Fantastic Skincare - Snail Optional 🐌

[botemp]

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For those who are taking a peek and wondering whether previous threads are worth reading, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients for our particular skin 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.

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.

Make sure you've read the earlier threads (or at the very least the first one) so we're not being asked to answer previously raised questions. 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 relating specifically to you, use the following form to make life easier on us. We generally answer one 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.

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.

Olli my friend takes those calls too! Hmmm wonder if you know eachother lol

to Olli - sounds horrendous but also v glad it's not C.E... Those particular discs are also my nemeses - you have my sympathies!

Dulci It was the Glycolic 7%, haven't tried my P50 yet but probably will when I've had a couple of weeks getting used to the Glycolic.

Hope everyone is able to enjoy the beautiful weather today, with SPF 50 slapped on of course

Here is my beautiful scan apparently the red circles are the bad discs as the white line on the right of them should be the same width all the way down

I've no idea what any of that scan means but it's making me wince on your behalf. Ouch! How're you doing today?

Hey Dr Sam 👋🏻

Sore but my skin looks rather good! I think it likes the LRP cleanser

Can anyone recommend me a concealer that works for both under eyes aswell as blemishes/spots/redness??

Oh and has anyone tried the brand simple cleansing oil? (Not a fan of the brand at all in general but just wondered about this one)

Hi everyone. More for Olli. Thanks Bo for links. Interesting about Biore which I love and was wondering about trying updated version but not now! I probably need to stock up on 2015 version before it gets discontinued- is that what happens after a period of time? It'll get phased out?

Dr Sam often recommends Elta MD SPF but the one she usually raves about has niacinamide which is no good as I use Vit C in the morning.

I've seen her mention LRP toleriane ultra a couple of times too. I know the ingredients are different to standard toleriane moisturiser that's been discontinued but why don't we like the ultra as much?

Enid I got a small tube of LRP cicaplast on your recommendation as a 'just in case' and as it's buy one get one half price In Boots I picked up a LRP hand cream as well which then only cost £2.50.

Mary - face theory arrived so I slapped it on and put a BB cream over it. No pilling

Ok, I think I've caught up with all the forms. Apols for the delay allow me another day to recover please

@slinkysaluki , sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you! I don’t really know what you mean with the following:

I occasionally use Nivea cream wash in shower, don't use water on face generally as it makes my skin tight and itchy so to alleviate this i put the cream wash on.

Does that mean you wash your face in the shower occasionally with the Nivea or do you put that on in the shower to prevent it from going itchy ?

Your reaction to N+F pads may very well have been purging or simply a reaction to the product. If it didn’t feel like an improvement to your skin you may have been on the right track of ditching them but it could also have been a case of the exfoliating properties speeding up the eruption of these spots. Generally it should be considered purging when it’s in an area you typically would have spots and a reaction if it’s on an unusual spot, but this isn’t absolute. Regardless, for your skin type you’d probably see more benefit from a BHA than AHA initially.

Generally for anti-ageing the ingredients to look out for are a broad spectrum stand alone Sunscreen (worn year round and topped up after every 2hrs of exposure), Retinol, Vit C, AHA, Niacinamide and potentially peptides and/or EGF.

The Lift & Luminate does contain peptides but as noted before my criticism of the entire line is the promised active ingredients they base their entire ‘scientifically proven ingredients’ only being available in minuscule amounts (

@paperdoll83 , also some apologies for the delay, I hope the proffered sheets have been useful in the interim. As a fellow PCOS sufferer I’d definitely back the recommendation to cut down the sugar intake. Due to another poster on here I’ve also been taking Inositol with Alpha Lipoic Acid (after consulting my specialist), I won’t really know what it’s been doing until I get my blood drawn this summer but it has eliminated my sugar cravings that would occasionally pop up during PMS. So that and the Spearmint tea are things to consider (but consult your treating physician first) and if you are trialling these things do so separately from your skincare routine, so no trialling dietary things and new skincare at the same time as it will be difficult to tell what is doing what.

AM :

Use Neutrogena Visibly Clear pink grapefruit daily scrub in the shower Congrats! You’re a double sinner . Daily physical exfoliation is a big no-no in my book as it exacerbates the skin in a such a harsh way causing excessive drying and prompting it to produce more of that oily stuff to make up for it. The shower is similarly unhelpful, hot water and prolonged exposure causes more drying, you can hopefully see where I’m going here… so it feels clean for the moment but it’s a very short and temporary effect that’s counterproductive to the health of your moisture barrier. So instead LRP Toleriane Dermo cleanser with a flannel (clean one every day) at the sink with tepid water.

followed by Simple Spotless Skin anti blemish moisturiser. - I’m a little puzzled what this is supposed to do for blemishes… but finish it up if you like? Standard moisturiser Recs apply if you want something else.

A broad Spectrum Sunscreen- yes you’ll need one and it’s the first thing to look into. Stop looking deflated . It’s hardly exciting but it will do two essential things, it’ll allow your skin to stop having to work on recovery and protection from UV damage and spend those resources on addressing other issues of inflammation like acne and it’s an essential you need to have in place when you are ready to play with actives.

PM : - Warm water. I know, I know. See, this is why I need help.

Hmm… yes, so for now for the period of about 2-4 weeks repeat the above, preceding it with an oil based cleanser like Clinique TTDO balm and leaving out the SPF at night.

After 2 weeks you can consider introducing an HA serum (possibly the Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum).

Then start looking into actives, I’d probably start with Paula’s Choice BHA 2% Regular Strength travel size/sample (deviating to the 2 % Perfecting Liquid if that proves ineffective and/or CosRx BHA Liquid). Then trial TO Niacinamide, Vit C, Retinoid 2% in that order leaving plenty of time in between and building up use gradually (see my response above). But just come annoy us on here instead to assess how your skin is faring after a month of consecutive use of a minimal low irritation routine as described above.

Hi Botemp

Wow thanks so much for the comprehensive skin advice. I am reading through the threads from the first one as i need to educated myself on skincare.

I started double cleansing using the Nivea cleanser and then a L'oreal face wash i just want to use the products up then i will purchase something you suggested. I have to report that the spots have cleared up significantly since doing this.

Thank you also for the advice on acids etc i was very confused by what does what and where in the routine it slots in.

Thanks so much for finding the time to advise me it's much appreciated, you are so knowledgeable.

Oh sorry I meant to say that i put the cream face wash on before i get in the shower as the water makes my skin feel tight and itchy. I would have to moisturise after also.

I think the Avene skin recovery to too heavy for me so will also try something on your list. Thanks again.

JD Let me know if the hand cram is any good. Always on the look out for the perfect one. The Avene cold cream one used to be It but they changed the formula and it's a bit rubbish now.

I think the toleriane ultra has Shea butter in it which is why I avoided it. The cicaplast shea butter is ok as I dab it on tiny areas. All over Shea butter makes me break out.

This is a new palette - I have the first one. Gets released on the 3rd of April and is a whole twenty dollars. Get in my grubby paws

stainless Emma Pickering in Oz...

Sorry as I know you've covered it in previous threads - but the Biologique Recherche - what skin type is it for, what are the benefits, & what's the exact name of the product please?

Also - could anyone recommend a good eye makeup remover please? I'm currently using the Lancome bi-phase remover, it's great but £21+ is quite a lot more than I'd usually spend (it was a free gift). Needs to cope with waterproof mascara with a minimum of rubbing.

It's supposed to be for EVERYONE Lego

If you are new to it or have sensitive skin, the p50w is the recommended one.

I personally have found it tricky to use. Main benefit and reason I've persisted is a noticeable improvement in skin texture. It looks denser and tighter. Not sure it's worth all the aggro (for me). I'm using it over a month now, had serious bedding in issues and still have to use a damp pad & just go lightly and quickly over the skin.

My baseline skin is quite reactive, sensitive cheeks, normal to oily. A lot of redness. A lot of stuff (even primers!) will make it flush up.

stsinless am only catching up on thread now and it was me who said the p50w seemed to amplify the galactomyces. Unusually, I had white finger marks as opposed to just redness! It disappeared as soon as I stopped using the galactomyces. Haven't reintroduced yet as I'm trying to bed down the p50w (see Bo , I do listen!)

I was using other actives in same routine as the p50w which for me is actually a big no no.

It's quiet on here....

It is a bit quite? I haven't seen the updates.

Slinky glad to hear your spots have improved with double cleansing!

I am pondering the SCINIC snail ampoule due to a spectacular write up on the Asian Beauty Reddit that just SOLD it to me. SOLD it. I want more moisture and the Scinic ampoules are such great deals. :D

*quiet.

Well I'm assuming yongnian is giddy with excitement over her new horsey and the rest are (responsibly) enjoying the bout of sunny spring weather.

Speaking of, received a promotional email the other day about the Toleriane line being the 'ultimate' solution for those suffering from hayfever and other seasonal allergies (assuming it's to do with low irritation/inflammation, not aggravating it any further). I don't suffer from it but I'm assuming a few of you on here do, does it make your skin even worse then? More info here.

Gothamista also posted her review of Drunk Elephant part 2, including the babyfacial which TO has duped. Dulci have you received the TO one yet? Am equally curious and scared. Think she gives some sensible advice on here on how to build up use but also to minimise other actives in subsequent routines.

I can't remember what it was in the end that made me decide against those SCINIC AIO's anymore... probably the huge amount you get for the money (makes me think you need to slap on loads), but it may just have been an ingredient I didn't like .

Lego, P50 is a poly-alpha-beta hydroxy acid so there's something in it for everyone in that sense. The exact name is Biologique Recherche Lotion P50(W being the starter version), it's strong due to the high concentrations of various acids and its low pH. I find it works well for texturising and balancing. There are other benefits too (hydrates, exfoliates, regulates sebum production, improves barrier function and strength, and amplifies the workings of other actives/products) but those stand out for me personally, it's a bit different per person. Generally, your skin needs to be in decent-ish health to start with, compromised skin barriers should avoid it until it's resilient enough to compensate the strength of the active.

JDSTER, like Enid mentioned, the other Tolerianes have Shea which is non-comedogenic but I find it's a common clogging irritant for many so that's why I often rec something without it to err on the side of safety.

Has anyone ordered from that German website yet? I may be being a technological duffer, but I cannot get it to accept my address on Amazon Pay, & I can't see any other payment options... really frustrating as I'd really like to try the BR stuff.