Ageing skin getting me down - please help/recommend? Photos

[milleniumhandandprawn]

Hello,
I'm nearly 37 and am starting to think it shows in my face.
My major gripes are what I think are very visible pores and reddish purple bits around my nose, these trenches between my mouth and nose that get deeper when I smile, saggy bits from the corners of my mouth and chin and purplish areas under my eyes.
I moisturise most days but it's only a light Nivea so maybe I need more now?
Am open to spending a bit on a totally transformative product - ideally no more than £30 though.
Am totally confused by "acids" could they work for me?

Sorry, OP, I believe you're massively overreacting, you're beautiful, but if this is how you feel:
You could start introducing hyaluronic & retinol (my fav is paula's choice 1% resist) or get fillers

Thanks so my reading.
With the Hyaluronic, do you use it instead of a moisturiser? Or as well as?

You look great to me. But if your skin is getting you down, have a look at Nadine Baggott or Caroline Hirons on YouTube, they are both full of great skincare advice and what routines to follow.

And PS while you're young make sure you use SPF to protect your skin. Probably the best thing you can do to look after it.

This is a good starting point if you're interested in a finding a skincare routine.

Wearing a stand alone SPF (not one in a moisturiser) of at least 30 every single day, winter and summer, is the best thing you can do. The best one is the one you'll wear every day. La Roche-posay is popular. This is what costs me the most because you need to use so much.

Use the gentlest cleansers possible and keep your face out of hot water. Keep your skin hydrated and moisturised.

Anti ageing products:

Retinol (form of vitamin A)
Vitamin C
Exfoliating acids
Peptides may have some benefit
Niacinamide (form of vitamin B) may have some benefit

Face yoga

Fillers and botox

There are a lot of crap overpriced products out there.

CeraVe does cheap and cheerful moisturisers and cleansers.
The best Vitamin C is Timeless for about £20. I'm using Garden of Wisdom because I like it and it's cheaper (£10) but I will try out the Timeless when I get around to it. Vitamin C fades pigmentation and improves collagen so fights sagging. It is an anti oxidant so it also fights free radicals which cause skin damage and aging. Vitamin E does this too.

La Roche-Posay do retinol products that people seem happy with. I'm using Garden of Wisdom at the moment, it was about a tenner. I'm going to switch to Paula's Choice 1% retinol though. The GoW is quite drying and seems to be increasing sensitivity. Retinol also increases sun sensitivity so you need proper sunscreen every day. How it works is it speeds up your skin cell production as far as I know but can be very drying.

Acids are AHA or BHA - AHA are glycolic and lactic and they increase sun sensitivity. Lactic is more gentle. BHA is salicylic acid and is more gentle and dissolves oil more readily. Lots of different products out there. Ones you use as a mask, ones you use as a toner and ones you leave on. Brands Alpha Gold I think, The Ordinary, Paula's Choice (I use Skin Perfecting liquid, about a tenner), Cosrx, and the Ferrari is Biologique Recherche. They remove dead skin cells so that fresher skin is revealed and give you a better more glowing complexion.

Peptides - The Ordinary, and other Deciem brands like Hylamide and Niod, M&S formula sleep cream, I think Paula's choice. Copper peptides and things called matrixyl and argireline. The jury is out on these but some people have had results.

Hyaluronic acid is a thing that helps your skin hold moisture. It's not an anti ageing thing by itself, but keeping your skin hydrated moisturised will make it look plumper and younger and of course it will be more healthy and less prone to ageing.

The skin care threads on here are absolutely brilliant if you want to learn how to take care of your skin on a budget.

Never start lots of things together. Introduce one thing at a time for about a month. If you start lots you won't know what is doing good or what is causing a reaction.

Face yoga - you tube. The muscles in your face sag, not just the skin. Exercising them can help.

I know very little about botox or fillers.

The pores specifically - retinol, acids and niacinamide may all be helpful, as well as gentle cleanser and keeping well hydrated and moisturised. Stripping your skin of its natural oils well lead to more oil production and blocked pores. Large pores can be a sign of poor hydration apparently.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/3773960--Fantastic-Skincare-Is-Everyone-Having-Botox-Without-Me?pg=1&order=

Link to the experts.

Lixir Skin is another brand that might be good, I've not tried because £££ but all they do is moisturiser, acid, retinol and vitamin c, as those are the three proven ingredients that work.

Vitamin a and c are unstable so you need a reliable brand with the optimal concentration.

For £30 I'd go for CeraVe hydrating cleanser, CeraVe moisturising lotion or no SPF face moisturiser, and a factor 30/50 for face and one out of Vit C, Retinol or acid. Even with those, introduce one product at a time.

I bought a hydrating/soothing toner thing in Aldi which was a knock off of a brand called Pixi Glow (don't rate ther brand due to reviews on here) and is quite nice. But you can make your own using rose water and glycerin from the chemist.

My skin definitely looks better and the lines softer and less obvious when I look after it consistently. I'm a bit rubbish at being consistent though.

Oh the last thing - shop around online for the best prices. Mostly you'll find CeraVe and la Roche posay on offer somewhere with free delivery.

Amazing! Thank you all so much.

Re face yoga, I've started following this amazing lady who looks just incredible. So will give that a try.

Do you all find this all adds loads of time to your morning/ evening routines? How do you fit it all in?

Will definitely get a good spf, and I've looked up the Paula product and they do a trial size. I'd just like to nip a few problem areas in the bud, and not look as close to 40 as I am! 😂

apile thanks so much - will have a poke around that thread as also the cearave website. I'd quite like a 1 stop shop 😂

Morning - wash face with water or gentle cleanser, optional gentle soothing toner, use vitamin c (the garden of wisdom says night time only) or peptide, slap on moisturiser and sunscreen. Night time, wash with gentle cleanser, swipe with toner, use Vit c, acid or retinol, slap on moisturiser. It doesn't take very long. I don't wear make up though.

Surely face yoga is something you do while watching crap TV?

@milleniumhandandprawn - waking up this thread from February to see how it's going with the face yoga and if you are still doing it? If so, who are you following? I've been looking around but it's hard to tell who/what is good and works, so a pointer in any direction would be so helpful