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

[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?

NEW SERIES:

So You Want To Buy A Retinoid - A Guide

Bloody hell 70s, that's amazing! Can I ask how you've been using the Bear around your eyes, as in, have you been focusing on using it around the eyebrow or do you think there's some forehead lifting involved? Such great results, thanks for sharing the pictures...

Fingers crossed your ops can be rescheduled ASAP.. 🤞🏻

Ninny I've used it every morning since the 7th Feb. Mostly I do a 9 min cycle though there have been quite a few days, mostly weekends where I've done the 3 minutes and done.
Mornings are suiting me atm but as soon as schools go back and routine is back to normal I will switch to night time I think. But I like the lift/glow effect during the day. (But not enough to get out of bed earlier to do it)

Ts I do a routine a saw on a YouTube video. Possibly one bo posted? If not ill try and find it and post. Its ends with passes over the ends of the brows and up the sides of the forehead. Then swipes over the forehead and lifting the middle of the brows.

There's definitely been some softening of forehead lines and lifting of my eyebrows as well. I was convinced I had a massive forehead so walked around for years at school with my eyebrows raised (why I thought this was a cunning disguise ) so my forehead lines are crazy and look better after this 1st month.

I tend to use my Bear early evening when I do my evening routine. Mainly because I rub the HA in after and I can't figure out how to do that in the morning with relation to then applying Vit C after. I feel like Vit C should go on first.

I've been using the Annessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Mild Milk Spf 50 the last few days and I think I like it. Does anyone else use it?

Wow that's a big change Duvet! (I think it's pretty obvious which picture is which ) Also just under your eyes looks a little different too. Sorry to hear that you had an illness and hope you are fully recovered now.

I'm using my bear with my evening routine too - no time in mornings. Doing a longer routine which is a combo of 2 videos I saw on you tube - one is the Brazilian lady (Brazilian girl channel I think) and the other is an American aesthetician (the organic esthetician).

You can layer the Vitamin C under the HA, Ninny, it's not like you're washing it off and pretty sure the timeless is oil free. Apparently it helps other serums penetrate better.

I've not tried the Anessa brand, it always seems weirdly expensive, around €40 but over there it's like a third of that 🤷 I believe they do make some nice physical/chemical hybrid sunscreens.

So Bo are you saying I can use Vit C, then HA, then Bear? Would I let the Vit C sink in for a while?

I'm using Skinceuticals now btw. Ran out of Timeless ages ago then had a break when I was recovering from Dermatica / Skin + Me / on Soolantra as I stripped routine right back to basics.

Yes, the Anessa is expensive. I've got the Neostrata too but I haven't used that much as it feels a bit more fancy when actually they're similar in price. I don't mind paying for ones I actually like.

Yeah, it's not so much the price that bothers me, it's the weird inflation on price, similar priced Japanese sunscreens are around €20-25 when buying from here. Also, everything out of Japan gets stopped by customs here so I stay under the €22 marks otherwise I end up paying €13 in admin fees plus a few Euros of VAT. I have no issue paying VAT but the admin costs in relation to the item are it's probably gone up to €14 as of Jan 1st...

Yes, just layer underneath, just be mindful that if the whole it improves penetration thing is true, something active like Vitamin C could potentially be irritating when it otherwise wouldn't be. Skinceuticals is oil free too IIRC.

Botemp what do you think of these?
Popped up and looked interesting
https://amboskincare.com/collections/shop-all

[quote QueenPaw]Botemp what do you think of these?
Popped up and looked interesting
[[https://amboskincare.com/collections/shop-all]][/quote]
My impression is, expensive for what it is, looks very pretty but there's nothing that would have me punching in my payment details ASAP for the actual contents of the pretty packaging 🤷

It's not new to me but along similar lines (very pretty packaging, somewhat overpriced), Typology Paris is now expanding outside of France. In Paris you can walk in and get custom things (I don't know if they still do this but that was the original set up, it looked very lab like), it's a bit on the natural side though, so not all products are great due to some irritants like limonene and linalool but there's definitely some interesting things there. I do like the look of their skin tint.

I hope you don’t mind if I jump in with a question about body skin not face? I had some major abdominal surgery a month ago and have a new scar all the way down my abdomen. Apart from bio oil can anyone suggest anything that will help it to fade quickly? I don’t have particularly sensitive skin. Thank you.

@Martinisarebetterdirty

I hope you don’t mind if I jump in with a question about body skin not face? I had some major abdominal surgery a month ago and have a new scar all the way down my abdomen. Apart from bio oil can anyone suggest anything that will help it to fade quickly? I don’t have particularly sensitive skin. Thank you.

You'll have to get your doctor to clear you for them, and potentially they could prescribe them for you (which would be helpful as this is not a cheap option) but silicone scar plasters are your best bet. You'll need one that fits well over the entire area and I believe for fresh scars you need to wear them for about 8 weeks, and they last about two weeks, so the expense adds up.

Thank you botemp - much appreciated. I’m seeing her again in a couple of weeks so will ask for them then. Thank you

You're welcome, I would stress the sooner you starting using them the better the results, so may be worth asking by phone or similar, I suspect that if you can use Bio oil you can use that too but your doctor should be the one to make the call.

Definitely silicone patches - however you'll be shocked how much it fades!! I'm incredibly pale and have a before and after of my scar and it's barely visible

@Martinisarebetterdirty (I had a new tattoo in between!)
1 day post op and 3 years later

Thank you both! I’ll get on it. @QueenPaws that looks amazing and what a gorgeous tatt as well.

I should add I actually used nothing except for not scratching it and whatever lotion I chucked on if it was dry/itchy

I can't quite believe I'm writing this. I've had chinstrap lines for a quite a while. They bother me but I've never done anything about them. Most visible side on, obviously, and they stop just above the start of my cheek bones.

Well, I looked in my magnifying mirror this morning (it's a big one fixed to my bathroom wall so good light / I use it for make up application - not sure why that's relevant) and they are way softer AND they seem to have moved (a tiny bit) to closer to my ears! I have no before pictures to demonstrate, but I can definitely barely see them now. It must be The Bear + the HA...

I've used HA before and never noticed this so I'm thinking The Bear is really helping.

Sorry, in all my years of chatting anti-ageing I've yet to come across chinstrap lines, Google is just throwing up men with questionable beards. What are they?

They're a single line (each side) that start under the chin and then creep up the sides of the face. The woman who did my fillers a couple of years ago pointed them out. I'd never heard them called that (or anything else) before and you're right, googling doesn't help.

If you look up the chap that played Prince Philip in the most recent series of The Crown he quite extreme ones (Tobias Menzies I think). I feel bad posting a picture!

I used silicone plasters on a small but ugly keloid scar and it wasn't immediately after the event. Flattened and turned white and I don't think I was very consistent or used for very long either. I was able to just buy boxes of small patches in the chemist, but they seem to have disappeared. It amazed me at the time how well it worked.

Ah Tobiaz, I always assumed he just had really spectacular dimples 🤷 I wouldn't think they're unsightly or ageing, just a character thing.

Yeah, the silicone plasters are pretty amazing and they gave good clinical research behind them. They get prescribed as standard after operations here where you'd expect a big scar but I think one of the biggest producers and original inventors are Dutch so they probably just have really effective sales people.

@QueenPaw and @botemp - Loving the packaging.

I really, really want a bear now 🐻 looking at 70s results it seems like it might save me a bit on the Botox I have for droopy eyes. Has anyone had any results on a droopy mouth?

Not going to buy yet as might misplace it in the chaos of my upcoming move but once I’m settled I’ll go for it, funds permitting.

I'm looking at the bear with much longing, Sallie. I was also comparing it with the price of Botox (I haven't had Botox but I was considering it). The bear is a once off investment, and it might do something for my elevens as well as firm up my face.