🐌 Fantastic Skincare: Vanities Are The New Shelf Porn

[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?

So You Want To Buy A Retinoid - A Guide

MAY 2020: We're in lockdown and it's doing weird things to our faces

I don't see Kate Somerville mentioned on these threads much ag. Nice to see someone else who likes these two products.

agteacht There's no need to use another vitamin A treatment (retinol etc) when you're using tret - some of us use an acid on non-tret nights but using another vit A cream would be overkill. I'm not sure how much retinol is in the Pixi tonic but you might want to just use the tret for a while and see how that affects your skin.

Unless I've read that wrong - in my defence, it's early and I'm under-caffeinated!

Did anyone go for the Sali H x Cult Beauty box? I was sorely tempted as I'd use everything in it but decided to hold off....

Agt, in general, acid toning should be 2-3x a week rather than daily. You should remove them entirely when introducing Tret. I wouldn't alternate with pixi retinol. You should start at 1-2x a week, you could continue the use of the Medik8 retinol as you introduce it (with a day in between).

Also, you need to get an SPF50 to use with the Tret, SPF 40 just isn't enough. You'll also need to change order at night by applying lip balm and eye cream before using Tret to safeguard the corners of mouth and eye from Tret.

Stinky, that's odd as LRP Cicaplast tends to be super gentle and healing. Doesn't preclude anyone from reacting to it, is it the normal or the SPF version? Tret does show some effect, skin definitely starts looking better within a few skin cycles, pores are noticeably tighter within a few weeks, it's the anti-ageing results of fine lines and wrinkles that take longer to show.

Fete, yes Dr Dennis Gross pads don't need to be used daily, 1-2x a week max, depending on which strength you have. I'd scale back the aha peel though, when it comes to actives it's really a case of the one or the other.

I have the Dr Dennis Gross pads. I really like them. I only use them about once every 3-4 weeks though.

Also agt, just checked the Kate Somerville moisturiser, it contains fragrance so I'd stop using that with Tret as well as you could react to it and it's better to have a moisituriser with niacinamide and ceramides in it to help with barrier repair.

Just wondering how long people waited to introduce acids into their routine after starting tret? I’m approaching three months of use and thinking of acid toning maybe once a week?

Yes, the KS products do generally have fragrance which I also try to avoid but I seem to be fine with these ones. I think I chose one as one of my testers from a Space NK purchase and liked it so bought one. I like the Paula's Choice boosters for adding niacinamide.

Oh thanks a lot @Pupsiecola and @botemp and @Tsmummy08

Let me just restate the routine with your tweaks to be sure I've understood fully:

AM
KS goats milk cleanser
Nip fab / pixi glycolic (amend - only 2x week)
Oskia / kiehls vit C
Inkey / kiehls eyes
KS goats milk moisturiser
Clinique SPF (amend - upgrade from 40 to 50)

PM
Plantastic cleanser
KS / Cerave cleanser
Inkey / kiehls eyes
Lip balm
Retinol (Tret 2x week, Medik8 6TR 2x week, 3x nights no retinol)
KS peptide 8 or Ordinary rosehip oil

@Pupsiecola I really like KS products. DH bought them for me in SpaceNK at Christmas without any instruction (I guess a good salesperson!!). Very surprised 😂

@botemp which KS moisturiser did you mean, or both??
I can look to swap out but such a shame as really like it! Maybe I'll mix it up with something else to start and then slowly reintroduce

Eek sorry about the bold, don't know what I did wrong there. @Pupsiecola do you think I need to introduce more niacinamide into the routine? My tret is with niacinamide

ag I think bo means to add it in your morning routine as as you say the Tret has it included. I'm sure she'll be along soon to confirm. She's far more knowlegable than me!!

Agt, the k8 moisturiser has fragrance in. The goat milk doesn't (unless I missed it in the INCI). Alongside Tret its helpful to have something with niacinamide and ceramides in just to mitigate the damage that causes, especially the following morning. So I'd move goat milk to evening and hit pause on the K8 for now as Tret van be very sensitising and it's better to be overly cautious with it. Maybe you can use it again later when Tret is properly settled in but in general it's best to avoid fragrance in skincare. I'd omit acid toning all together when introducing Tret as well, reintroduce at 1-2x a week further down the line.

Cinnamon, I don't remember exactly but I started using an acid toner strategically on day 3 of Tret introduction to mitigate 'dusty' face but I knew what I was doing so would not recommend just doing that to anyone. I think at around the time you're at now I probably started gradually reintroducing.

Sorry, that wordinf maybe doesn't make much sense, by day 3 of Tret introduction, I don't mean day 3 of introducing Tret but further along the process when you'd use Tret and on the third day after you'd get the dusty face (usually at around midday to completely wreck your makeup ) the 3 day thing is not set in stone but weirdly all of us on here experienced dusty face on day 3.

Thanks pupsie

Botemp - what great advice. So I'll pause the glycolic until a point in the future and also pause my beloved k8.

Do you think I should look into an alternate to the KS goats milk, which might be better with the tret due to your point around ceramides etc

The goat milk cleanser has fragrance, but the moisturiser doesn't.

I struggle with a good milk cleanser. Open to suggestions.

Agt, you could alternate or you could try the superdrug simply pure serum as that's full of ceramides and then get an SPF with niacinamide in like the purito centella green level unscented something or the other SPF50.

I like the Biologique Recherche milk cleansers Pupsie

Will get googling. Thank you!!

Bo curious as to the benefits of using a retinol alongside tret as advised above... Wouldn't it cause more sensitivity or "muddy the waters"? If you reckon it's ok, I wonder if I could carry on using my P&M alongside tret... although I'd be a bit nervous after my tomatoface incident :)

I had the same question/thought TS.

I'm going to try my Curel for a while as that has peptides. I like it but I stopped using it because it makes me glasses a bit greasy. I suspect I apply too much. I'm a bit heavy handed. For example I use 2 pumps of the Timeless Vit C each morning but then I spread it down to my boobs and give my hands a wipe. I figure that the shelf life isn't huge and it's good value.

I'll look at BR one Bo.

It's what my dermatologist advised at the time as using retinol is you normal and then you replace one use of it for the Tret and build up gradually within your normal. There was a specific schedule, one swap for two weeks, asses, then two swaps for 2-3 weeks, assess, and so on. It worked well for me, Tret only started acting like a difficult diva when I stopped using the OTC alongside of it. The concentration is so minimal in comparison and as long as you have a history of tolerating it well it therefore shouldn't be an issue.

P&M is a derivative ( forgot which one) so it would probably be fine. Something as crude and quite irritating and already push at the boundaries of a healthy skin barrier normally like the ordinary ones in squalane would probably not be a great idea.

Thanks Bo, that makes total sense! I'll give it a go :)

I have to say, I'm not sure whether it's being a few lbs heavier than last summer, HRT for 3 months or not using so many actives but my skin's looking great at the moment - glowy, fewer fine lines etc. It's still a bit saggy but at almost 47, I'll take it!!

Bo is it this one?

embassyofbeauty.co.uk/products/lait-u#/

Yep, the VIP O2 is lovely too but the price jump is difficult to justify between the two.

@botemp that seems like a good idea. I actually did trey some acid on my day off a few weeks ago and it went really well but I was hesitant to start up properly. However I get basically no irritation now so maybe it’s time for some acid to get rid of the last bits of texture.

Like to see some people are enjoying the timeless vitamin c. I’m planning on purchasing it next for when my Melano cc is finished. However Maleno cc has an undisclosed amount of absorbic acid which many people speculate is below 10% so I’m wondering if bumping up the absorbic acid may be too much if I’m also going to start acid toning. I’ll have to have a think about which active will be better for my skin.