Confused by The Ordinary!

[Princessfaffalot]

I’ve heard great things about their skin care but just can’t fathom out which products to buy. Can anyone help me? I’m 31 years old with oily skin prone to spots and a few wrinkles starting to appear around my eyes. At the moment my skin care routine is cleanse with clearasail exfoliating scrub, apply tea tree and witch hazel shine control day moisturiser then apply spf 30 sun cream for face and neck. At night I remove make up with a tea tree and witch hazel wipe, cleanse again with clearasil exfoliating scrub, apply tea tree and witch hazel night treatment gel then apply “your good skin overnight cream”. My skin is ok but I still get spots and would like it to just look a bit fresher and nicer! Would really appreciate any advice on which products would benefit me!

THe Ordinary Niacinamide is great for spot prone skin, I use it on my chin and my 2 teenage sons have lovely clear skin since they started using it. We use it as a serum after cleansing and then follow with Bioderma Sebium Hydra, a great moisturiser for spot prone skin IME.

I’m not trying to present myself as a skincare expert here, but I think you may be over-exfoliating your skin and possibly using too many harsh products. Tha can over-stimulate your skin and cause spots and reactiveness. I did this myself, and it took me years to realise, but when I reduced and simplified the products I was using, it calmed right down.

I do like the ordinary but just wanted to echo that bioderma sebium cleared up my acne prone skin at your age after 20 years of it. It’s really, really good - the miccular water is the best cleanser

Gut instinct is that the stuff you’re using at the moment is too harsh for more mature skin.

Should have added - I use The Ordinary moisturising factors, and have recently started using the niacinamide. It’s good stuff, I use it once a day and my skin is definitely smoother. I’d started getting some hormonal bumps and blackheads and general congestion, which I haven’t had for years.

Also just got the salicylic acid serum for putting on indoors, tried it for the first time on some hormonal spots last night, and it works fast! Spots much reduced today.

Thank you so much for the recommendations, I’m going to look at the bioderma stuff now.

They have a great function on the website where you can fill in a profile of your skin, answer some questions and they they will give you the correct protocol for your skin. I've been using their products for a month now and am happy with results but would not have had a clue what to buy had I not done the online consultation.

I have only tried the hyalaunic acid which I use before moisturiser but it seems good for the price.

Re your skin it sounds like maybe you are using scrub too often? Twice a day sounds a lot - can you try a toner which does the exfoliating without being as harsh as a scrub? I use pixie glow as it is quite gentle - others who know more may be able to recommend

I agree with LaPampa my skin improved dramatically when I switched to a chemical exfoliator.

I use The Inkey List's glycolic acid as a toner every night and I never get spots now, my skin looks years younger and fresher too.

This is the most helpful website and this article reviews every product by The Ordinary stating which are the best and what they help with and which not to bother with.

I'm 33, oily spot prone skin and at night I cleanse twice, and then use The Ordinary Salicylic acid as an exfoliator everywhere except eyes and lips, then I either wait half an hour before the next step or I do the first part as soon as I get home from work and this second part before bed, I then put on the Ordinary Niacinamide treatment everywhere inc under eyes. I also have their squalane oil for the winter months.

It's helped my spots loads, I'm not sure about wrinkles but tbh I don't have that many anyway but I'm sure it's probably helping that too x

Ooh that's quite a harsh routine, it's the kind of thing I did as a teen to try and beat my skin into submission. My skin cooperates a lot better if I focus on hydrating rather than drying it out, it was getting oily to try and save it from myself. I'd ditch the scrub, I've found chemical exfoliants more gentle and effective. Similarly tea tree can be quite harsh, especially if it contains alcohol it will dry out your skin too much so you end up producing more oil to compensate. On top of that wipes aren't great, they spread the dirt round unlike cloths you can rinse between passes and they're bad for the environment even if they are biodegradable. I'd take it back to basics, a gentle(non-foaming) cleanser with a muslin cloth or similar, a chemical exfoliator, maybe a serum type thing and a gentle moisturiser(spf of course during the day as well, well done on that).

I have sort of combination skin prone to spots, I double cleanse in the evening with body shop camomile balm and then a L'Oréal milk cleanser, I'm working through what I currently have so wouldn't necessarily recommend but you get the idea. I sort of miss the tight feeling clearasil and the like give you, it felt like it was doing something but I know now it's a bad sign. I then use pixie glow tonic which is a glycolic acid, salicylic is meant to be better for spots, TO have a 2% one so I'd probably suggest trying that. I then use TO Niacinamide and zinc, I didn't like it on its own but I mix 3 drops of it with one pump of superdrug simply pure hydrating serum(only £2.99!) and now really like it, my skin feels so soft afterwards. I need a new moisturiser as my current one pills even with nothing on, I've been considering TO natural moisturising factors.

It's worth running any new products you're considering through www.cosdna.com it will show how comedogenic or irritating each ingredient is and whether it's unsuitable for acne. The bioderma sebium hydra is here for example www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_8dad282206.html so possibly unsuitable if you have fungal acne but otherwise quite safe.

One thing to watch out for is piling everything new on, it can be tempting but best to patch test and try adding something new one week at a time. Now if only I could follow my own advice...

Oops forgot the actual link lol

theskincareedit.com/2017/08/04/the-ordinary

@tothefareast80 could you possibly link to that please? I can’t find it on their site!

Your routine is too harsh for your skin. I am the same age as you, also oily and used to get loads of spots. My skin has never been better since I started using a much gentler routine.

First ditch the scrub. Nobody needs to scrub their face and clearasil is very astringent and drying. Use a gentle, simple cleanser like boots vitamin e , liz Earle cleanse and polish or simple gel cleanser. Wash face with warm wet flannel or cloth.

Ditch the wipes. They suck at removing makeup and are really drying. Oily skin doesn’t need to be dried out, it still needs hydration.

The ordinary has some good products but not all are equal. If you’re concerned about wrinkles I recommend their retinol 1% in squalane. It has comprehensive instructions. It’s made my skin glow!

You also probably would like their hyaluronic serum. Don’t shy away from hydrating products or oils.

I recommend exfoliating with a gentle acid. They do a good lactic acid. But personally I use nip and fab glycolic pads and Ren Glow exfoliant.

Thank you @Kitty. I’ve ditched the clearasil and used a hot cloth cleanser with muslin cloth tonight followed by glyco acid “naturally radiant” pads from Superdrug then a moisturiser. I did use wipes to remove my make up though, should I get some micellular water? It’s so hard to get out of the mindset of trying to dry out my oily skin! Doesn’t help that I’ve got hormonal bumps and a very sore whitehead due to having just ovulated. Really hoping switching products will help my skin, I just want it look better!

@Princessfaffalot go to the contact page, and select the link about products/regimens - you then fill out a form and they email you back. Can't link from here as on the app. HTH

@to thank you so much! X

I went as far as sending them a rather close up selfie and they emailed me back with the stuff that might suit. Because I'm lazy, I bought the stuff then barely used it 🙄

As others have said you need to tone right down with the harsh cleansers. You will be making the problem worse not better. Acne prone skin is often quite sensitive, give it a break and let it heal.

I don't know much about the ordinary but as basics I highly recommend Cerave foaming cleanser, you can now get it at boots. I use it in the morning and as a second cleanse in the evening, I do hot cloth to remove makeup first. Also give oils a try at night. I have very oily skin and they really help, my skin is much less oily now, spots cleared up and beautifully soft. I use pure Argan oil.

@princessfaffalot lots of people love micellar water, I’ve Never found them to be that good at removing makeup, same with wipes. But it’s really up to you and what you enjoy using as I think that’s a key part of skincare as well.

Personally I double cleanse on makeup days - first I use almond oil or a gentle cream cleanser to remove makeup, then go for my liz Earle cleanser or my pH balance cosrx cleanser. It really leaves the skin feeling much softer and more comfortable to use something oily or creamy in my experience.

I too have one under the skin spot due to ovulation right now! Right on my jawline.

Thanks all. I’ve broken out so badly today, woke up three big hormonal bumps right under the skin which look enormous and are so sore! The ordinary got back to me with a recommendation for products/routine. I’ve ordered 4 products! Just hope it works!

You need to give your skin a break and let it recover. I think you need to do that before you consider adding actives. If you stop trying to batter it into submission you may find you don't need as much.

If I were you I would use the Cerave cleansers, the cream one to remove makeup and the foaming as a second cleanse/morning cleanse. Then do a pure
rose water spritz, it's generally well tolerated and is similar to skins ph. Then use Sebamed clear skin gel to moisturise. For now I would also skip the sunscreen, lots of them break me out no matter how carefully I cleanse at the end of the day. I find the Asian watery sunscreens the best for me and I always wear a hat in the sun. Stay out of the sun and wear a hat instead. Once your skin has calmed down you can start testing new products one at a time.

A lot of acne prone skin is actually quite sensitive and you have been making it worse with your harsh regime and damaged the skins mantle which needs to recover. The routine I have mentioned is very gentle and basic and after a couple of weeks you should have a better idea about the real state of your skin. Throwing a pile of actives at it right now is likely to make it worse rather than better.

Also make sure your makeup brushes etc are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Replace any makeup you apply directly to your face like sticks. Get a small spray bottle and fill it with isopropyl alcohol, you can spritz this onto brushes/makeup to keep them clean between uses. Wipe down any phones with a disinfecting wipe too so you are not transferring any bacteria.

Hi OP,
How did you get on with the products?

Another who’s interested to know how you’re getting on. My skin is the same and I’ve had enough! Hoping to get some ideas from your thread.

Which products did you buy?