Retinol v hyaluronic acid v glycolic acid?!

[whereiscaroline]

My skin is looking really old and I want to start a proper skincare regime.

I've bought some Nip & Fab glycolic wipe things. But I'm reading online that I should be trying hyaluronic acid and retinol products and I just can't work out what's what and which product to use when and aaaaaaargh.

Please can someone in the know tell me the correct skincare regime with these products?

Oh, I'd love to know too, as dh arrived home with a gift of hyaluronic serum for me and neither of us has a clue what it does

I am by no means an expert bit my understanding is as follows:

Hyaluronic acid is used to lock in moisture so is good for dryer skin.
Glycolic acid is a chemical exfoliant.
Retinol is an anti aging ingredient that I think reduces the appearance of fine lines and can help with discoloration.

I use glycolic acid toner and 2% retinol daily.

At night I cleanse with a hot cloth cleanser, then the toner, then the retinol, then finish with a big standard night cream. I wash with water and apply a light moisturizer followed by sunscreen.

If you use glycolic acid or retinol you must use sunscreen everyday. And I mean everyday. I didn't have time last week and got a bit on Sun burn on my cheeks after only 1 hour in the sun.

That meant to say bog standard night cream.

Also it's on a morning that I just wash with water. My main routine is at night.

I've become a bit of an armchair expert but only on my own skin due to clever people on reddit but pp has it right on what each of thoe ingredients does, however you first need to determine a) your personal skin problems and b ) your personal skin happy place. So what are you trying to fix and what kind of skin do you have?

Oh, so this serum could be useful for after swimming then? (sorry to hijack op!)

Thank you all. I have oily skin which is prone to spots and dry patches. My skin is very very wrinkled for my age, probably due to smoking for a number of years (quit 3 years ago), hence wanting to start looking after it a bit more.

hyaluronic acid helps lock in and attract water from the atmosphere it is great for dehydrated skin which is different to dry skin so u can have oily but dehydrated skin. Pinch a small amount of skin if u have a crepey tissue paper look small vertical lines then your skin is dehydrated. Use the hyaluronic acid after cleansing before moisturiser. Retinol anyi ageing use at night only every other night start slowly though. Glycolic acid is a chemical exfoliante that breaks down the bonds that holds dead skin cells together and if u have oily skin dead skin cells tend to stick so glycolic acid will help to reveal fresher looking skin skin. I would use hyaluronic acid morning retinol and glycolic acid on alternative nights. And u must use a full spectrum high spf sunscreen every single day.

You can use all 3, I do.

Cleanse first
Glycolic Acid
Retinol next
Hylaraunic serum
Normal moisturiser

If you use the retinol start slowly and don't forget both glycolic acid and retinal can make your face more sensitive to UV rays so stay out of the sun/ wear an SPF/whatever.

Thanks - are there any particular products which anyone recommends?

The ordinary products are fab!!

What’s liquid gold? I’ve started using that and my skin seems brighter. Tingles a bit

@JuniperBeer thanks - like these ones?

The below brands are inexpensive and have some incredible ingredients
The ordinary
GOW - Garden of Wisdom
The Inkey List
Revolution Skincare
Paula's Choice
SR Skincare
Active Formulas skincare

I'm a skincare addict

Buy the ordinary products from beauty bay, asos, cult beauty or the ordinarys own site.

Those Amazon prices are double what the actual products cost.

There is a facebook group called The Ordinary & Deciem chatroom which is amazing. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people and the discussions cover a wide range of brands and products

Hi OP, I'm an aesthetic nurse so know a few things about skin! Don't worry - I'm not going to try and flog you anything.

As we head into our late 20s, our collagen production starts to fall at a significant rate - it depletes by around 5% every year from the age of 28.

So if you are late 20s/early 30s there's 2 things you can do:

1. Hyaluronic Acid containing face creams (inexpensive, less affective
2. microneedling (more expensive, very effective).

If you are heading towards/are in your 40s there's some different options for you:

1. retinoid creams (effective but can take 6 months to see the benefits)
2. microneedling (expensive, very effective)
3. collagen increasing skin peels such as PRX-T33
4. profhilo (injectable skin remodelling Treatment)

If you are in your 50s or older and haven't already started retinoids they are unlikely to work, so I would go straight to microneedling, collagen increasing chemical peels, or profhilo.

There is absolutely no point in spending money on expensive creams - unless my clients are particularly seeking out Hyaluronic Acid or retinoids I advise them to pop down their local Aldi and buy Aldi day/night cream. Save your money!

Hope that helps x

Oh and the strength of Glycolic Acid you find in products you can buy in a shop is useless, even 20% peels aren't very effective 😉

@Fruitcider I have really rubbish skin-can I ask for your advice?

@FruitCider i am early 30s what cream etc would you recommend don't think I'd keep up with microneedling? Thanks

@FruitCider that's incredibly helpful, thank you.

"Hyaluronic Acid containing face creams"

Hyaluronic Acid molecules are too large to pass the skin barrier. Those creams just sit on your skin and do absolutely nothing for it.

Nano-Hyaluronic Acid molecules, on the other hand, pass the skin barrier and have significant benefits. Make sure to find those creams.

@CoteDAzur thank you - how would you know if they're nano or not? Example of The Ordinary 2% ingredients are below and I can't tell 

Yes that’s right although I buy them direct as amazon prices are way more expensive!

They themselves recommend retinoids rather than retinol. There are some good threads on here about the difference and their own website explains it well. Definitely don’t just go for 2% retinol straight away!

I double cleanse
Swipe glycolic around
Hyaluronic Acid
Moisturise.

At night I double cleanse
Use the red face mask they do / or retinol
Moisturise

Does anyone mind sharing what moisturisers you use after all of these products please? I usually just use argan oil on a night but will this interact with the other products?

I love Clinique moisturise surge for my dehydrated (oily tzone) 47 yr old skin but before this used L’occitane Divine cream (husband always noticed a difference in my skin when I used this), might go back to it actually lol 😀