ... I'll definitely try and get my hands on a full size bottle....

The comments under the R29 article are interesting. I remember that article being posted about a year ago too. Can't quite remember if it's the exact same one but it's incredibly similar.

And I just got lost down a hole reading the LA Times so haven't read the others yet.

Has anyone else seen India Knight's review of the Marks and Spencer sleep cream , in today's Sunday Times? I got a sample size in the m&s beauty Advent Calendar. Haven't tried it yet myself .

I do still use my Lumea, but not on my legs... I gave up as it takes so long, much longer than epilating, the battery doesn't last to do both legs in one session (takes several hours to recharge), & it's a pain trying to make sure I schedule time to do them on the correct day/s. If you don't do it on schedule it doesn't work properly. Too early & the hairs aren't growing back so the light has nothing to focus on, so doesn't destroy the growing follicles. Too late & you're already hairy, plus (allegedly) if you have dark body hair, as I do, if you treat areas with grown-out hair, it can eventually damage the lens. So you have to shave beforehand anyway. All in all, a big hassle, so I gave up on it for my legs. Epilating is much less of a pain (except in the obvious sense! )

Oh and thanks to bo for this week's reading! I'm not finding giving up refined sugar too hard, so far as I'm not really a sweet eater & we mostly cok proper food, but that article was very interesting & has strengthened my resolve somewhat to continue. I'm still eating fruit though, & the occasional dab of raw honey (it's very local & I buy it to help with my hayfever).

Will look into glycolic body lotion.

Lego I use this on my legs for ingrown hairs

www.boots.com/en/Palmers-Cocoa-Butter-Formula-Anti-Aging-Smoothing-Lotion-250ml_955327/

It doesn't get rid of them altogether but seems to help, I think. It does not smell good though

StainlessSteel - yes that's the Michael Pollan quote - easy to remember and pretty sensible :)

I'm glad I found you!!!!

I have such awful skin at the moment. I am pregnant, but it started before that. I have lots of lumps under my skin especially on my chin. They're not blackheads because there's no...well....black head. They are squeezable though and there are about a billion of them! Sometimes they grow into painful bigger spots.

After lots of experimenting I've started using the charcoal Biore soap which has worked wonders. But where my skin has been so bad for so long it has lots of marks and is generally dull and crappy looking. The soap can also make my skin dry and every time I use a moisturiser it makes the spots worse!

So...what can I do to treat and prevent these 'lumps'?! Am I a lost cause?!

I'm all about balance, skin, food, finances, etc. When I talk about cutting out sugar it really is about refined sugars and the faux replacements which I don't believe are any better. I've had many arguments, even with registered dieticians (they seem to be some of the most uninformed of the lot) because I just don't buy into low carb or worse no carbs, or think that coconut oil is magical, nor do I have any desire to cut out fruit, that you absolutely need high protein to build muscle, etc.

I like Michael Pollen's philosophy too, it makes sense and doesn't push at the extremes.I also look at those Okinawa type studies that show the type of diet where people age well and more important, healthily. Despite being geographically different they have the same common factors, high daily activity level which is very different from exercise, fermented foods, complex carbs, lean protein, healthy unsaturated fats in moderate amounts, lots of fruit and veg, natural sugars, etc. I also think DNA plays into it, Northern Europeans are built better for dairy consumption, rice does amazing things for people of Asian descent but they struggle with other cabs especially if their activity level drops, etc. I'm glad to see there are more sensible health minded people out there as the internet has you believing different things.

I like reading the Angry Chef that's mentioned in Hadley's column too as it rather accurately dispells all the nonsense the clean eating brigade come up with and makes for quite entertaining reading.

WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup, are you new or returning from the pre-form days? Can you use the form from the OP anyhow? Do you think they are whiteheads, milia, subcutaneous pimples (have a Google), or something else?

Lego, should mention that if you use an AHA/BHA product like the glycolic lotion mentioned upthread you increase sun sensitivity which means you can't use it with a Lumea or risk pigmentation. That Palmer's lotion doesn't have the best INCI I'm afraid. It contains Isopropyl Myristate which is an earmarked comedogenic ingredient (a substance likely to cause blackheads and block pores) and in combination with mineral oil that really isn't ideal as the most damnable thing MO does skincare wise, is that it traps comedogenic ingredients, worsening the effect of blockage/blackheads. Should point out comedogenic/non-comedogenic isn't absolute and the testing systems are flawed but they do give the best baseline that we have currently. Those prone to breakouts on the body, however, caution is warranted.

Skinful, due to the paywall I never read the Times, which is a shame as I like India Knight's writing. I can have a look at the INCI if you link it.

I'm interested to see if my skin changed while on my meal plan, it's for a month so hopefully see an effect

@legocaltrops would the ameliorate cream which is great for KP maybe help?

Thankyou for all the articles @botemp I like others have said would definitely read a blog/page if you wrote one, you are very knowledgeable and more importantly objective and not paid to say something works when it doesn't. The response here shows how many people value your advice.

India Knight today wrote about markies formula absolute ultimate sleep cream, she liked it just not the smell.

I am starting myvictoria health sugar detox on Tuesday, I live on an island so waiting for food delivery. The food plan is by Oliver McCabe, never heard of him. Ive modified it a bit as everything is coconut oil even coat blooming cashew nuts in coconut oil uurgh surely they are oily and tasty enough themselves.

x

Oh Lego now I'm doubting again
I want to buy it for my legs. I understand what you are saying but still to have really smooth legs in spring/ summer you have to epilate every few days, and you always miss some hairs, plus face ingrown hair problem etc etc...

I always moisturize after, btw. Doesn't make a difference...

Thanks Bo Hope this link aqua, isododecane, niacinamide, c10-18, triglycerides, isodecyl neopentanoate, butylene glycol, cera alba (beeswax), isononyl, isononanoate, dimethicone, hydrogenated, tetradecenyl/methylpentadecene, glycerin, sucrose, polystearate, glyceryl, stearate, peg 100stearate,behenyl, alcohol,butyrospermum, parkii(shea)butter acrylamide/sodiumacryloyldimethyltaurate, copolymer, phenoxyethanol, isohexadecane, tocopheryl acetate, parfum dimethicone, crosspolymer, trehalose, urea, caprylyl, glycol, benzophenone-4, cetyl palmitate, sclerocarya birrea seed oilaleurites, moluccana, seedoil, disodium, edta, sorbitan, laurate, polysorbate, 80 chlorphenesin, serineserum albumin sorbitan, oleate, hydroxyethylcellulose, acetyl, dipeptide1cetyl, ester, carbomer, pentylene, glycol, potassium, phosphate, sodiumlactate, align, glyceryl, polyacrylate, polysorbate 20, sodium hyaluronate, pullulan, disodiumphosphate, sodium benzoate,ascorbyl, palmitate, tocopherol, tetrapeptide-26, citric acid, palmitoyl tripeptide-1, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, ci 15985 ci 19140 works

Didn't quite work but that is the full list.

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Well last time I went to a dietitian highly recommend by my GP was for my DS1. DH was doubtfully about the lactose intolerance or rather a bit tired of the hassle so I agreed to see someone else.
She claimed that we had done enough with avoiding lactose and can now start introducing some back into the kids' diet. She also said the itching DS had in his scalp is due to drinking orange juice and we should stop making it in the morning.
Three weeks after said recommendations DS got a very persistent lung infection and was home for quite a few weeks, plus when the doctor listened to his lungs he said he hears a tendency to asthma (which is exactly what the woman who had diagnosed the intolerance warned us about).
He had had very bad coughs that lasted forever as a small child which completely stoped after we eliminated lactose.
Needless to say that after the lung infection we became strict once again and he's been doing very well. This winter he's only been sick once and it lasted about 48 hours...
I on the other hand could eat dairy the whole day long and it would not affect me.

In short - I too do not believe in sweeping elimination of foods. Every person is different... besides when in comes to sugar. But part of that problem is that it's added to many savory things nowadays, so we consume it not only when we eat sweet stuff, not to mention drinks....
I wouldn't even dream of eliminating fruit. Men have been eating fruit, be it bananas or grapes or apples for tens of thousands of years.

Oh dear, thanks Bo for the note re the Palmers, that's good to know (and sorry Lego, maybe not a great recommendation!) This illustrates why I need to continue reading up on ingredients and why this thread is so helpful.

Grrr... never dream of eliminating fruit! Stupid auto-correct!!!