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

999 replies

botemp · 26/05/2017 19:18

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.


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


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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
49
mintmagnummm · 16/06/2017 06:35

Ha ha JDSTER Grin. Hmm that's interesting, maybe I'll try one of other flavours. I'm just so frustrated at mo as dove spray has always worked for me and all of a sudden it's become less effective and I'm paranoid about smelling!

Ollivander84 · 16/06/2017 07:20

Estée Lauder companies have acquired a stake in deciem. Just seen it this morning

VictoriaandBump · 16/06/2017 07:43

Hi everyone, I'm in the midst of house buying/moving hell. This thread is a nice distraction!

Mint, late reply I know, but I use the Cerave pm moisturiser. I've used it for years, it's fantastic stuff.
Bo, hope you're feeling a bit better now. The Avene cleanser I have has coco glucoside as the surfactant. I've noticed an improvement in blackheads since I started using it, perhaps not because of any specific ingredient but it just seems to remove every trace of makeup and leaves no residue. I think the cleansers (balm/oil) I was using before were too heavy and were blocking my pores.

Sorry, I can't remember who was posting about scars but Deciem have a retin oil that's supposed to be good for scarring. I'm thinking of trying it for my stretch marks and last years gall bladder surgery scars. Not sure how soon you can use it after surgery though, since it contains actives like retinol and vit c.

Dreamqueen · 16/06/2017 13:55

Jdster this is it. Ordered it but can't remember why I ordered it.

Fantastic Skincare: Skin (almost) sorted- decent fucking summer fucking clothes would be fucking nice. Don't ask us about our hair 🐌
userallusedup · 16/06/2017 18:22

JDSTER I used the Biore milk today and I really like it Grin it looked most odd at first as it's way too pinky pale for my skin tone but looked fine under makeup, and made my skin look a bit less sallow than usual. It's nice and mattifying too.

Olli I saw that about Deciem and Estée Lauder too, not too impressed as I don't like ELs business practices, though apparently they are a minority stakeholder. I probably will still buy TO and hylamide as long as they don't change formulas or put the prices up.

Ollivander84 · 16/06/2017 20:37

TO have also said they're bringing out a less gritty form of vit C so that should be interesting

Wellhellothere1 · 16/06/2017 21:16

Hi all. Wonder if anyone could advise on my routine or suggest a product which might help my extremely oily skin. I've had oily skin all my life and while following all the advice here/CH website my skin has definitely become much clearer and generally blemish free, I still hate the oilyness though! My skin is like an oil slick within about two hours of applying (oil free) foundation. I use primer too (have used almost every primer on the market and still no improvement).
At the moment I use-

PM loreal extraordinary oil cleanser for first cleanse
No 7 beautiful skin cleansing lotion for normal/dry skin for second cleanse
Nip and Fab glycolic pads
Hadalabo premium HA serum
Cerave PM moisturiser
TO retinol 1%

AM no 7 cleanser
Nip and fab salicylic acid pads
TO buffet
Cerave moisturiser
Ultra sun SPF 30 (Asian sunscreens make my eyes stream)

Any ideas? I look so greasy!

JDSTER · 16/06/2017 22:31

dream I've got NO idea whst that is Grin
user glad you liked it Smile.
hello I have a few questions first. Are you using glycolic and retinol at the same time? Salicylic in the morning too? Obviously the oiliness is a problem during the day, rather than at night so do you think any of the morning products are a bit heavy? I just think you're removing oil in the morning with the salicylic (preferable to use at night. It does cause skin to be photo sensitive) then adding 3 hydrating layers with buffet, moisturiser and ultra sun. Which Asian sunscreens have you tried? My skin is oily and in my opinion, whilst you can try to prevent your skin from producing an excess of oil, by not overly stripping and trying to keep the right level of hydration (whatever that actually is Confused), you can't stop your skin from being oily. It's just about trying to manage it.
Are you using powder over the foundation? What about blotting papers?

Wellhellothere1 · 16/06/2017 22:58

Thanks JD
Yes using both glycolic and retinol at night. I have open pores and blackheads so I was using both to try and help. My skin sends to tolerate both no problem. I think someone posted before that nip and fab pads have quite low concentrations of acids so I wasn't too concerned. And yes salicylic in the morning. Again I think someone here recommended using SA in the morning and GA at night as SA causes less photosensitivity than GA.
My eyes watered with both Biore watery essence and Senko something (orange tube, no English writing) so I came to the conclusion I should use physical sunscreens instead of chemical ones.
I always use powder but I've never tried blotting papers.
Perhaps I should stop using serum to see if that helps. And worry about wrinkles after that Smile

mintmagnummm · 17/06/2017 06:57

Can anyone tell me why my moisturiser seems to be sweating out of my skin? I seem to get tiny beads of sweat/water on my t-zone after applying my cream (face theory) I really hope it's not the cream being too heavy?? As I've searched long and hard and destroyed my skin in the search for a moisturiser that agrees with my difficult reactive combination dehydrated skin! Sad

botemp · 17/06/2017 09:51

Checking back in, scans etc. were all clean so immediate worry seems to be off the table. Will get full results in a few weeks time but my gyn showed no reasons for concern Smile

Thanks for another update Banana, so pleased to hear you're happy with the results.

Pupsie, I've never had a lipliner reaction either but anything is possible. You seem to have a lot of makeup reactions IIRC, it's probably worth checking the INCIs to see if there's a common trigger?

mint, I use the Sanex 0% Dermo deodorant in the summer, mostly because it's alcohol-free and doesn't make me come out in a rash but it's also aluminum-free. They promise 24h protection but I think 12 is more realistic. Cheap as here and always on offer but don't know what the availability is like in the UK.

Your plastic wrapped ponytail sounds very avant-garde fashion show, Bali Grin. Am mighty tempted to get some of the PK to try if it means putting off a visit to a butchering hairdresser for longer. I found it on lookfantastic with 20% off is that the cheapest place generally?

Dreamqueen, the Japanese product is the Kohaku-Hada Lotion (I think it's the extra moist version, I use a different one). It's an HA toner so in your current lineup of HA and Buffet probably of little use. Just hold on to it until you've run out of something else unless you bought it with the intention to try the 7 skin method, maybe? (Check it for product reaction first though).

Olli, thanks for the newsflash. I'm a bit conflicted about it but not really surprised. The outsider is becoming an insider and I do wonder how they will maintain their USP and ethics with EL, and whether or not this is just a savvy move by EL to swallow up a disrupting force to their business model. Then again, Deciem couldn't carry on the way they were, their exponential growth was poorly managed (stock issues, CS and SM issues, waiting lists, clearly lacking the cash to upscale in tune with demand, etc.) so they needed an injection of outside funds and/or management not to lose the goodwill they had built up so it was inevitable in that sense. New Vit C sounds promising though.

Thanks for the info amidst the move, Victoria. Hope you settle in well soon and can put your feet up again!

Wellhellothere1, there's two ways to contemplate your question. Regardless, assuming you're truly oily, that really just is your natural level of oil production and there's little you can do about it (topically, and if it is excessive then it becomes a GP/Derm issue).

The N+F pads are indeed low concentration, they have more fragrance in them than acid. They're formulated for highly frequent use but that's why I'm generally not a fan of them, especially since they also have alcohol in them. Do you find you need to use acids to see effect with other actives (ie. you use it as a prepping toner as the high oil content in your skin otherwise hinders product absorption)?

It may be the case that using certain products containing common irritants that are phototoxic like fragrance, colourants, alcohol, etc. (not always immediately apparent but exposure to light causes irritation and damage to the skin long term) are gradually exasperating the oil issue. Generally, with age, oiliness should decrease.

So I think there are two ways to go about it when considering your current routine, either cull the majority of potentially irritating products containing common irritants to see if there's any improvement in terms of sebum production (as irritated skin, whether visible or not, will encourage more sebum production), in your case that would be the cleansers (the no.7 is already a bit suspect as it's both a micellar water -not ideal- and formulated for dry skin) and acid pads. Also, check your makeup for fragrance and alcohol (colourants are unavoidable there).

The other option is to change out the acids for higher strength ones, eg. the Glycolic toner at 7% (build up use sensibly though) from TO and PC 2% BHA (the one formulated for acne prone skin).

I'm not sure if Cerave moisturiser for the AM may be too heavy, especially in the summer something lighter would maybe work better for you? The buffet takes care of most of the hydrating you need so all you really need is to seal it and though I'm unfamiliar with ultrasun that may be enough on its own.

If you've experienced eye irritation with the Senka and Biore then it's not all chemical filters but specifically Avobenzone and Oxybenzone (check wikipedia for the various names) so simply steer away from those filters which tend to be used in cheaper formulations. However, it's always possible that you're sensitive to chemical filters so physical is the safest bet. Which Ultrasun are you using, AFAIK they're all mineral/chemical mix sunscreens?

mint, water on top of skin after application is probably HA drawing water from the atmosphere or from your own skin. Is it absorbing as it should? It may just be too heavy for the summer time, maybe?

OP posts:
Wellhellothere1 · 17/06/2017 10:29

Bo that's good news everything has checked out ok with you.
And thanks for your answer wrt my skin query. I'll spend a bit of time looking into everything and change things round a bit to see how I get on.

mintmagnummm · 17/06/2017 12:59

Bo yes it does absorb but it's bothering me that I keep feeling the sweat/water coming out. Finding a suitable moisturiser is so bloody frustrating ffs I thought I'd cracked it with face theory! Either their formulas have changed or my skin isn't accepting them anymore! I'm breaking out a bit more too

mintmagnummm · 17/06/2017 13:00

Oh and thank u for the deo rec I'll see if I can find it here

RubyGoat · 17/06/2017 15:11

That's good news Bo. Must admit I was a bit worried, especially given your recent random weight loss. Hopefully it's just a random blip or something very minor & easily fixed.

I've come to the conclusion that my back doesn't like SLS. Was using a SLS free shampoo which ran out a few weeks ago. My new one has it in... spots on my back again (not as bad as before though). Bah. So could you point me to / give me a list of the most common triggers for acne, as I need to go shampoo shopping. Sad Or even better, is there a shampoo for irritated / spotty skin?

Ollivander84 · 17/06/2017 15:13

I used to like l'oreal ever pure I think it's called. Sulphate free. Moogoo stuff is quite nice as well
I've gone rogue though and ditched shampoo Grin so I can't help that much!

Ollivander84 · 17/06/2017 15:13

Oh and wash your body after hair so you aren't leaving any conditioner etc on it

RubyGoat · 17/06/2017 17:59

Ha I already do wash my back after, always have. Face, hair, body in that order. I actually suspect I'm mildly allergic, or at least very sensitive, to something in my shampoo. I wonder if I can get referred back for a dermatology appointment specifically re cosmetic ingredients (last time they checked general stuff).

EnidButton · 17/06/2017 18:04

I wash my hair with my head tilted forward, with hair hanging down over the front, so my hair never touches my back when in the shower. Could you try that?

I'm trying a Redken Heatcure mask again tonight. Just going to wash it off now. Also decided the Toni & Guy detox shampoo is no good for me. My hair needs washing a day later whereas it can go 2-3 days when using the Redken clarifying one. and 4-5 with the Pantene one that the bastards discontinued I can't wash my hair every other day like I used to, now. So sticking with the Redken one. Still have to try the tresemme one someone recommended.

applepineapple · 17/06/2017 18:09

Hi all, have been lurking only recently as I'm busy studying for professional exams! (Can't wait until it's over!)

Going on from Ollies Ordinary Vic C update, they are releasing a 100% ascorbic acid powder and 30% vit c suspension in silicone. I'm a bit Hmm about this as you could easily get the aa powder from Amazon or EBay. Also in their guide to Vit c they say that silicone suspensions prevent the whole dose of Vit c getting to the skin which negates their new formulation. I just think it's silly having all these formulations of one ingredient, what to you think about this?

Fantastic Skincare: Skin (almost) sorted- decent fucking summer fucking clothes would be fucking nice. Don't ask us about our hair 🐌
RubyGoat · 17/06/2017 18:29

I don't need to worry about my hair touching my back, & I don't use conditioner... I have a very short pixie cut. When it was long, I always used to wash it bending forward over the bath, or forward under the shower after I'd finished washing the rest of myself. I'd realised in my teens that mega long hair & lots of conditioner was exacerbating the problem, it did improve when I changed wash technique, but not a lot.

EnidButton · 17/06/2017 19:00

Lego Ah right. I wasn't sure it'd be much help really but people always suggest it so thought I better had.

EnidButton · 17/06/2017 21:29

bo Very glad the results were ok. Hope you're feeling a bit lighter now. Worry is a terrible thing. Flowers I get my PK Elasticizer from Look Fantastic or Feel Unique, whichever has the best discount on at the time.

Pupsiecola · 18/06/2017 00:05

Glad results came back clear Bo. I think you must have me mixed up with someone else. No make up reactions here. I wear very minimal make up :-)