Fantastic Skincare: Skin (almost) sorted- decent fucking summer fucking clothes would be fucking nice. Don't ask us about our hair 🐌

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Thread 1 Thread 2 Thread 3 Thread 4 Thread 5 Thread 6 Thread 7

I am very slowly working on consolidating the gathered information from previous threads into easier to read formats but it’s slow going. If you wish join us on this thread I would suggest reading thread 1 and at the very least the following info sheets (provided they apply to you):

Where to Start

Basics of an Actives Routine

Skin Types vs. Skin Conditions Info Sheet

Anti-Ageing Info sheet

Adult Acne Info Sheet

For those who are taking a peek and wondering what this all about, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients (rather than the latest new shiny product and all its empty promises) 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. Newcomers are always welcome but please note the following:

Questions and asking for help on this thread is encouraged, however, we can’t give you a specific routine to follow and hope it works out for the best. There are no overnight miracles in skincare whether it be in the form of products or techniques. It’s about perseverance, understanding your skin, assessing its needs and responding to that in a diligent manner.

These threads were created to help those who want to learn for themselves. We’re a group of interested and invested skincare nuts happy to offer tea and sympathy and dole out advice. Everyone’s journey with skincare is different, what is universal and binds us is that through actually learning about the different active ingredients it helps us get to know our skin and help us adapt as it will change many times throughout our lives - with seasons, hormonal changes, ageing, genetics etc. It's in everyone's best interests to get to know their skin and to keep reviewing those changes with the confidence that comes from the gathered knowledge here. We really encourage you to spend the time reading through previous threads and linked info sheets that the many contributors have taken the trouble to share.

By no means are we experts, we're only a bunch of amateurs that can only respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

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If you pose a question and we need more contextual information to answer properly we may ask you to fill in the following form. Please only use this form when asked, unsolicited forms will be deleted. Responses to the form can be found here

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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.

MAY/JUNE 2017: It’s summer and some of us are hourglasses (and otherwise beautifully shaped) that desperately need to bitch and moan about the severe lack of clothes available to us. Also, some of us are recovering from a ‘fine’ butchering to our hair. Don’t ask. Some of us suffer from all of the above. At least the weather is good, wear sunscreen.

for you all... Hope everyone is safe and sound.

It sort of depends what you like about it Pupsie, if it's just the cleansing power than TTDO should work but you can also look at the Heimish All Clean Balm and the Body Shop CB.

I was in TKMaxx yesterday and incidentally, they had Ultrasun heavily marked down (€10), the sports and family one both in SPF30. Was tempted but couldn't find a manufacturing date on them. Anyone know what their shelf lives are like unopened?

Pupsie (or anyone else), non-skincare question, have you ever gotten into kettlebell training? I'm thinking of switching up my weight resistance exercise as I've always relied on Pilates (which is great for me as it never injures me and I enjoy doing it) but I can pretty much do it with my eyes closed. I know you can't spot train any group of muscles but I'm now a weird mix of very toned in certain places whilst flabby in the hormone related areas and kettlebell training looks to be the most interesting. Just wondering if it's sensible or not to go it alone (which I'd prefer, first thing in the morning) or that posture is very important and a class or personal trainer is required.

Lego the 2014 is in reference to them winning an award for the best sunscreen in 2014, or most sold/popular. Japanese products have them all the time, the design of the packaging is usually indicative of which year it is from as they change that up every year.

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT

It's still sunscreen season, but now the focus is shifting somewhat. Traditionally the emphasis has always been on limiting the damage caused by UVB rays to avoid skin cancer. Preventing UVA rays were mostly an anti-pigmentation and -ageing defence. Research does seem to be indicating that UVA rays may also play a role in the onset of skin cancer (hence why broad spectrum is becoming more important and the necessity for transparent labelling that is legible to the average consumer). The cosmetics industry now also seems to be zeroing in on visible light and IR. Whilst there is some evidence, the cosmetic industry's response is a bit iffy, they're simply adding antioxidants that booster SPF protection but they're pretty much marketing it like a UV filter whilst scaring you with terms like 'Screen Face'. The Australian Derm Body seems to suggest makeup works just as well (if not better) as the pricey antioxidant bolstered cosmetics. Few interesting reads:

Lights off: is the glare from your computer really ageing your skin?

New research suggests make-up may be the key to eternal youth for your face - after sunscreen of course

These Nigerian Sisters Developed The Perfect Sunscreen For Black People

Just for Olli These 8 Cooling Skin Treatments Are The Best Sunburn Saviors I'm amazed how coherent you sound after that concoction

So I've been hesitant about reccing the following YT Channel. The vlogs are pretty much a chore to sit through and hope to get some interesting tidbits out of it. However, my reservations are mostly this: despite being a dermatologist with a lot of useful information it's tied in with questionable vegan evangelism and she's scarily thin. It's watchable if you simply stick to the non-vlog videos and accept that most products won't be of interest as it's US focused. These two recent videos on SPF are a good watch (including info on use for children and the fake tanning agent DHA):

The mentioned oxybenzone above (possible endocrine disruptor) is incidentally being restricted in the EU as of September 2017.

A helpful recap :Which Skincare Ingredients + Products Should You Use At Night Only?

Must not forget Dr. Sam,

And just because she's allround awesome, a new Mary Video,

Bo I think ultrasun has a shelf life of 2-3 years once open

Thanks for your reply pupsie. Clinique TTDO is unfragranced so different to EH in that regard. As bo mentioned body shop camomile butter worth a try, it's certainly inexpensive and I like it.

Thanks for SS bo, I'll catch up with it later. I'm off to a food festival now

Pupsie TTDO has a very different feel to EH. It's the exact consistency as lard rather than slightly soft with oils. No smell at all. It is very good at removing make up and it's not as over priced costly as EH. It's utilitarian compared to EH's luxury feel. So like bo said it depends what you want from a balm. If it's just to remove make up then it does the job well. It broke me out each time I used it. Not sure why.

Thank you all so very much for your advice, I've taken it all on board and will try everything out slowly. I really appreciate it all

Good news so far TO retinoid 2% hasn't caused any dryness or reaction so far.

My skin type is I think combination, sensitive. I used to have terrible acne as a teen which cleared up very quickly using roaccutane and has never returned. It did make my whole body feel very itchy during use and I had lots of cool baths.
i find it very hard to find products that suit me and even once I think I have found a holy grail it turns out im wrong.

The advice here is invaluable. Having read thread 1 there is lots of useful advice from the start

Ps I'm 47 but do happily look younger esp now I'm looking after my skin. People I meet for the first time are always amazed at how how old I am which is flattering and very embarrassing at the same time. I have no lines yet so have avoided anti ageing products but I want to use retinols now to see if it clears my redness and very very faint old scarring. LG has helped I think but there is work to do on my skin hence my TO haul.

That said I always wear makeup which helps towards the looking younger.

Were any of you near tower bridge last night? I don't live far from there and it was uncomfortably close (I work right by the chaos).

Olli I use the yes to carrots shampoo and conditioner, I had a flakey scalp which is better now but it's has little spots/scabs in places and there are red patches not sure what that's about.
When I straightened my hair a little while ago, I didn't wash it for a week (only skipping one shampoo and with brushing it's not oily) but my scalp was not happy at all so the YTC seems to help. Not sure what to do with it tbh.

Bo I think it got hacked by a bot exploiting a weakness with a plugin (keep that shit up to date!) but I think I'll be poking people to change their passwords to more secure ones this week. Most of the password for the sites I work on are too hard to remember so they are saved in chrome, in a big shared spreadsheet or written in notes,unlabelled, on my laptop.
The internet is still 90% porn anyway. Someone mentioned IRC on MN before and I had to google it , I had msn to chat to my primary school classmates.
While looking for fabric for coat lining, I came (pun not intended) across a forum where people were discussing doing unspeakable things to coats linings and other satin things

LRP spf products are currently reduced on the feel unique site. I've just treated myself to the LRP antihelios face mist 30spf and the LRP antihelios AC matte fluide 30spf.

Both of which I've been wanting to try out. There are lots of deals on the site at the moment.

Hope you are ok Older Must've been very frightening. It's all so horrible and pointless.

Bo, I'm at Edinburgh airport having attended a 2 day practical (very!) weight lifting workshop led by a brilliant trainer I have followed on SM for a couple of years. I have learned sooooo much. I do use kettlebells, at home. It would be worth trying to find a PT who specialises in KB training I think to go through the basics, and important points. (If you've done Pilates you will know many of them, although I have just learned a game changer re bracing when lifting weights - I thought you were supposed to pull your core in and tense, exhaling on the movement. But no, the opposite is true. You're suppose to take a huge gulp of air and blow your tummy up and hold that breath until the movement is completely over. The idea is that your core is then like a bottle full of air and much more stable. I squatted 80kg a couple weeks ago, with the wrong breathing technique lol). Kettlebells are great and you can do so much with them but proper form is essential. I hired a PT for one lesson to learn how to do Turkish Get Ups. Once you know what you're doing you can buy some to use at home. My favourite exercises are kettlebell swings (important not to go too high, and actually it feels more natural in that regard if you go heavier), goblet squats, military (or shoulder) press, farmer's walk.

Reason for weird two spots is an early period. Bit gutted, for some stupid reason I hoped I'd be pregnant. Why after 10 years of disappointment I don't know. 🙄 I never learn. Raaar.

But anyway, it explains the spots which are clearing up very nicely actually. Cutting out wheat is making a big difference to breakouts.

otyt, good to know you're safe. for you too Enid, it's not stupid to still hold out hope despite the accompanying disappointment.

Yes, Tant, despite the addition of the snail as our official thread mascot coming about from an in-joke, he/she is actually a good one as it's all about taking things veeeeeeeeeeeeery slow on here.

Hmm, yes, it's the third party plugins that mostly have me concerned with WP, otyt, as those aren't allowed on WP.com, so they're unfamiliar to me. I'd always assumed this was a bit of a weak spot but that I'd want lots of them anyway since they seem so useful.

Ooh MSN chat, I had that as a teen. We talked some awful nonsense on there . Yeah, it's still all porn on the internet but at least now you're not constantly confronted with it unless you're actively looking for it now people just seem to think it's preferable to expose each other to it unasked. Every search result was porn related and you just wouldn't know by clicking the link. We got the internet when I was pretty young and I'm kind of amazed I grew up with any form of sanity or healthy views about sex considering what it was like then and the fact that my parents really didn't monitor my use much. Then again there wasn't much on there for kids so I don't think I was on it much at all either.

I do miss OG internet sometimes, the garish acid green backgrounds and magenta text, pictures that were revealed in the slowest way ever, etc. On a more serious note, I do tend to think that everyone now 'lives' in their own algorithm now so you're mostly surrounded by people with similar views/tastes which I think ultimately is limiting and makes one blind to the larger picture whilst OG internet really was about exploring another world.

I've been reading up on the attention economy lately (may be of interest to you too, Dulci, in the critical thinking education discussion). The premise is that attention is now a currency and most of us can only afford to spend so much of it and usually on lots of little things (as that's more profitable for business entities), essentially devaluing those moments in the process, perpetuating a constant cycle of loss. It seems to be mostly discussed in the tech field now about social and how fake news proliferates (people are constantly fed small portions of information that simply confirm already vaguely formed opinions -rightly or wrongly- as that will attract their attention easily), but it seems an interesting theory beyond that realm and also how it will probably see a counter movement at some point where people purposefully seek to do the opposite by focusing attention on something very specific for an extended period of time kind of like this thread. It's still a narrowing movement though, the exploration of the internet as it once was is almost inconceivable now because it's organised in such a different way.

All the trend forecasting at the moment is already pointing to a rise in 'minimal' thinking and heightened critical consumer behaviour - I take a bit of offence at the term 'minimal' as I've actually bothered to study it at length. It would be more accurate to call it 'extreme materialism' as it's less about detaching oneself from material goods and values but rather the purposefully directed choice to only own and seek out things of worth to you. That does seem to align with the theory of people relearning to invest again (whether that be in information or physical goods). I suppose it's also a delayed reaction (behaviour takes longer to change) to the credit crisis and having experienced that constantly available credit does have a limit.

Sorry went a bit off track there... but it's been helping me form ideas on how to organise the 'blog' as a typical blog model is lots of little snap bite posts intermingled with a lot of sales exposure and that's the kind of thing I'd not want it to be but people would still need to read it and motivate them to find value in investing their intention to it somehow.

Thanks, Pupsie, I had an inkling you'd know more but I must have psychic powers to know to ask when you were on a training . I do remember vaguely, it's about 8 yrs ago now that when I started pilates you get taught to the breathing and core tightening in a certain way (technically the wrong way) because it makes it easier to focus on form and technique and once you advance you have to relearn the breathing and core tightening combo. I think it was also explained to me that you need a well-developed core to begin with in order to hold positions and weight in the advanced technique and have control over the movement. I hope that all made sense

I was thinking similar, a PT for a few lessons to learn posture (I enjoy that type of thing anyhow and I am good with it in Pilates) and figure out which weights would suit me best. I'm naturally strong but I do worry that I'd injure myself by going heavy too quickly. Just need to find a good PT now, they tend to be few and far between here and ridiculously expensive and full of questionable nutrition advice .

Does anyone have any recommendations for where to buy tretinoin/retin a online? It's makes my skin look amazing but I'm running out. There doesn't seems to be much on eBay and the lady I normally buy it from seems to have vanished...

About to run out of TO azelaic acid
Not sure whether to repurchase or not as I'm not sure what it's doing but on the other hand reluctant not to use as something is working!

Think I'd be tempted to stick with it all for now Olli as your skin is doing so well. Would give you a bit longer to play around with everything and see if you can work out what is working the best. It might all be working together.

bo Thank you Hope is almost impossible to stop. It's always the last thing standing. Not a bad thing generally. Where there's life there's hope.

I am scraping the bottom of my cicaplast tube Will obviously be buying another 10.

Thank you for all the vest suggestions, that gives me loads more avenues to explore. Those kettlewell ones, all those lovely colours

Enid - yeah that's what I was thinking. I checked my account and the tube has done me two and a half months so for a fiver it's not bad at all!

and Enid.

bo I'm having trouble keeping up with this thread, but the SkinCeuticals Mineral Radiance Denfense (one of the ones you recommended) has arrived and I used it. It feels lovely on, like silk. I don't know whether it will pass the 'can I wear it every day without getting eczema' test, but it's certainly a very good start. And I found it nearly half price, too .

Enid and

Ah thank you, you are kind, I know I'm being daft. All cakes and chocolate gratefully accepted. Hoping pmt lets up tomorrow. 🙄

Bo which retinol eye serum do you use? Did you have any flaking when starting it? I've yet to try a retinol product but wondering if an eye serum could be worth a try. Can it be used under a cream?

What do people think about silk pillowcases? Is it just sales spin when they say they help skin and hair condition? Seems like nonsense to me but has anyone tried one?

Sorry bo I should've added a 'please' to all those questions.

Hi Enid I have a silk pillow case. I certainly don't wake up with creases on my face (not sure I did beforehand though TBH). My hair is always crazy when I wake up, silk pillowcase or not. What I do notice is that when I stay somewhere other than home (and therefore don't sleep on silk) my face is drier, like the cotton absorbs everything from your face if that makes sense . Anyway, I like mine and like the feel of it. I just wash as normal but they do tend to rip after a while so I'm onto my second or third. Get mine on Amazon or eBay.

JD Ah that's interesting about the dryness. I do get creases sometimes. I'll have a google now. I think I'd like the luxury of it, feels like a fancy thing to do, sleep on a silk pillow.