Where do I start to sort my skin out?

[Florencenotflo]

I'm 30 and I still have teenage skin. Frankly I'm fed up of it. I never go out without some make up on because I look awful.

My main issues are:

• blackheads on my chin and sometimes nose.
• my forehead has recently become very bumpy (like spots under the skin)
• my general skin tone is really uneven, red bits on my cheeks, blemishes from old spots
• my skin is very oily recently too

So to try and sort it out I'be started eating healthier and drinking more water. Cutting out caffeine is my next one. These will take time to make a difference I know but hopefully it will help.

But what products do I need or not need to try and sort this out. Over the years I have tried every product under the sun. For now I'm just using cleanser to take my make up off and moisturiser, both are simple (the brand) ones. But I don't know where to start, I'd like to just have skin decent enough not to worry about make up for once.

Tbh, your skin doesn’t sound that bad. It sounds quite normal, human skin isn’t poreless and perfectly velvety smooth with no variations in texture or tone, despite what photoshopped, facetuned and filtered social media and advertising tell us.

I’d add a light lactic acid peel to you routine (5%), the Ordinary do one. Very cheap and easy to use, start off with once a week, at night after cleansing. It’ll exfoliate your pores and help to get rid of dead skin and brighten it a bit.

Also add a daily spf of min spf30 (broad spectrum that covers UVA & UVB rays), or you can swap out your moisturiser for this if your skin doesn’t need the extra moisture. Use it in the morning. It’ll help stop any more hyperpigmentation developing (the dark spots) and protect you from premature UV ageing.

The ‘red bits’ could be mild rosacea. Avoid anything too perfumed or strong on it as it generally doesn’t like it. There are some mild treatments (and some stringer prescription ones) for it but it depends how severe it is and how much it bothered you. Avoiding the sun and using a good broad spectrum SPF will help reduce flare ups.

Try the Carbon Theory range. The soap bar helped my skin massively, a really noticeable difference within 2 weeks.

I just got their overnight serum last week and it has been excellent as well.
You can buy it from Boots.

It sounds like your skin is quite congested. I have quite an oily t-zone, and I find Glycolic Acid toner, and retinol has helped a lot with the congestion, and also with healing the dark marks that get left behind. I tend to use them just on my oily bits. I use the Glycolic Acid toner and retinol from The Ordinary, which I've found pretty good and not too expensive. It'll take a few weeks before you start seeing a difference. If you're going to start using stronger treatments like acids on your face you need to start using them gradually until your skin gets used to it, and also use high SPF religiously. A lot of SPF seems to exacerbate skin congestion but I've never had a problem with the ultra light SPF from La Roche Posay.

You could see the dr about skinoren which treats non inflammatory acne and the old scars. Those marks are scarring.

Are you on the contraceptive pill?.

I've found azelaic acid excellent for my inflamed acne and red bits (which are possibly rosacea) It's a brilliant anti inflammatory.

Thank you for the replies. Congested is definitely how I would describe it. I'm just worried about attacking it with too many products and making it worse.

I'm not aiming for perfect skin, but a lot of the time my face feels dirty because it's oily, the marks etc probably won't even disappear but a more even skin tone and less oil would be amazing!

I will look at The Ordinary products and the carbon theory. In terms of cleansing, what should I use everyday? I will also look for a good spf, I have quite olive toned skin so I've never used spf on my face regularly which is daft, I know.

@Fluffycloudland77 yes, have been back on it for about 9 months now after my youngest was born. I was on it for years previously too.

I don't have a massive budget for products but I will take a look at the ones mentioned, thank you!

OP my skin isn’t far from yours by the sounds of it, I’ll be following this thread for any tips also. I’ve recently started using heliocare SPF 50 I really recommend it, it doesn’t clog my skin & really suitable for under make up. Have a look x

Are you on a combined pill or progesterone only (mini pill)? Mini pill encourages oil production in some women.

If your on the combined pill some brands are better than other eg yasmin really works for some women.

If your baby is under a year you still get free prescriptions so an azaelic acid cream off the gp would cost you nothing.

Check out Caroline Hirons page some great advice there

I’m 43 and still get spots, so I sympathise.
The only things that have worked for me are lessening intake of dairy products, drinking spearmint tea every day (not peppermint).

And my holy grail product is Paulas Choice BHA liquid exfoliant. It’s £££ unfortunately, but very worth it.