Skincare help - the Ordinary disaster

[MorningStars]

My face has always suffered from dryness. It’s not a flaky dry, more of a weird underskin dry. I also have blackheads on my nose.

So after all of the hype on here surrounding the Ordinary I contacted them and asked for some advice, also sent some photos.

They recommended the following routine:

AM: after washing apply Caffeine 5%, Buffet, Natural Moisturising Factors and SPF.

PM: after oil cleansing, Buffet and then alternate between Retinoid and Lactic Acid 10% then Argan Oil.

Bought it all, introduced each item gradually and my skin was horrendous. Dry with a sand like texture, angry red, spotty, makeup would not sit right at all.

So I contacted them again (why did I do that?) and they advised the following:

AM & PM: after washing, Hyaluronic Acid, Buffet, zinc and niacinamide, Natural Moisturising Factors, Argan Oil (night) and SPF (day).

This left my skin less red but still awfully dry and spotty with the same inflamed look about it.

I decided to give it a rest with their products and tried the following:

AM: Cleanse with Simple Hydration Cleansing Oil then apply Superdrug Vit E Radiance Cream and a high SPF.
PM: cleanse with the same oil and then apply Superdrug Vit E Oil followed by LRP Cicaplast.

My face soaked up the Vit E products as if it had been starved for months. This routine has really helped my skin and I noticed after the first day that my skin looked brighter and much fresher.

The problem now is that I would still like that extra something to tackle signs of ageing (mainly sun damage) and also some sort of deep moisturiser/acid.

Can anyone advise me please?

I really don’t want to waste anymore money

Wow that’s long, sorry!

Hi there I had a very similar experience. I have dry ageing skin and bought into the ordinary hype. After a few weeks I had a patch of dry scaly skin on my cheek I couldn't get rid of. I bought the Liz Earle dry skin daily moisturiser and a few weeks later it's gone. I've been told I'm looking really well and won't change again. Maybe sometime less is more !

Which retinoid did you get? Using both retinoid and acid might be too strong for you to start with. You can try introducing either of them once a week to start with. Put the moisturiser you've been using on top too.

The Ordinary make ingredients, they aren't all going to work on every person. I would never start so many products at once, just introduce one at a time and see how it goes, then add another if all is well. I use some Ordinary products which work well, but I have done a lot of research so i know what I am looking for and I test each product first.

Get your skin hydrated, then have a look at introducing some other ingredients that are known to work, retinal, vitamin c. there are lots to choose from and some great threads on here to get you started.

Give your skin time to recover before you start again.

My skins oily and hates the nicanamide. I only use caffeine around my eyes, which has improved them no end.

My skin was horrendous on retin a, it didn’t calm after 6 months it just got worse and worse so I stopped that.

The only acid I use now is my superdrug toner and the 30% aha peel. But they might not suit a very dry skin.

Try a led face mask off Amazon, the beauty star range is meant to be very effective which is who made mine. You use the red light every day and it stimulates extra collagen to be made. I took the eye cushions off mine to make it more comfy.

I think you should go to a medispa (eg courthouse) or dermatologist for some recommendations, they will have the best experience of problems associated with your skin. I went and I have had a set of 6 regular facials tailored to my skin type and have been gradually introducing their recommended products as I’ve run out of mine. I couldn’t be happier, my congestion has almost completely disappeared as have many fine lines. I don’t even get spots around my period anymore (which suddenly started after my second baby). Skin tone is more even, do some research locally and if you have to travel then it’s worth it IMO rather than wasting money on products that won’t work for you.

Your skin is dry, using a retinoid is always going to be a challenge.

Are you happy with how your skin is now? You could try just the Lactic Acid only with your current regime.

If that goes OK then reintroduce the retinoid but start only once a week and build up.

Wow thanks for the replies!

The retinoid is the advanced 2%. As I said, I did introduce each item gradually. The routines I posted are the end result after eliminating my usual stuff (which was the Simple & Superdrug basic wash and moisturise).

I’d love to go see a dermatologist and find out what my skin needs, I’ll look into that thank you.

I’m going to keep at it with the basic routine of Simple oil and Vit E for a while but then would like to gradually add something in to target ageing, blocked pores on nose and general dullness.

It’d be a shame to let all of the ordinary products go to waste but when I began eliminating them one by one, leaving just the Argan Oil, my skin was still angry and dry.

I did do lots of research on each product and they all sounded like exactly what my face needed but then my face refused to accept their help I guess.

Have you tried rosehip oil? It has vitamin A so has some of the anti ageing properties that retinol has but it much gentler.

Sounds like your skin needs time to repair and heal. Just hydrate for now, I really like Hado Labo premium hyaluronic acid, it's like a serum which you pat in. It's very gentle and adds a layer of moisture, worth a look but go easy!

Your skin sound like mine and recently it's been awful, after trying different stuff I settled for a simple rountine of

Body shop camomile cleaning oil
Nip & fab glycolic pad (or Superdrug version )
Eucerin replenishing cream

Really sorted my skin, my friend only said yesterday how healthy and more plump my skins looking as I used to look grey