🐌 Fantastic Skincare: Jump through flaming hoops, repeat, 'Beauty is Pain', and acces to this thread will be unlocked

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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?

NEW SERIES:

So You Want To Buy A Retinoid - A Guide

Bo it's normally 2ish weeks, will wait until Black Friday and pray :) I'm going to do an EPP order too for the double packs of Toleriane as DD is using that too now, so will be worth it.

The 11th of November is singles day, Tsm, which is pretty big in Asia so I suspect that will be just as big if not bigger than BF. I just ordered a couple backups of my favourite cleansing oil from Dokodemo (Japanese sort of yesstyle, but somewhat different) as they've started their singles day mega sale early. They have this whole points thing for loyal customers and I ended up paying €6 for everything including shipping it's a pretty cheap cleansing oil but still that's about half of what I usually pay for one...

Although now that Biden is officially the President Elect I suspect the British government will have to make some sort of a deal with the EU now as the new US government won't stand by and look on to see the GFA broken and then go on to offer a magically fantastic trade deal, so frantic no deal purchases may not be necessary.

I’m just catching up after not being on here for a while.
Is anyone still using dermatica tret/niacinamide?
I’ve just cancelled my subscription (I got the three months free). It just didn’t feel very effective. I’ve gone back to using up some Adapalene (differin) and I’ve had a bit of dryness again which I never had at all with dermatica. I don’t understand how it results in no dryness whatsoever (I understand the synergy of the niacinamide with tret but I’ve always used a moisturiser with niacinamide anyway). Any thoughts?

bo would love to know your view of Vanicream. Am using Avene cleanser at the moment, which is a bit, 'meh.'

Thin you may be right about the UK government having to make a deal but have a hangover from celebrating last night and will think about it later

Jed am using Skin + Me, which has been good. I did try Dermatica, but tbh, I didn't like the texture, but know lots of people on here prefer it.

Hi Jedstre! I switched to Skin&Me after Dermatica put me up to 0.05 after the first month, as I wanted a more gradual build-up. I also didn't have any reaction to Dermatica at 0.025 but do get some reaction with Skin&Me (which is tret, niacinamide and azelaic acid) at 0.021.

I like the fact that S&M started at a v low dose (0.018) and seems more personalised so I'm sticking with them.

MrObama I'm also feeling a bit "tired" today :) I didn't realise how anxious I'd been feeling until they called it, was like a weight lifting....

I hope we do indeed get a deal with the EU after the US election, but I'll probably do some ordering anyway....

Bo I'm almost out of my DHC oil - is there one on Yesstyle you'd rate other than that? Thanks for the headsup on Singles day (I had no idea about that!), so will keep an eye out this week :)

TS - if there's a deal at YesStyle, let us know?

Am hoping that there will be a more concerted effort to get Covid under control so I can see my mom who is in California...

I like this one Tsm, the pink one (Speedy), I prefer it to DHC, it's mineral oil based, in case that's an issue. However, the Japanese products are much more expensive on yesstyle, it's cheaper with shipping included to just get them off eBay.

Yes, sober up already MrObama, this means no magic unicorns for Christmas 🦄

Jedstre, I've always been a bit baffled by Dermatica and their efficacy and their lack of irritation. But some people do seem to peel on it so it must be Tret 🤷 skin+me does definitely seem to be more like traditional Tret.

Jedstre I’m still have subscriptions with Skin+me and dermatica, currently alternating months but need to decide which one to stick with. I much prefer the texture of dermatica and seem to get less peeling but like Bo says I feel like S+M is more tret like and may be doing more for me.

I’ve temporarily moved in with my bubble person so don’t think I’ll be buying anything new whilst I’m here, partly because they’re already about all my lotions and potions but also because it’s a bit of a pain changing address etc, I don’t actually need anything for the time being so a few frugal weeks won’t do me any harm.

bo and mrObama is the hado labo tranexamic acid sold as a whitening lotion? I think I may have actually seen that brand here occasionally but dismissed it as it was listed just as whitening cream.
Slightly dubious of turning my already ghostly self any paler but if it could even out my skin tone I'd happily turn myself translucent

forest Yes, it's called, 'Whitening Lotion,' which initially made me think of Michael Jackson and have to say, I'm not paler, but it has definitely helped with pigmentation along with Tret using Skin + Me.

In Asia whitening=brightening, it doesn't actually bleach. It just tackles discoloration and seems to be anti inflammatory. The whole blue line contains TXA and vitamin C in MAP form.

This is the one I use. It also comes in a 'moist' or 'rich' version which is heavier but the bottle looks pretty similar and there's a smaller bottle which is a milk lotion (so somewhere between a lotion and moisturiser for dry skin to layer under moisturiser) and there's a cream as well, I think.

Thanks both, I'll keep an eye out for it. Have definitely seen that brand before but was put off by the whitening cream label. We get a lot of Indian products here and those whitening creams usually are bleach.
Now I'm looking I'll probably never see it again mind

I've tried the Vanicream cleanser twice now and am on the fence. It doesn't perform the claim of being able to remove your makeup and not needing to double cleanse, quite a lot it struggled to be taken down and I don't wear a lot of makeup (tightliner, mascara, and concealer, sometimes a bit of blush or sculpting powder). It gets skin really clean, without stripping, I'll give it that, but it's a bit like a thicker Avene extremely gentle cleanser but then it's more like a gel/foaming cleanser when it's emulsified and even though it's fragrance free (and masking fragrance free) it does have a scent and it reminds me of our dishwashing liquid which is a special allergy one so I assume it's just an ingredient in both, but it reads as 'soapy' in my mind as a result. As it's so similar to Avene, I think I'd prefer that one, tbh.

Found some haba lado tranexmic acid on a different Instagram shop. They also had the inkey one but it was more expensive. Thinking it can slot into my routine in the morning so it would be
AM - LRP dermo cleanse, tranexemic acid, vichy 89 and SPF
PM- LRP dermo cleanse, benzoyl peroxide, then right before bed LRP moisturizer (can't actually remember its name)
I previously preferred actives at night but the benzoyl peroxide takes so long to soak in unless I apply it straight onto the tranexemic acid it wouldn't be practical

So disappointed about the Vanicream and had much higher hopes, however tbh, am not wearing makeup much any in lockdown. Am using Avene, so guess no point in changing.

Got DS(12) a kit from Sam Farmer as he didn't want to use same products as his mom and sister . It's quite good, although it's mostly marketing as its appeal is that it's, 'unisex..' But if it gets him into a routine, then that's good. He did put sunscreen on last night, although couldn't laugh when he told me as he's quite sensitive.

At least the sunscreen mantra is working.

You probably don't need the vichy and Hada Labo TXA in one routine, it's very hydrating. Could you put the Vichy in the evening routine? I use the HL twice a day, I apply it straight after cleanser as it's incredibly light and slightly acidic but I'm not sure how TXA and BP go together in a routine chemistry wise.

Haha, sunscreen for the win

TBH i'm not sure how much the vichy actually does for me it just feels nice and soothing so I put it on each day anyway. I couldn't find anything online about issues with mixing benzyoly peroxide with tranaxemix acid but figured i'd keep them seperately just to be safe.

These arrived today. The packaging is beautiful and also user friendly. I've used the oil before but the resurfacing liquid is new to me
Slapped it on as I use acids happily and er yeah, a little tingly!! It feels nice but it smells effective not scented if that makes sense? The oil has no discernible fragrance to me, and their cleansing concentrate smells a bit nutty/green

I have dermatica 0.5 tret/niacinamide/clindamycin and was instructed to use it everyday. I peeled horrendously on the second day after using tret so I now have two days off from it and it works much better. It’s reduced my acne so much as well.

I ordered the deviant gentle resurfacing liquid and can’t wait ti try it. I have been using paula’s choice 2% bha but find it is really oily on my skin so looking to swap it out for the deviant

cloud, I think jedstre had similar experience with the Paula's Choice perfecting liquid 2% and then switched to the Clear version (or whatever the acne line is called) and that worked much better.

Hello, I'm sorry just to come on and randomly
ask a question but I've not managed to keep up with this thread at all for ages.

Bo (or anyone else with timeless vit C experience), I've had a bottle of the vit C in my fridge since January. It has a slightly yellow colour so not completely clear now. Do you think using it randomly (keep forgetting it's their) can cause irritation on my face (because it is likely to have started oxidising)? Thank you 🙏🏻

Light yellow is still okay to use Sophie and it shouldn't be more irritating, over time it becomes less effective. Potentially your sporadic use is making it irritating as your skin never really gets used to it and reacts like the first time of use (and the timeless is on the potentially irritating side due to the low pH). I'd say winter skin may be a factor but I don't think you're anywhere close to winter likes the rest of us.

Thanks Bo. That does make sense. I'm still on tret and my skin hasn't been quite right since that huge dose of hormones. It may not be freezing winter here yet but there is still a marked difference between the hot summer (with lots of sweating etc) and the cooler autumn.

Still I need to find a way to combine tret and vit C as tret has to take priority with my tendency for acne. Perhaps I need a less potent vit C?

I feel That my skin Barrier has been compromised at the moment so going to stop all actives for a couple of days. I've got a derm appointment next week (if that goes ahead as we're in full lockdown).

Sophie my derm recommended going back to LRP Redermic C once I've finished the Soolantra. That might be something you could try?