🐌 Fantastic Skincare: Is Everyone Having Botox Without Me? 💉

[botemp]

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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?

NEW SERIES:

So You Want To Buy A Retinoid - A Guide

December 2019: Time for The Snailies way more reliable and better than the MN recommends annual roundup (yes I'm still bitter about them quoting me in isolation and making me sound like a wanker please don't revoke my special image allowance privileges, MNHQ )

Also: Thread 20 in time for 2020!!! Ahem, where are my presents?

Botemp- Thankyou so much, I cannot wait to get some more products, it's so refreshing to have something that doesn't irritate you for once!

Thanks botemp, I’ve got my follow up appt with the dr on Friday, so can see what to do with regards to skin care going forward, I’ve hunted through my stash that I’ve got from my calendars etc... and have some decent targeted items in there, especially exfolliants, there’s a couple of Dennis gross items I’ve come across, so will see. I’m trying not to purchase anything new, so will probably use my skinceuticals ferulic until it runs out, and maybe mix it in with my cerave moisturiser. As I say, I’ve got the HA intensifier, so will keep the routine pretty stripped back for a while, as I’m hoping to still have some work done on my scarring.

My brown spots flaked off with the peel which was good, and I’ve definitely noticed an improvement on my skins surface with the acne scar pitting and fine lines, the tone of my skin is now more even. The next step for me will probably be the subcision and filler to help with the surface areas on my cheek, and I’d like to go for more peels (just light ones though). On the skincare front I’m going to stick with a simple and non irritating routine, including actives etc...

I’m definitely going to keep it simple for now though and try not to spend, I bought a retinol eye cream last year that was over £250 but stopped using it as I felt it was drying to my eye area and made the fine lines look more pronounced! Crazy!

If anyone could advise on a decent sunscreen that can be used post medium/deep peels that is suitable for oily/acne prone skin that would be great, I have the one the dr gave me but after using it for over a week I’m finding it quite thick and it’s not letting my skin breathe, I’ve developed a couple of pimples from it as well. So any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you.

I also got a couple of the dr sebagh vitamin c powders in a calendar. Does anyone know if they’re any good? Thank you.

Is it an all mineral sunscreen you're using Sammi?

I wouldn't mix Vit C with moisturiser but you can probably dilute it with the HA intensifier. I think the sebagh powders are mostly a faff to use but they're supposedly effective. I'd never suggest anyone go out to buy them to price/effort but they're otherwise fine to use if you have them already.

If you read through the posts of the user BlueSky/Skies on this thread and the last, she had a lot of the same advent calendars and at some point I did do a breakdown of all the different products and whether to use/pass on, etc.

Thanks Bo, it’s a chemical sunscreen that I have, I’m not sure my skincare suits a mineral one, although I’ve never really tried one.

I’ll give the vit c powder a go after I’ve used my ce ferulic up. Yes, I might just mix some of the serum with the ha intensifier and see how that goes. Thank you!

Just checking in, very little to report as I haven't changed anything lately. My main issue is still hormonal spots on my chin and jaw line every month. I'm at a loss with regards to what else to try.

bo Yes it was bloating and pain. Most probably because of the fact it was a powder. I imagine a capsule is easier on the stomach and won't cause things like that. Interested to see if you notice a difference.

I have a sore limp coming up on my chin. Happens every time I post on here saying my skin is doing well (spots wise) so maybe my skin goes through the same cycle each month and I'm not noticing. Might start making notes but don't want to get obsessive about it. Anyway I'd washed it with hibi scrub and applied zineryt and it's invisible for now. Just sore. Bloody hormones. My sympathy Out, I used to really struggle with cystic acne on my jaw and chin spots every month. Antibiotics and then zineryt (topical antibiotic) are the only things that broke the visions circle for me. Don't know if that's something you would consider?

Sore limp = lump. I don't walk around on my chin. Although I'll be able to if I don't stop eating so many snacks.

Walking round on your chin would be pretty impressive enid
I'd consider most things right now as it just seems to get worse each month and its 100% hormonal as its like clockwork when they appear, the rest of my skin has improved so much since starting a proper routine.
Did you see a dermatologist or doctor etc regarding the antibiotics? I'm not 100% sure about oral but I'd definitely consider topical.

Enid, I keep meaning to mention this, there's an OTC topical which is a bit of a cult product in France for under the skin spots, Hexomedine. It's a deeply penetrating anti-inflammatory for folliculitis (which is usually what those lumps are). I keep meaning to buy it to try on ingrown hairs. It's easily available where I am but you can also order it online from Belgium or France.

Out, it's difficult for sure, there are suggestions that sugar and/or diary are major culprits when it comes to hormonal acne but I'm guessing you're not exactly on a standard western diet out there and perhaps avoiding that in large amounts already?

Sammi, they usually recommend mineral suncreens after laser procedures as it's the least irritating so I just assumed but if you can tolerate chemical I'd probably say Frezyderm velvet SPF 50 is a good non greasy one. Bioderma Cicabio SPF50 probably the most sensible choice as it has very high UVA protection (the Frezyderm does too but the UVA on Bioderma is super high and documented) and some healing ingredients, it's on the richer side but not super greasy but rich enough to be able to skip moisturiser underneath.

Out I went to a GP. Had great success with oral antibiotics but didn't want to keep taking them, (was on them longer than recommended really), so when I had a flare up after ivf she suggested the topical one instead. Mine were hormonal and caused by an intolerance to wheat.
I get the Zineryt on repeat prescription, unmixed so I can make it up as and when I need it. Which isn't often now. I found any other topical medicine to be far too strong for my skin and irritating. (Benzoyl peroxide etc) Worth asking about.

bo I haven't heard of that, sounds very useful to have in. I'll check it out thank you.

Very first impressions of Becca skin Perfector are good. It is very subtle, gives a sheen and glow effect. But that's exactly want I want. Got the pearl shade.
Hourglass veil translucent powder also good but that needs trying out properly over a day. They're all good until an hour later and then I could light up a room with the gleam from my nose. Fingers crossed it's a good 'un.

Out Sorry, forgot you weren't in the UK. If you can access a derm easy enough then I think they'd be better than a regular general doc but I don't know how it works where you are. Good luck, there's is something out there that will work for you. Just finding it can take time.

bo I probably eat a pretty standard western diet but don't eat much dairy at all. My diet has also improved considerably in the last few years and the spots are an the last 12 months thing so I dont think its that.
Really thinking about it I think they started around the time I switched birth control methods so maybe that's my answer.
enid I'm not actually sure how much a dermatologist would charge I know my insurance wouldn't cover it but I'll look into it

Out a normal doctor should be able to help then. It's a mild treatment and well known so they'll have heard of it. Took a few weeks to start working but very good once it got going.

Definitely look into your birth control. Seem to remember there's a bc pill that actually helps hormonal acne.

Thanks for the suggestions Bo, I’ve bought the heliocare ultra spf 90 (although it’s only really 50+) it’s a lightweight cream that’s meant to be good for those undergoing peel treatments and also for acne prone, oily skin.

Does anyone have any views on copper peptides? I see it’s the ‘in thing’ at the moment.

Thank you. Very helpful.

Elf currently has free shipping and the bite size palettes are £3

Could I ask if anyone has used Alpha H hyaluronic 8?

I’ve started using it in the morning post-cleanse. My skin feels dry and tight afterwards and drinks moisturiser afterwards. Is this normal? Reviews I have read mention how hydrating it is but to me, it feels tight...any experience with it?

I wonder if any of you lovely ladies can help me? I'm a bit of a lurker but got lots of great advice from you all the last time (and from this thread in general)

My skin is normal/dehydrated and most of the time behaves well. (as long as I layer up the serums etc)

However I have a terrible eczema flare up around my eyes and mouth... Red but really dry and scaly

I've put a pic of what I use (I forgot the putang yul essence and cosrx snail serum)

I usually moisturise with the eucerin or cerave but have stepped up to the lipikar... But even that isn't helping the dryness

Any advice much appreciated!

Tia

Sorry for the close ups! I've tried to show how crinkly and terrible it is!

Out, yes, sorry should have mentioned BC is usually the first to review when to comes to hormonal acne. IIRC you want a combination pill as opposed to a progesterone only ones. Yasmin is known to be very helpful with hormonal acne although there are a rare few that actually have perfect skin before using Yasmin and end up with hormonal acne.

Sammi WRT copper peptides, very marginal evidence that doesn't make it worth pursuing unless someone really can't tolerate any form of retinoid in any form.

Notgood, HA can have the opposite reaction, instead of drawing moisture from the air to your skin, instead it draws it from your skin, which does describe what you're experiencing. Geography/environment contributes to this, so dry environments (that can be a dessert or a very well insulated house) where there is little moisture in the air is definitely seen as a culprit. You can try applying it over damp skin to see if it works better for you that way. Although some people seem to just have this issue with HA regardless of environment.

Vaz, that doesn't look pleasant is it diagnosed eczema, as a GP will be much more qualified to advise? Can I ask how long you've been using the LRP micellar, I've received it in the past as a travel sample but I found it quite irritating and drying on the corner of my eyes despite using a second cleanse after.

WRT eczema (assuming it's diagnosed but you're not given a prescription), it's probably worth considering using Avene Xeracalm AD cleansing oil, it's a body oil and very different than a facials cleansing oil, it's more like a second cleanse but it basically leaves your own lipids intact meaning it doesn't aggravate conditions like eczema or psoriasis. It's a bit prickly on the eyes (as it's formulated for the body) so you just need to be cautious with it. There's also a balm and cream in the same line that's supposed to be good for ecz/psor but I have no experience with it. Since you already have Cicaplast, have you tried that? There's also the Eucerin urea face cream which can be very helpful with eczema.

@botemp
Wow, thank you so much. I trawled the web and didn't get a better answer than the one you gave me. Drawing moisture from my skin doesn't sound good :-( I have a big bottle of it now though, so do you think I should just keep using it? Will it do me any good? I usually put it on after the shower, so my skin should be damp but maybe I should put it on almost wet skin? Thanks a million for your answer.

Hyaluronic acid is always a temporary 'filler', so to speak, it solves the problem instantly by appearance but does not do anything long term so it's always a bit of a difficult one to answer if it does anyone any good since it doesn't tackle the root of the dehydration issue (typically an impaired skin barrier with various causes).

If it's not doing the basic temporary infill thing, it's pretty much useless in that sense. When I say damp face I pretty much mean that when you apply it's almost a bit difficult as you're just slipping about with the water on the skin. Patting instead of rubbing usually does the trick. If you can't make it work for face or return the product than you could try using it up on the body, skin on the body is usually a bit more resilient. However, if you're already on damp skin, potentially this could be the issue in your case and trying it on dry skin may be key?

Nogood I have that issue with HA. It causes a tight dry feeling then I break out. I avoid it now. Tricky sometimes as it seems to be a favourite ingredient in skincare and makeup.

vaz I think a gp would be best or if you feel they're going round in circles and you aren't getting any better then ask for a referral to a dermatologist. I think steroid creams very short term (as they can thin the skin) are often prescribed but don't quote me on that. It needs more than an over counter treatment I think.

Thanks @botemp

I'll try it on wet, non-dripping facial skin and if that doesn't work, I'll use it on my hands! It's a pity as it is mentioned everywhere as a wonder product.