Would anyone care to critique my skincare regime??

[myirisheyesaresmiling]

Can anyone help me with my skincare regime please, I’m so confused with what I’m meant to use with what and in which order!

I’ve just bought a new vit C serum (Garden of Wisdom 23% serum & ferulic acid) and want to incorporate it into my regime. Whenever I’ve used Vit C before I’ve used it in the mornings but this one says to use it in the evenings instead. But I also use a retinol (beauty pie super retinol) and don’t think I can use them both together?

So current morning regime is

Cleanse
Vit c serum
Hyaluronic acid
SPF

And evening is

Double cleanse
Hyaluronic acid
Retinol
Moisturiser (weleda skin food)

Am I using things in the correct order?? I’m 35 and starting to panic at the lines appearing on my face! my skin is normal/dry.

Any advice is very welcome

I’m no expert but I think that sounds excellent and TBH I’m mega impressed you can be arsed to do that everyday!
The only bit I would question is the HA at night. I’m not sure it’s needed if you have a strong moisturiser after the retinol. Sali Hughes is great on skin care and has dry skin too so have a look at her videos on insta for some expert guidance.

Vit C is antioxidant and skin needs it all day around. So it is Ok to use it in the evening. However, if you are using retinol at night it makes sense to apply the Vit C serum in the morning.

This looks good to me. I agree you may not need the HA in the evening but I don’t think it will do any harm.

I'm pretty sure you should be putting the hydroluronic acid on before the vit c serum in the am - I always go on the basis that as a basic water carrying molecule it should be the first thing applied and then serums, oils and creams come after.

@ItMustBeBedtimeSurely

I'm pretty sure you should be putting the hydroluronic acid on before the vit c serum in the am - I always go on the basis that as a basic water carrying molecule it should be the first thing applied and then serums, oils and creams come after.

No, pH in active ingredients should technically dictate the order. Vitamin C serums are often very low pH and therefore go first for it to be most effective but it's not a massive issue to not do this.

OP, because of the high percentage of vitamin c the formulation will probably be slightly gritty or difficult to layer (I used it a long time ago and I do think it was very gritty, it was very difficult to get out of the pump anyhow), hence the suggestion to use it at night. You can use it in the AM. It's often preferred to use in the AM but if you're using it quite specifically for pigmentation than evening is better. I wouldn't combine it with retinol in one routine though, you'd just have to alternate or leave a long period of time in between application.

Do you retinol every day? (can I use that as a verb?)

I use vit c in morning always before Spf

My current routine is almost the same as yours OP and is copied directly from Nadine Baggott.
AM cleanse
Hyaluronic (NB, Sali Hughes and MySkinStory say HA first then Vit C but I presumed, maybe erroneously, it was because the HA is watery and I've read about going in order of consistency) I'm using Hada Labo.
GOW Vit C
Frezyderm SPF 50 sunscreen and primer

Evening
Cleanse
HA
One of the 538 (seems like) serums I have in the bathroom cabinet. Currently finishing an EL Advanced Night Repair (and frankly wondering what all the fuss is about)

Twice a week I use Tret and twice GOW Retistar serum.

Thanks everyone, good to know I’m on the right track!

I always thought you’re meant to use HA after cleansing but before anything else too but then I read in a few places that Vit C should go first, that’s what added to my confusion. There’s just so many products, trying to find the best ones for my skin is proving difficult!!

@onekidnoclue up until a few years ago I never even took off my makeup at night. But then I had children and aged about 10 years overnight 😂. So had to take action!

@TheSeedsOfADream

My current routine is almost the same as yours OP and is copied directly from Nadine Baggott. AM cleanse Hyaluronic (NB, Sali Hughes and MySkinStory say HA first then Vit C but I presumed, maybe erroneously, it was because the HA is watery and I've read about going in order of consistency) I'm using Hada Labo. GOW Vit C Frezyderm SPF 50 sunscreen and primer

Evening
Cleanse
HA
One of the 538 (seems like) serums I have in the bathroom cabinet. Currently finishing an EL Advanced Night Repair (and frankly wondering what all the fuss is about)

Twice a week I use Tret and twice GOW Retistar serum.

Thank you, good to know you're using the Vit c in the morning, I'm going to carry on doing that

What exactly is Tret? Is it just like retinol but stronger?

I use vit C before HA in the morning. In the evening, I use retinol straight after cleansing and leave for 20 minutes before applying anything else, so if using HA in evening I apply after retinol.