Fantastic Skincare - Snail Optional 🐌

[botemp]

Thread 1 Thread 2 Thread 3 Thread 4 Thread 5

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]:

---

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.

Ooh they look good. 3 for 2 at boots. I do wish manufacturers wouldn't do conditioners that are half the size of the shampoo though! Silicone free... Tempting but I'm on a ban

I know! It should be the other way around. Yeah, they're not super cheap. They do smell really good though.

To clarify hair care ban only
I will be trying when I've worked my way through my stash. Using one called kind natured at the minute which is pretty good

Bugger. Turns out I have £30 of eon points. Converted to boots vouchers winging their way to me

I'm just doing some niacinamide research. Anyone heard of these brands?

Pure Body Naturals

NiaSerum 12%

Skinceuticals has HA too so no need to repurchase HA (nearly run out of my TO one). Very pricey thought.

Pupsie I've only heard of skinceuticals, think it's meant to be a really good brand but as u said it's quite ££

Sorry to keep questioning you bo, I couldn't find the Eucerin moisturiser you recommended. There seemed to be everything but. Are there any other moisturisers you'd recommend? Is the Eucerin range generally good?

Althea go to facetheory.com and try one of their moisturisers. I like the signature moisturiser and the relaxing night cream from them. I didn't get on with the lrp toleriane or the eucerin personally.

If you try TO 1% retinol GO EASY
I've been using their 2% one for some time. Am now peeling slightly and a little purging on my chin so it is definitely a lot lot stronger

Thanks for your top tips ladies, I've swapped my LE C+P for LRP Toleriane am and pm (with Superdrug Hot Cloth Cleanser for a first cleanse to take my makeup off) and I'm loving the texture of the Biore Watery Essence SPF

I'm not loving the TO vitamin C quite so much, as don't think I've quite got the hang of it yet. How much should I be aiming to apply? First time I definitely slapped on too much, as my makeup was rolling in grit - but am worried that I've now gone the other way and the teeny blob isn't quite enough. It seems to feel less gritty if I slap on my HA serum very quickly on top, but all and any tips to get the most out of it, would be very gratefully received!

Banana it takes a while to get used to the Vit C. My tips are:-

Keep in fridge
Give it a shake pre-application
Apply less than you think - a 5p piece amount dotted on all over.
Pat on. Don't rub.
Leave at least half an hour before applying next product/make up
I've found some products really irritate after. For example, my Neostrata tinted SPF50 is unbearably itchy until I wash it off. I try to prevent plan and if I'm wearing that one I rinse the Vit C off; apparently it works within half an hour. Oh, and if I have a break for a few days my skin has a period of readjusting to using it again. It is worth sticking with it imho.

*pre-plan

Wow I'm defo never using the vit c that's waaaay too much faff for me

Sorry if this has been mentioned previously, but the Cicaplast cream - which is best for getting rid of post-blemish red marks & hyperpigmentation? The Pro Repair or the Balm B5? I'm fairly pale & they can take several months to fade to an acceptable level on me (sometimes a even year to completely go away, on certain areas).

The B5. We decided it was the pantheon/b5 that was doing the trick on pigmentation.

I take all my skincare down to my décolletage. My neck is always red either side. I guess due to previous sun damage. Under my chin/neck in the shadow of my chin is white and lovely. Is there anything else I can do to improve the appearance of my neck?

Thanks Enid. Is it the Pro Repair that's recommended for extremely chapped skin, or will the B5 Balm work for that too?

DH keeps looking at me most cynically, I've developed a most disturbing skincare spending habit. I've even started buying makeup. Only good cheap brands, or discounts though. He thinks you lot are a bad influence on me.

Pupsie - I do that too - nearly down to the top of my bra, my entire neck, & down a couple of inches along the top of my back. No point taking care of the face if the neck wrinkles give the game away...

"Take it to the tits" is what Caroline Hirons says about skincare .

I must say re TO vit c, I don't find it a faff at all. I don't keep in fridge, probably about a 5p piece (but I don't conciously think about it) put it on face, generally spread it around and follow up with LRP toleriane moisturiser. I don't leave time between although I do wait about 10 mins or do while I'm drying my hair before applying SPF. Basically no different to any other serum. Yes texture is different but it's only different when you're not used to it ifyswim

banana I meant to say I'm glad you're enjoying LRP, Superdrug and biore products- I use them all myself.

I just started using TO Vit c this week in the mornings, my method is very similar to JDSTER's and I've not had any issues. I'm a fairly heavy makeup wearer with oily skin so was expecting to have a bit of a trial and error phase but it's been fine. I follow immediately with hylamide serum then wait about 5 mins before SPF, another 5 mins or so then makeup. I'm doing other stuff (hair & teeth usually) in between so it's not a pain to wait. The routine Deciem sent me suggested using Vit c at night but I've learnt on here that it's more beneficial to use in the morning.

I take retinoid, serums, oils, moisturisers and SPF down to my bust but my neck and chest is much more sensitive than my face so I'm a bit wary with the acids, I'll start introducing them gradually to those areas.

My neck and chest are also completely different skin tones to my face - face is sallow/very pale olive, neck is white and upper chest (décolleté?) is pink! I think sadly that's sun damage as I've not been great using SPF on my face till recently and used it even more rarely on my chest.

Have officially de-lurked after finding these threads linked from another thread! Am most definitely a skincare amateur and hoping someone can give me a starting point to work from. I have naively been expecting my skin to improve from teenage pimply for the last ten years of its own accord but alas I don't think it's going to happen without some proper input!

Age: 26

Skin type: excessively oily, very spot prone.

Routine AM: facewipe or splash of water before make up.

PM: face wash, very gentle exfoliating one. I suspect I'm over exfoliating due to this but it's the only one I've ever used which helps my skin feel clean.

Make up: most days, Estée Lauder double wear foundation as discovered from a previous beauty thread lurk. Only foundation I've ever found that doesn't slide off my face halfway through the day. But suspect it's heaviness is blocking up the poor old pores and not helping my situation.

As far as precious products go, I had a go with Clinique in my teenager years but limited success, possibly down to lack of consistent use but hard to remember. Price wise I would probably like to spend up to £20 on a single product, happy to spend more on something which will last. But as I'm starting from scratch would like to try and get the whole 'package' I need to buy in one go for under £100.

No other health/lifestyle concerns I can think of. Don't drink regularly, no smoking. Could eat healthier. Have an 18mo and considering TTC number 2 at the end the year so have a while to get into a decent routine before hormones ruin everything!

So essentially, I would be so grateful if someone could just point me in the direction of a fairly fuss free routine and suitable products I could adopt as I've dodged this for far too long. So sorry to crash your wonderful thread with my completely embarrassing lack of skincare

Dwellington
First bit of reading here https://docs.google.com/document/d/16C3NTD2KpiboEymOKXMteg73YYgS2Cm9b38UvzgpGRs/mobilebasic
It's the basics :)

Thank you!

Ditto re not being careful with SPF historically. I haven't sunbathed for decades, and only then sporadically. But I'm am hourglass so mostly wear scoop necked tops so upper chest been exposed plenty over the years

Quick update: my TO 30% AHA + 2%BHA stuff arrived - it looks like blood in the bottle! Deep red and quite sticky/viscous. Only whacked it on for 3 mins while brushing my teeth, it did sting on application and my skin is a bit pink an hour later. Seems quite potent but too early for a proper review.

Has anyone else tried this yet? Any more initial impressions out there?