Skin care recommendations for someone with no idea

[Doyoumind]

I want to start a new skin care regime. At the moment I don't pay too much attention to my skin and just keep it clean and moisturised but I want glowing skin.

I'm looking for natural products, not tested on animals and not too expensive.

What brands are the best?

TIA

What’s your budget?

I'm open to paying for something that's worth it but I don't want to be paying as much as £30 for a moisturiser.

Glowing skin - Vitamin C, Vitamin A (retinol), exfoliating acids. Timeless is best for Vitamin C.

Common acids are lactic, glycolic and salicylic. You can probably get plant derived ones if you search, but be aware not all acids are formulated correctly.

Aldi have a vegan plant based moisturiser in at the moment.

Probiotics to improve your skin flora.

You need a separate stand alone SPF of at least 30. Mineral is most natural (zinc oxide/titanium dioxide) but formulations are white and can sting eyes. I think Heliocare (I might not have that name right, Spanish brand I think) do a good mineral sunscreen. Expensive though.

I'm not really up for spending ages looking at labels and searching out products. No recommendations for brands I could start with?

Face theory might suit your criteria. I wouldn't bother spending a lot of money on a moisturiser.

Lixir Skin is another simple brand - I don't know how natural it is - but not too many products to research.

Paula's Choice is a good brand, no claim to be 'natural'.

CeraVe is a good brand but not claiming to be 'natural' either.

Timeless, The Ordinary, and several thousand others do plain plant oils like rosehip, marula, argan, and plant based oils like squalane.

Trilogy might be natural enough for you. Burt's Bees, Sukin, Jason, Weleda are all 'natural' brands.

You'll have to do some research yourself. Natural products won't provide a glow unless they are actually doing something specific like improving cell turnover or exfoliating dead skin.

You haven't said what you use now.

I just cleanser and moisturiser and often just what's on offer at the time I'm buying.

I'm not that hung up on natural but I would prefer it and I don't want anything tested on animals.

I want to start doing things properly and using scrubs, masks or whatever as part of an ongoing routine.

I'll look at your recommendations.

Best skincare under £15 from Sali Hughes
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/mar/23/sali-hughes-best-beauty-bargain-skincare-body-products-under-15

You don’t need much. Cleanser, moisturiser and make up remover are the bare minimum. An acid toner (glycolic acid) for chemical exfoliation (getting rid of dead skin without the need for scrubbing) helps which means you need SPF in your daytime products (it makes skin more sensitive to the sun.) Spending less on moisturiser and more on a serum , oil or night cream also makes sense.

If you want to try something different without spending £££ The Ordinary is a brand that was started to give people the active ingredients without the fancy branding.

www.cultbeauty.co.uk/the-ordinary

They also tell you how and when to use their products.

And The Ordinary is definitely anti animal testing. From their own website

’ As required by the European Cosmetics Regulations, we only work with suppliers who do not perform animal testing. Since that regulation came into force, it has pushed cosmetic raw material suppliers to replace animal testing with available alternatives to support the safety of their ingredients. DECIEM and The Ordinary do not test on animals and do not ask others to do so. For this reason, none of our brands or products are sold in stores or conventional retailers in mainland China, since such sales require animal testing for registration purposes.’

The Body Shop’s vitamin E cream cleanser here and Lush’s Ultrabland here are both really good.

Hot cloth cleansing (the method can be used with loads of different cleansers) is brilliant.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/1942358-help-how-to-do-hot-cloth-cleanse

I’ll leave you be now

You could get one of those Beauty box subscriptions for a tenner a month which sends you samples of things and you get to try them all.

A standard routine is

AM: cleanse, tone (soothing, not harsh), moisturise, SPF.

PM: double cleanse (oil cleanser first), tone (this could be an acid toner), treatment serum/oil, moisturise.

Vitamin C is best in the morning but some products will say to use in PM.

Retinol and acids are best in PM as they increase sensitivity to light. May also dry your skin. Not recommended to use both on the same night.

Do you know your skin type? Is dullness your only concern?

Garden of Wisdom is another brand you might to look at.

My skin is dry, a bit sensitive, and prone to being dehydrated and congested on my chin.

I use Avene extremely gentle cleanser. I wash it off with water rather than using cotton wool. I don't wear make up but I use DHC oil cleanser a few times a week at night, to make sure I'm getting everything off. That also rinses off with water.

I use a soothing, hydrating toner I got in Aldi - it's a dupe for a Pixi Glow one. Contains rose water, glycerin and hylauronic (sp?) acid, which is an ingredient that attracts water to your skin, not an exfoliant. I have also used Sukin mist toner, found it stings. Pyunkang Yul essence toner - Japanese or Korean brand - effective but expensive. French pharmacy brands e.g. Avene, la Roche posay do facial mineral water mists which are soothing but not hydrating specific.

I use any rose hip oil, usually organic.

I use CeraVe moisturising lotion. Exceptionally good value.

La Roche posay SPF for sensitive eyes as everything else stings.

At night I alternate between Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C, Garden of Wisdom Retistar (I think that's what it's called) and Paula Choice Skin Perfecting Liquid, which uses Salicylic acid and could be used in the morning also.

I have used the ordinary - the lactic acid, the rosehip oil, the granactive retinoid emulsion and the retinoid in squalane, the vitamin c 23%, the alpha lipoic acid. The last two things stung, unbearably so for the last one.

Everything else was fine, I just wanted to try a different retinol product. I use the Paula's Choice because it doesn't increase sun sensitivity like lactic or glycolic does.

I have in the past used Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser until it started stinging my face and drying it out too much. La Roche posay Toleriane cleanser also started to sting. CeraVe hydrating cleanser stung a bit. Neither of those were unbearable but if rather avoid. Avene is lovely.

I think the CeraVe moisturising lotion is great.

A SPF is the most important thing.

I'll probably change to Paula's choice retinol. I will change to timeless vitamin C.

Just a side note, I work at a company that stocks The Ordinary and it's actually vegan.

Superdrug naturally radiant range is very good, not expensive and sometimes on a 2 for 1 offer, not tested on animals either. I really like the hot cloth cleanser and 2 in 1 moisturiser and serum

Double cleanse in the evening:
1st - and oil or balm to remove makeup/SPF. Cheap ones are Simple Oil Cleanser, or Your Good Skin balm.
2nd - a cream or gel cleanser, good ones are Cerave Cream one, La Roche Posay Toleriane or an Avene for sensitive skin.
3rd - hyaluronic acid serum. Try Buffet Serum from The Ordinary to start with, you can buy online from Boots. Or, Estée Lauder Advance Night repair.
4th - your favourite moisturiser or oil, try to make it fragrance and essential oil free. (Lala Retro from Drunk Elephant is very glowy!!!)

You might want to add in an acid for exfoliation after cleansing, before serum. If you've never used one before, ADD GENTLY AND SLOWLY! I love TLC Framboos or Good Genes. But cheaper one I like is The Ordinary Lactic Acid (start with the 5%)

Also, think about alternating the acid with a retinol or medicated Retinoid. Over the counter retinols can be good - Sunday Riley A+ is a great one to start with. Or check out The Ordinary and Paula's Choice.

Morning routine - an SPF!!! You'll need it if you are using acids and retinols! I love Ultrasun, they are great. Colorscience do a great tinted one. Caudalie apparently do a good oily one, but I would check if they use fragrance/essential oils first......avoid those!

Hope that helps!! Dr Dray does amazing videos on YouTube also if you want to browse around on there for inspiration and brand suggestions.

I’m a big fan of cerave products. The hyaluronic acid in the cleanser will give you that glowing look, plus the moisturiser has spf 25 and UV protection. They aren’t cheap but not too expensive either. Boots have 3 for 2 at the moment.

I was like you - just the basics of cleaning and moisture!

Then about 4 months ago I got into the Korean skincare craze and am converted and my skin has never looked and felt better! Don't be put off by the whole '10 step regime' tag, you tailor it for your own needs ... Mine is 5-6 steps a night. The most mid bending but worth it bit is double cleansing, you use a cream/oil cleanser and then a liquid/foam one. I didn't realise how.much make up I was leaving on my skin

The whole thing catergorically doesn't have to be expensive - at least 60% of my stuff is Aldi 😂 the rest I picked up after doing some research and then hitting tk Maxx.

It's worth a go

I use Superdrug naturally radiant too, hot cloth cleanser, toner, serum, day and night creams,. I bought the peel recently but haven’t used it yet.

Not tested on animals and vegan. It’s currently on offer buy one get one free, most of the products are £6.99 so it’s especially cheap on offer.

I used to use dermalogica and No7 which was more expensive and I can’t tell any difference.