🐌 Fantastic Skincare: The One Where Sallie Swallows Dermaplaned a Lion Named Fabio

[botemp]

Thread 1 Thread 2 Thread 3 Thread 4 Thread 5 Thread 6 Thread 7 Thread 8 Thread 9 Thread 10
Thread 11 Thread 12

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.

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.

I am very slowly working on consolidating the gathered information from previous threads into easier to read formats but it’s slow going. 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

Understanding Which Sunscreen(s) to Buy

Do I Really Need to Wear Sunscreen Every Single Day of the Year?

A Damaged Skin Barrier - Now What?

MARCH 2018: We managed to live through hairmageddon without any major losses. We welcomed some new inquisitive faces, reunited with some much missed old ones, and are delighted at the thought of a baby snail on its way. Now, all we need is the weather to start cooperating and match the levity in our moods…

at tentacle porn, I heard it mentioned ages on a tv show and seriously had no idea what it was, I thought porn was being used ironically like us saying shelf porn so I very, very stupidly googled, didn't see anything too graphic thankfully as I hadn't done an image search but was still

I nearly warned not to google search it when I read Bo's but thought nah, no-one will do that...

Reddit has a lot to answer for. The things that show up on their popular page.

Sophie definitely want to hear what the derm said. Chapter and verse please

Oops forgot to add: I've been looking at their serums but they seem overpriced considering The Ordinary ones are pretty much the same thing, right?

Just checking in to say hi really as just spent some time catching up on yesterday and today on the thread.

Skin is getting worse I think - still keeping it very simple but stupidly used a sample foundation when I had to pop out over the weekend as was trying to declutter the little sachets. Should have stuck to known products as seem to have taken a massive backwards step and new spots popping up all over the shop - a mix of little surface white ones and huge under the surface mountains.

I have managed to get an appointment with my GP for next Friday so hopefully will get a prescription for the Azelaic acid cream.

Tant which cream did you buy and was it from Acvite Formulas? I would love to know which one of theirs is the CDM dupe!

Sophie I would be interested to hear what the Derm said too. I see one every year and she is happy with the products I use (as long as I stick to a daily SPF!)

Zo yes I seem to have broken out this evening by doing the exact same thing with an old sachet I opened today, it's probably well over its sell by date tbh

miffy I just bought the tub of Sea Kelp they have.

I could only see one product they had with it in and thought I'd just mix the Sea Kelp in with my own trusty moisturiser or use it as a face mask.

Creme de la Mer have 3 similar moisturisers and I cant remember which one I used but I'm 90% sure it was the moisturising soft cream.

I can let you know once the sea kelp arrives if it feels anything like todays test or when its mixed in with the LRP and what difference it makes to my skin.

That sea kelp sounds interesting, the photo of it (in the bowl) on their website doesn't look very appealing though, they could have prettied it up a bit

I'm back on a buying ban as I'm decluttering and OMG the amount of skincare and makeup I have got is truly shocking skincare tbh is the lesser evil now I have a proper routine going and not impulse buying The Latest Thing but I still have loads of TO stuff lurking around. My makeup collection is beyond ridiculous though, if anyone hears me talking about buying more (unless it's a staple I've run out) please give me a virtual slap round the chops with a wet kipper.

Sallie 👋🗣🐟

I've always been intrigued by Creme de la Mer. Did you actually end up ordering it Tant? Sorry got a bit confused reading through the thread.

No idea what tentacle porn is and certainly don't want to google it after what you all said!!! Wondering how bad it can be though

Sallie. -YES! I will still be keeping my notes . Although it's actually a Word document. Not a spreadsheet. If it makes you feel better, Sallie, I also have a huge collection of make-up for someone who doesn't actually wear much on a daily basis! Will go and find a kipper for you now.

So the dermatologist: she examined my skin and all my spots and asked me to honestly answer if I had fiddled about with any of them or not. Then she looked at all my products one by one and asked when and how often I used them.

Forgive me if I'm not expressing myself quite right as we did most of the consultation in Greek so trying to find the right words/expressions in English. She said that my skin has a very fine balance between being too hydrated/saturated (which causes spots) and being too dry/dehydrated. She also said it was very sensitive and reactive. She said we need to find the optimal point at which my skin is nicely hydrated but that for me this will be right on the border of this small zone which is acceptable for my skin as otherwise the spots will start.

She said that quite often (and again this is for my particular skin) all these lovely products make the skin look great for about a week and then start causing spots. She agreed that things like MOs also wouldn't be good for my skin but she said it seems a though many other things are clogging up my pores. She also said my hormones now play a role (not at all unusual given I have children) but that she doesn't like giving medication for this and it's not a severe problem with me.

She put me on this very minimal routine for now because she wants to go back to basics and see what my skin does on its own. She said even giving me SPF now is a risk but she (obviously) can't let me go out without it. She said normal she gives SPF 50 but in my case she is giving SPF 30 (Frezyderm Velvet Touch - she gave me a lot of samples so don't have to buy it yet) because it has less chemicals and IF APPLIED PROPERLY, the difference between SPF 30 and SPF 50 is actually very small. I think she wouldn't have allowed me eye cream either had I not mentioned a few times about lines around my eyes.

I will follow this routine for about a month/5 weeks and then go back to her as she said a skin cycle is about that long so that's how long we need to wait to assess my skin again. The idea is that once she sees how my skin responds, she will introduce whatever is necessary slowly to hydrate it or what it needs.

With my products, she didn't like anything remotely creamy or oily for me. So she didn't like Dermalogica pre-cleanse and was a bit funny about the LRP Toleriane Cleanser and said if I use it then it needs to be completely washed off with water (she gave me a big sample of a Frezyderm liquid wash to try). Also didn't think LRP Toleriane Ultra creams would be good for me (they are still unopened). Similarly the Cicaplasy Baume said had to be used carefully with my skin and certainly not all over it (I only put on marks anyway and not every day).

The Vichy Mineral 89 and Vit C she was ok with but just doesn't want me using them now. Obviously the Melano CC is all in Japanese (or is it Korean?) but she thought the consistency was ok. Generally she said she is a big fan of acids if used properly. She said not to use acid on my hands to use it up but can put vit C there. Generally she said in her experience the best anti-agers are retinoids and vitamin C. We briefly touched on prescription retinoid but she said she was concerned that my skin might get very dry (and obviously it's not something I can consider now at all).

She quite rightly pointed out when I said I wasn't keen on stopping all products as my skin felt lovely that there isn't much point in having nice, plumped up skin if it's covered in spots or red scars all the time (she said the red marks will fade though).

It's very weird washing my face and then putting on NOTHING!!! feels a bit tight at the beginning but then the tightness goes and it doesn't actually look too awful. Yet......

On the positive side, I feel like I am being pro-active and dealing with this. And the dermatologist also said genetically I have good skin (age-wise too). She said this right at the end so not sure if she was saying this to cheer me up!

I hope all that makes sense. Sorry for being so long and fairly sure I've missed things off. Was there for ages!

Could someone please explain what Micellar water is? A make-up removed? Traditional toner?
Same with Serozinc? Someone (Shop?) referred to it as Vichy but I could only find LRP. Is it a toner for oily skin?

Not that I'm considering using either of these right now but need to keep my notes up-to-date

Sorry forgot to reply to Bo in the last post, the Minon box is sheet mask.

also bought 2 items at Loft, one is the acseine sunscreen, one is a all in one gel sunscreen and tint.

Thanks sophie for details from your derm consultation. I think it’s very common that they strip your routine right back and all HCPs have their favourite ‘products’which they are more likely to suggest or prescribe. Keep us updated on your skins progress please.

Micellar removes makeup. The ‘micelles’ attract makeup from your skin (a bit more complicated than that but you get my drift). I just use it for eye makeup removal but good for travel if you didn’t want to take an oil cleanser with you. I tend to do that and then use LRP toleriane as a second cleanse.
I only know of LRP Serozinc which comes in a thermal water spray with added zinc sulphate. Its aimed at oily/blemish prone skin.

I decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and start using P50W last night. I applied after cleansing routine. Dampened cotton wool with thermal water first and patted on. Very slight tingling. I waited 5 mins and then applied moisturiser. Is that right? My skin does feel very smooth. How often should I be using it? I know they don’t recommend using with a retinoid but I also know that people do.

Thanks Sophie very interesting, I hope your skin improves.

I didn't buy the Creme de la Mer just the Sea Kelp to mix in with other products from Active Formula.

If they halved the price of Mer, it would fly off the shelves.
I would definitely have bought it at half the price

Re Micellar water Sophie I have always used micellar water because sometimes I'm just to tired to wash my face, or use as quick a morning cleanse if I'm in a rush.

I use Garniers with the pink top to get the bulk of make up off followed by the pricer LRP micellar to finish off with or Bioderma micellar.

Followed by lrp thermal water

Hi, I’m back (but still catching up) I’m trying to take control of my skin, in a sensible way and in accordance with the really helpful recommendations here. First step: wear a proper sunscreen. Am 35 and skin is normal on cheeks but oiler on the t-zone prone to breakouts on the chin area.

I’ve started my sunscreen odyssey with Biore watery essence as I read it was good for spot prone skin. But my skin feels overloaded with product initially- I’m wearing moisturiser, then sunscreen, then primer, then light foundation. Makeup doesn’t look as good as without sunscreen layer... Then after an hour or so, I feel really dried out. Is it because there is too much alcohol in the watery essence? Should I abandon it (only been trying it for a week so far)? If abandoning, what next??? A LRP one? I’m really paranoid about going v spotty...
I’m trying to tackle things in a logical methodical order, so next step is cleansers and moisturiser (I’ve got some LRP ones in order). Not currently using acids or retinol although v keen to dabble in acids once I’ve got the basics sorted - if I want to use the Paula’s choice BHA one, I think that means I need a SPF50 in the summer?

Thanks!

Micellar water made my skin quite sore. Kind of tight and burning. Think it was a Garnier pink topped one I used. This was before these threads so my skin was more sensitive anyway. It's not for me though.

Can anyone tell which ingredients in the Skyn Eye gels have such an amazing effect on dark circles?

Water/Aqua/ Eau, Glycerin, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Angelica Archangelica Root Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Acrylates Copolymer, Agar, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Hydrolyzed Elastin,Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Caprylyl Glycol, Perfluorodecalin, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Peg-75 Shea Butter Glycerides, Glycosphingolipids, Xanthan Gum, Ubiquinone,Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Flower/Leaf Extract, Buddleja Davidii Extract, Rubus Chamaemorus (Arctic Cloudberry) Seed Oil, Oxycoccus Palustris (Arctic Cranberry) Seed Oil, Aluminum Glycinate, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid,1,2-Hexanediol, Sorbic Acid component of Icelandic Glacial Water

They really really fade my blue inner corner circles. It's only temporary but if I can find an eye cream that has a similar effect I'd be happy with that. I've had blue circles (half ones. Never sure what to call them.) since I was born so not that bothered about the temporary-ness but it does make me look wider awake.

enid I would hazard a guess at Angelica and / or Agar or possibly ginkgo bilboa leaf extract because they are at the top of the inci list ??? That is my non-expert advice.

My skin doesn't like micellar water either, I use the bioderma on my eyes only.

JDSTER I use BRP50 and retinol on alternate nights, 3 times a week each. It works for me. I leave it a few minutes before applying cream/oil after using the P50. Some nights it stings more than others, don't know why!

I have micellar water for those nights when I don't have the energy to do a full double cleanse, so I will use it to remove makeup.

The nicest one I have found so far is by Avene which I will eventually RP; I do not like Garnier at all, it feels too harsh on my skin. Bioderma is nice and I managed to get one of their LE pump-top bottles which is easier to use than the regular one.

Sorry Sophie it’s lrp serozinc I use