🐌 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

Have read the guide on retinoids, which was so helpful, thank you.

My PC 1% retinol has arrived in the post super quickly, hooray! This one is probably a stupid question, but i know I shouldn't use TO glycolic acid on the nights that I use the retinal, but can I use it on the nights that I don't use the retinol?

OMG. I am glad I came across this thread, just to say OMG again. You simply do not need this mish mash of products for your skin,if you have carefully looked after your skin in your life. I am 78, and have always used very simple cheap products on my skin. I have smooth skin,and no wrinkles at all. I always use Pears soap and warm water to wash my face,and never any of these face wipes or cleansing creams etc.

Healthy food, lots of water, and fresh lemon in hot water are great for good clear smooth skin. I am just amazed, that anyone would buy into all these products , so they will turn into the most beautiful person ever !!

@1forAll74 - So the, 'I am glad I found this thread...'

You don't really mean it...

Why don't you also join in on a few diet threads so you can sneer at the people who are trying to lose weight with your, 'common sense,' approach. That will go down well.

@1forAll74

OMG. I am glad I came across this thread, just to say OMG again. You simply do not need this mish mash of products for your skin,if you have carefully looked after your skin in your life. I am 78, and have always used very simple cheap products on my skin. I have smooth skin,and no wrinkles at all. I always use Pears soap and warm water to wash my face,and never any of these face wipes or cleansing creams etc.

Healthy food, lots of water, and fresh lemon in hot water are great for good clear smooth skin. I am just amazed, that anyone would buy into all these products , so they will turn into the most beautiful person ever !!

Is this like the people who smoke 40 a day and live to be 108 therefore smoking is fine for you?

I get a lot of pleasure from my evening routine, it's an innocent pleasure and break from my toddler and job. And who knows when I'm 73 maybe I'll look 50 😉

Don't engage ppl, no need to justify yourself to either a midnight drive-by bridge dweller or someone whose managed to get to the age of 78 disbelieving anyone else's lived experience when it doesn't matches their own. /s Let's hope they don't need any medication because my 97yo grandmother has never needed any so no one else should either...

I will say though, no one put lemon or soap on your face, it's about the worst thing you can do, and that's not anecdotal evidence, that's backed by scientific studies and a whole host of medical skin professionals.

Bubbly, you can use it on other days but you have to gradually introduce the retinol (1-2x a week for two weeks and build up from there) and you're probably better off taking it easy with the glycolic as you introduce it, so if you use it daily currently (which is a touch excessive tbh) just use it 2 days or so after the retinol, if at all, depending on how well you get on with PC.

Mini, if it's just on your forearms can you not just avoid that area as I assume you don't have KP there? Otherwise you could try a different product but since Cerave is pretty much free of common irritants I'd struggle to pinpoint what causes the issue and therefore what then wouldn't cause an issue.

I've been using the Skin Aqua UV super Moisture essence for a few days now, I like it but think I'll keep it for autumn as it's really light and will layer well over a moisturiser or for really hot (humid) days. I think it will be a good one for combo/oily skin (I'm normal to combo). I've never tried the Biore but I assume it's a similar lightweight product, fragrance free and not as loaded with alcohol though. It has a very silky smooth finish, a little tacky before it dries down completely so I assume it would work well under makeup (not wearing any currently).

Is the Skin Aqua UV Super Moisture Essence the one where you said there was a gel version too Bo?

I think you asked if it was the same as the gel and I said no there's three, milk, gel, essence and they're all different filters. But, yes, that one. Tsm uses the milk, or the gel, or both, I think.

I've had some peeling from skin and me! Which is interesting as it's a lower strength than the dermatica I was using. I think I'm sticking with them, I prefer the texture

Hi Pupsie yes I have the gel and milk - the gel is similar to Biore, but is much less drying. I use this one when it's humid or when I'm doing a morning dog walk. The milk is very moisturising (my favourite SPF for most days).

Thanks TS. Good to know. The Biore feels more drying to me these days but that could be the retinol I suppose.

Queen - That's really interesting about the Skin + Me - have to say I quite like it. Just heard back from Dermatica that my prescription has been approved. The one with the photos they previously rejected 3 weeks ago.. . Oh well, it's just postage to try it.

Thanks Botemp. I have some acne and skin is starting to show its age (40), so have great hopes for the retinol.

I would say dermatica is more a gel cream texture, skin and me is a cream and a bit stiffer if that makes sense!

I'd agree with Queen re textures. I'd say the Skin&Me is easier to pat in than rub in, but then I've been patting in most products for a while now.

Tried Dermatica for past couple of days - really underwhelmed tbh, and really really don't understand how despite the higher strength of Tret, it didn't feel like it. I know it's too early to judge, but when I apply Skin + Me, there is a slight tingle sensation. Although the Dermatica doesn't have Azelaic Acid.

Has anyone had great results from Dermatica as I need to decide as my next Skin + Me is going to be sent out next week.

still very jealous of all this dermatica and S+M talk, the huge outbreak on my chin and cheeks is settling now but still pretty spotty. Going to give the new BC 3 months and then maybe consider seeing a dermatologist if I can find the funds (Corona has cut my income in half). Today i'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a hand cream, ideally one from a widespread brand so I have a hope of finding it here. We're having issues with shops saving money by filling their hand sanitizer machines with god knows what but I know several people are having reactions to it and DPs hands are awfully chapped. usually a fan of locatain shea butter hand cream but I can't get that here.

Eucerin Urea hand cream is my saviour. You could probably just get pure raw Shea butter locally which is brilliant stuff we can't get. Overnight treatment with cotton gloves will have them feeling like new. Otherwise Neutrogena Norwegian formula is a classic although it's just really heavily occlusive and it never did anything for me 🤷

thanks bo i've seen a few eucerin products around so will look for that and I can easily get raw shea butter, will probably have difficulty convincing DP to use it but at least i'll have soft hands

I'm about to make a big purchase work bonus treat!

Queen You're getting brushes?

@ilovemydogandmrobama2 yes makeup ones of course

Queen ooh nice! I've always fancied trying Chikuhodo brushes - have you used them before?...

Has anyone tried Olaplex? My hair is in a state (very dry and frizzy, I colour the roots - lighter - every 8 weeks, plus t-zone every 4 weeks in between) and I'm wondering if there's something miraculous I can do with it. I tried Elasticizer (left on for about an hour last week) and was unimpressed.

Popping in to join the azelaic acid bandwagon. I’ve been scaling down on products because it doesn’t feel like I’m getting any effects really. Dithering whether I should start spending more (again) or ... give up? My uneven skin texture and colouring was getting me down so i started using up the Acnederm AA I got in Poland last year. I stopped using it because I felt I reacted to it but now I’m so scaled back I thought I should be ok. I have to say I’m noticing improvement but not at the scale I’d like 😭 At the same time my 13yo son is getting acne (shoddy shoddy genetic material we provide our kids with) and I started him on it too which seems to be enough atm. However the only AA products I can get here are from PC or TO. So dear (but maybe good) or cheap (and frankly a bit shite). Or via prescription 🙄 So I bought four tubes from a polish pharmacy and paid through the nose for postage. 🙄 Anyway I’m considering doing the same and getting real retinol from Spain online if possible because I feel like my skin needs the real stuff? And frankly if I’m going to be spending on my skin I think I’d rather spend on facials. I still dream of getting an appointment with Josefa Reina in Malaga one day ...

Banivani I new to AA and it doesn’t seem to suit me (mild itching/irritation) so don’t have any advice. I was using tret (retirides) from Spain pre lockdown but a friend used to bring it back for me so no experience with online ordering. I had quite a lot of issues with dryness and peeling but think a lot of it was exacerbated by harsh winter weather outside & central heating blasting inside.

Ts I tried olaplex (the one you can buy on amazon) and didn’t rate it, I believe they do other treatments that are only available in/from the hairdressers that likely give better results.

Talking of hair I’m not sure if the light ash brown colour of mine really suits me after all that plus I’m constantly faffing with blue/purple shampoos, conditioners and toners to stop it going ginger. So I’m wondering if I should just go with the flow and go to a light golden brown or even a dark reddish blonde using a temporary colour initially to see if it suits.

TS there's been some Olaplex chat on our Curly Hair thread if you want to have a read. I've used it 3 times in the last month and like it. Gosh I did love Elasticizer but I don't think I'll ever use it again .