Anyone with gorgeous skin willing to help me?

[Timona]

So today I was reminiscing with my sister (via WhatsApp) over some photos we took together three years ago and I can't believe how much more shit I look after just a few short years . I know a couple of obvious things I need to change -drinking more water, eat healthier food, exercise and get more sleep- and have decided to start all of that straight away!
But looking in the mirror, my skin is so terrible. Mainly it's really blotchy and awful pores..plus dark rings.

So my question is, are there any beautiful skinned people out there willing to help me by telling me their skincare routine? I've honestly never had any sort of routine, just face scrub once a day in the shower, so I'd like as much detail as possible because I have no clue 😬

Any help is appreciated, I'm just coming out of a long depression that has shot my self confidence to pieces so am trying to make an effort to look after myself. (I am also planning to also start wearing make up..so may need to start another advice thread again soon 😉).

Thank you in advance.

[JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn]

I'm 54 and am very happy with my skin. I only wash my face with water in the shower in the morning. Then I use eye cream and moisturiser before applying light makeup.

Depending on how much ££ I have, the products I use range from Avon to Environ. I also buy makeup from Estee Lauder and Lancôme, etc when they have an offer on and I get a bag of their moisturisers and eye creams to try.

I like the Estée Lauder night repair serums and use them a couple of times a week.

I drink lots of water and eat healthily (most of the time!).

I always, always cleanse before I go to bed. I use a really fantastic Environ cleanser when I can afford it. I use a L'Oréal rose cleanser when I'm not so flush.

I never use a facial scrub - I used to, but was told by a beautician many moons ago that it's really not a good thing to do to your skin. She was right

[RockingMyFiftiesNot]

@Thatsmycupoftea whilst I agree that product overload can't be great for skin, I would strongly recommend moisturising more regularly, even at your tender age. To moisturise or not was subject of a heated discussion amongst a group of friends a couple of years ago - 2 of us moisturise regularly and always have done; the others very vocal against moisturising. If you stood us in a row and asked strangers to pick out the 2 who moisturised I can guarantee 100% correct guesses. (we're late 50s - mid 60s)

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

Caroline Hirons. I had ok skin before and now its glowing and even. I rarely wear foundation any more, even in winter. I bought her book and used the routine in it - she recommends a LOT of expensive products but tbh I don't do the high end stuff, you don't have to. There's a Facebook group too which is good for getting ideas in all budgets.

But basically what works for me is cleanse, nothing foamy, acid, mist and hydrolauronic acid, oil and basic moisturiser. My skin absolutely loves it.

[PurpleDaisies]

I agree that diet and exercise make the biggest difference. I just wash my face in the shower with a Superdrug face wash. I occasionally use an acid toner. That’s it. I’ve got great skin.

[nuitdesetoiles]

I'm a bit of a skincare junkie but of late have felt I've aged significantly. a picture from 6 years ago flashed up on my Facebook mentors recently and I looked amazing! So I decided I need to change something about my current lifestyle as my skin has really deteriorated.

The main culprit has been booze so I've cut it out for January and hopefully longer term. I'm also going to consistently take a vitamin and collagen supplement. When I use cheap products my skin deteriorates. I have a few friends who are of the splash of water/nivea crew and to be honest you can tell. After years of experimentation my go to products are Ren. The radiance toner and the glycolic facial mask are amazing, to counterbalance them I use the evercalm serum and night balm, during the day youth radiance day cream. For me and according to make up artist/skincare consultant friends it's serum that makes the difference so should always be used alongside moisturiser. Use micellar water as a first cleanse then creamy old based cleanser, this is the one product I feel you don't need to splash out on as it's they're all pretty similar and it doesn't stay on your skin.

Cheaper ranges that are great include the body shop vitamin E and tropic. L'Oréal/olay etc are full of nasty chemicals and preservatives that will do more harm than good in the long run and not cruelty free.

[KnitFastDieWarm]

I have really good skin. It is purely a fluke of genetics, i’m afraid but there are a few things that definitely make my skin look even better. Internally, these are water (i’m talking litres a day), sleep, exercise, and a high fat/low sugar diet.
Externally, I’m not a fan of too much faffing. I use an acid toner every evening - i think this makes the single biggest difference.
I always use an extra something under my moisturiser before bed - i alternate between hydraulonic acid, rosehip oil and retinol serum. This is where i spend my money - cleanser and moisturiser etc i’m happy to save on.

• I wear minimum factor 30 sunscreen every day unless i’m not leaving the house.

[Diadora30]

I have good skin and I’m 40 soon. I tend to use a basic cleanser, vit c serum, hyalaronic acid serum and just a basic kiehls moisturiser.

I do more of an evening: cleanse, chemical tone, facial oil and retinoids twice a week (at the moment, building up). I do use an expensive night time moisturiser (chantecaille) and I have found it does give smoothness and glow.

Also, i think a lot of it is down to genetics, my mum is 64 and has really great skin, so I think I’ve inherited the good genes!

[Teandsympathy]

I stopped using products years ago and my skin has been so much better ever since. I used to get dry patches and an oily forehead and a few weeks after cutting back on products I seemed to sort itself out.
I sometimes use cetaphil and pixie toner but not religiously. Mostly I just wash my face with warm water.

[Sup1979]

@KnitFastDieWarm

I have really good skin. It is purely a fluke of genetics, i’m afraid but there are a few things that definitely make my skin look even better. Internally, these are water (i’m talking litres a day), sleep, exercise, and a high fat/low sugar diet.
Externally, I’m not a fan of too much faffing. I use an acid toner every evening - i think this makes the single biggest difference.
I always use an extra something under my moisturiser before bed - i alternate between hydraulonic acid, rosehip oil and retinol serum. This is where i spend my money - cleanser and moisturiser etc i’m happy to save on.

• I wear minimum factor 30 sunscreen every day unless i’m not leaving the house.

This made me chuckle

Genetics
But then you list

A very healthy lifestyle
A great diet
Lots of sleep
A good daily skincare routine
High end products, including retinol!
And sun screen every day!

[StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind]

I agree though that a huge part of it is genetics. The best skincare, good sleep, diet etc helps everyone look as good as is possible for them but if genetics haven't been kind, then you're skin isn't going to be as good as some lucky people.

I think that there's only so much you can do without surgery in honesty! But all the things @KnitFastDieWarm mentioned will make a small difference. If nothing else, I feel much better for it!

[parado]

I don’t know why I bother clicking these threads anymore because the smug unhelpful responses from lucky pp’s with naturally great skin (from genetics) piss me off. How dare some of you insinuate bad skin is caused by our bad routines/products. The arrogance to think you have good skin just because you drink water. Laughable.
I have always drank enough water and ate well (not rocket science) but it’s never helped with my acne. Not to mention my own dermatologist gets pissed off at the pseudoscientific food shaming people with bad skin get (correlation does not equal correlation and if you take a look in the medical literature there is not strong enough evidence to say poor diet alone causes acne!!)

“regimes are a load of rubbish and fill the skin with a load of crap so it can't breath.” - what a load of BS / pseudoscience

Ask any dermatologist (you know an actual medical skin doctor) and they will completely disagree with the above statement from some smug pp’s. A simple fragrance free routine is recommended. Wearing sunscreen is recommended to prevent damage and premature aging. Active ingredients have plenty of medical literature to support their effectiveness such as retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid etc

But ofc some pp’s are so arrogant to think what they’re doing (or not doing as many don’t have a routine) is the reason they have beautiful skin.
It is genetics!! Ffs, ask any dermatologist and they will tell you washing with bar soap without moisturising is bad for facial skin

Why do people always choose to listen to uneducated people who are just lucky to have good skin because of genetics over the actual educated skin doctors...

[DietrichandDiMaggio]

It's not really helpful when people say they've always had good skin, even as teenagers, and they only wash with soap and a cheap moisturiser and now at 60 they look 35.
Presumably because they were lucky enough to never have any skin problems, they never needed to try anything to help improve it. If you start getting spots in your early teens ,dry patches or whatever, you will obviously try to find products to improve them.
Helpful posts are when people who have not always had great skin say what has improved their own skin, whether that is to introduce or remove products, or make changes to lifestyle, as others can try those things.

[parado]

It’s a shame because I see plenty of uneducated beautiful influencers giving out wrong and frankly harmful skincare advice online. People still blindly listen just because they look amazing, and have great skin 🤷‍♀️


There are now even dermatologists on instagram / YouTube who share free skincare tips online

Dr Anjali Mahto on Instagram (she has some excellent posts debunking food shaming for good skin!)
Dr Davin Lim on YouTube and Instagram
Doctorly

[Seasaltyhair]

High strength retinol and hyaluronic acid are your friend. I’m 41 and my skin is peachy. I can go with out make up.

However if I drink booze Jesus Christ what a difference even if it’s just one night. Hideous!

No booze
Lots of water
High strength retinol ( not from face creams in shops as it’s a tiny dose)
hyaluronic acid

[Seasaltyhair]

Also retinol is really good for acne scars and blemishes - honestly I panic if I’m running out

[KnitFastDieWarm]

@Sup1979 my point is that even if i don’t do any of those things, my skin is still really good. It’s just a little bit better if i do them.

Disclaimer - I am fat and drink too much and frequently don’t sleep enough. My skin is my one really great feature and i’ll damn well be ‘smug’ about it if i want to be.

[StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind]

The only thing that seriously helped me with bad skin in my teens was going on the pill- I found dianette to be particularly good. I never had the worst acne that left scars but loads and loads of noticeable spots that I hated. It really is miserable. I don't like the bad food shaming either- but I think drinking water is important, not that it will help acne but for the opposite end of the spectrum and for dehydration lines! I always thought that acne was caused by hormonal imbalances but I'm no expert at all. I'd like to know what I can do to help my DC if they get acne or bad spots. I'm lucky in that I no longer get many and my concerns at 32 are more early signs of ageing. So I think advice on good diet/water perhaps will help more with ageing well, as opposed to something like acne which is hormonal?

[nuitdesetoiles]

My skin is dry/sensitive... Have seen a few posts about retinol.. Can anyone recommend a specific product or too harsh for dry skin?

[ChippyTea16]

I had awful skin as a teenager but really good skin now. Combination of:

• wearing moisturiser with sunscreen since I was 19
  

-using a separate night cream (I love the vitamin E range from the body shop)
-drinking 3+ litres of water a day (I’ve always drunk a lot of water even as a kid)

In my 30s I started to use night oils (again, vitamin E oil) and now I use kiehls powerful line reducing serum under moisturiser.

Agree you don’t need loads of scrubs/treatments just up your water intake and find a good moisturiser that suits your skin

[parado]

[quote KnitFastDieWarm]@Sup1979 my point is that even if i don’t do any of those things, my skin is still really good. It’s just a little bit better if i do them.

Disclaimer - I am fat and drink too much and frequently don’t sleep enough. My skin is my one really great feature and i’ll damn well be ‘smug’ about it if i want to be.[/quote]
@KnitFastDieWarm just so you know I wasn’t referring to you when I called pp’s smug about having good skin. It was aimed at posters with great skin who had also said (incorrect and unhelpful) statements like:
“I think all the crap women put on their skin doesn’t help at all. I think it’s a con.”
or
“regimes are a load of rubbish and fill the skin with a load of crap so it can't breath”

[KnitFastDieWarm]

@parado ah ok fair enough i can see how that would be annoying!

[SweetLoveOfCod]

Cutting out sugar and eating loads of fruit and veg (like in raw smoothies etc) has made the biggest difference for me (after the obvious like no cigarettes, cut down alcohol, etc.)

One thing to bear in mind with the replies here is that if you’ve got awkward skin then what works for people with ‘easy’ skin might not work for you. I’ve got a friend who’s always had that normal type, smooth, poreless skin since we were teenagers, and because her skin is so undemanding and looks good she doesn’t bother much with it – she can use bubble bath and lard and it just looks the same. However if I did the same I’d look like I’d been homeless for a decade. So if someone’s got naturally good skin, bear in mind their skincare routine might be a result of their skin type rather than vice versa!

[BarryWhiteIsMyBrother]

I always take make up off when I wear any

I remove it with coconut oil

I moisturise with a home made blend of olive oil and beeswax

Sometimes I play around with some products by The Ordinary

I put factor 50 sunscreen on my face every morning even if I'm not going out.

[DietrichandDiMaggio]

@Seasaltyhair What retinol product do you use?

[Gwenhwyfar]

@carlaCox

I think all the crap women put on their skin doesn’t help at all. I think it’s a con.

I'd also agree with this.

Id totally disagree. It may be that Bluntness has good skin genetically so doesn't need anything, but my dry skin would be much, much worse if I didn't moisturise.
I've never had results with Codliver Oil, Evening Primrose or Omega 3 capsules.