Skincare for 40 year old - looking for advice from knowledgeable enthusiasts

[Marvelina]

Is there anything I could do to improve the following:

AM
Vitamin c serum
La Roche posay sensitive moisturiser
Separate spf

PM
hyaluronic acid
Aveeno baby cream

Skin is normal, bit oily on forehead. My problem area is my jawline where I get spots due to ingrowing hairs. Fabulous. I've noticed my pores on my cheeks are more visible than they used to be too.

This is such a rabbit hole, would appreciate any tips 

My spotty chin and I are just giving this a quick Saturday bump

Hi Marvelina. Have you tried including any acids or a retinol product in your routine? What do you do for exfoliation?

Bless you for replying! I have some glycolic face pads from nip & fab and I have bought their retinol night cream but haven't used it yet because I have no idea how to use retinol

The only thing I do for exfoliation is I use the st Ives apricot scrub on my chin to try to help the ingrown hair situation

Use the pads for a few days, morning and then add the retinol at night. Only a few times a week, skipping days, to start, building up to 4 times as you're in your 40s. Easy way to remember. I also use an oil and cicaplast is a great barrier cream for use to be extra kind to your skin when starting acids and retinol. I would use oil at night and Vit C after HA in AM maybe? But nothing wrong at all with current routine.

No to St Ives, too harsh.

Thanks @HeyGirlHeyBoy - but how do I sort the chin/hair situation without a strong exfoliant like st Ives? Will start the retinol!

Start the pads first Inc on chin.. See how it goes. Dermalogica microfoliant if you feel you need to very gently scrub! You're welcome. Love all this stuff! I'm sitting covered in all my various potions now

Maybe an acid exfoliant - I just got the ordinary AHA BHA one which I like. Congested skin here too. I also just ordered their niacinamide which I'm going to try on chin and nose.

Agree with PPs that no skincare expert would recommend St Ives. Glycolic acid should be sufficient on ingrown hairs.

I wouldn't be too scared by an over the counter retinol, just start slow in case of any dryness.

Thanks all for this advice, it's so helpful in navigating the minefield. And who knew about St Ives?!?

Just one q: can I use the glycolic on the chin every day?

I can't because I am sensitive. I use lactic which is gentler, every second day. Niacinamide a good idea also. Try the glycolic slowly and see what you think.

Have you looked at the fantastic skincare threads on here, OP?

@Apileofballyhoo I have looked at some but I find it all very very confusing, especially as I'm not sure where my skin fits in if that makes sense! There are just a lot of products doing different things! If you can recommend a thread I should look at I will definitely revisit :-)

Sorry another q @HeyGirlHeyBoy ! When you say oil what do you mean? Just any face oil? Thank you so much for this advice

Yes. Some I have tried and liked are inkey list squalane oil, sanctuary facial oil and my favourite ren facial oil.

Thanks for recommending, I'll look all of those up. Basically, I'm just doing everything you tell me

I found Paula’s Choice BHa liquid exfoliant worked really well on my mid life spots. Used to use every morning after cleansing.

Most people on the skin care threads have a basic routine like this.

AM.

Cleanse with gentle water based cleanser or just massage with warm water (not hot).

Vitamin C Serum (the one every one was using is no longer available so there's a hunt on for a new reasonably priced one)

Moisturiser

SPF (sufficient quantity - I go with 2.5 ml for face and neck)

PM

Double cleanse. First using an oil or balm cleanser to dissolve makeup (if any) and SPF, second using a gentle water based cleanser to make sure all the oil and impurities are gone.

A retinoid or an exfoliating acid.

Moisturiser.

Retinoids include retinol, retinal and tretinoin (prescription only) and are forms of vitamin A. Anti-aging. Irritating and increase skin sensitivity to UV light.

Exfoliating acids (AHA, BHA and PHA) help get rid of old skin cells. Can be irritating and also increase sensitivity to UV light. AHAs are glycolic and lactic, BHA is salicylic and PHA normally called PHA. Glycolic is the most harsh.

Vitamin C - L- ascorbic acid in percentages of 10 or above. Improves collagen production, pigmentation, and glow. Unstable and can cause irritation and oxidise on your skin.

Other products - niacinamide, and lately tranexamic acid. The latter is for pigmentation. The former is vitamin b3 and is good for skin health, balancing oil production, and maybe anti-aging properties.

Most of the chat on the skincare threads are which products are a combination of the best value and actually work without being too harsh and irritating.

CeraVe cleansers and moisturisers are popular as inexpensive products that do the job nicely. Avene for sensitive skin and La Roche Posay Toleraine are a bit more expensive but not outrageous.

Paula's choice is good for BHA - the one mentioned above, skin perfecting liquid.

Medik8 is good for retinol and retinal and Avene also do a retinal. La Roche Posay do Redermic and there's a product from Indeed Labs called resurface that's quite good (it contains peptides - another anti-aging ingredient which may or may not do much but do cause increased hair health for me which is not what I want on my face). Tretinoin is available from online dermatology services Dermatica and Skin and Me.

It's best to introduce new products at least 2 months or so apart. Impossible to tell what is doing you good or causing harm if you start them together, and there's more chance of causing irritation.

The aim is to get your skin into balance and keep it there. Usually this is by by using the gentlest of cleansers and following with moisturiser with a possible hydrating serum step (your hyaluronic acid above) before the moisturiser. People might have 2 or 3 different moisturisers for times their skin is drier, more sensitive or it's winter. Or use an oil in addition to moisturiser. Your skin naturally has its own barrier to keep it happy and the aim is to help it rather than make it work harder (as far as I can figure out the only thing it can do is produce more oil). The balance of micro organisms on your skin is another thing not to be messed with. Skin is also at a certain pH.

Soap, shower gel, face washes (depends on what's in them) scrubs can all have a disruptive effect on your skin barrier.

My skin cleared right up when I started cleaning it properly.

@Apileofballyhoo wow, thank you so much for compiling this!

Is it ok to use glycolic acid every night? I see nip & fab do a glycolic scrub and am wondering if I could use that AM on the chin of hell and then one of the pads after cleansing at night

I should have said I don't use an oil cleanser myself - the SPF I use is light and it's a mineral based one that sits on my skin (Heliocare mineral) and I don't wear make-up so I don't feel it's necessary. I cleanse twice with Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser. I rinse it off with water rather than wiping it off. A soft flannel or muslin cloth will provide a tiny bit of physical exfoliation. I don't do this either but I used to. My skin is more sensitive than it used to be.

CeraVe hydrating cleanser stings my face but it's popular and very good value. Their cream to foam is quite good and doesn't sting me but I think it's too drying for me. I got it free with an order from some place. I use it the very odd time, it's got a bit of salicylic acid in it. In general I can't see the point of cleansers with stuff in them, they're not on your face very long and you're washing them down the sink or at least trying to remove them as much as possible so it seems like a complete waste!

I use medik8 retinol and I'll probably switch to medik8 retinal when I've used that up. To give you an idea of cost, I got 2 free samples before Christmas of 3ml bottles and I use it every second night (face and neck) and they aren't used up yet. The big bottle is 15 ml I think and I'd imagine it will last at least 4 months.

Vitamin C - the ordinary stung my face and left a sensitive patch on one cheek. Garden of wisdom was ok but they say not to use it in the morning so I don't think it's the most stable. Timeless is the one that is no longer available. Skinceuticals is the best you can get but it costs an enormous amount of money and I've never tried it. Vichy do one, I haven't tried it either.

Vichy mineral 89 is popular as a hydrating hyaluronic serum. I didn't notice any great difference in my skin using it. My house is very dry and warm and there's a theory that a dry atmosphere might cause HA to draw water out of your skin if there's not much in the air to draw in - don't know if there's any truth in that. Superdrug have a pure serum or something but I'm in Ireland and I can't try it.

I use CeraVe moisturising lotion in the big bottle. I also have the PM face cream, which has niacinamide in it. I don't find it hugely moisturising though. I have La Roche Posay Cicaplast which I use on top at night if I have any dryness or sensitivity. I might try the CeraVe moisturising cream as I think my forehead needs a bit of a heavier moisturiser.

At the moment that's all I use though I got a gift of Prai neck cream at Christmas so sometimes I bung some of that on top at night. Retinol does cause my neck to get drier. The Prai stuff pills a bit under my sunscreen if I use it in the morning.

I did use the Paula's choice BHA for a while but I don't really get breakouts anymore. I might start using a gentle PHA when I get around to it and I'm sure my skin is happy with my retinol. The derm subscription services don't go to Ireland so tretinoin is out unless I buy it online from a Spanish pharmacy or go to a dermatologist here.

That's me and what suits me mightn't suit others.

I'm not sure what you mean by spots caused by ingrown hairs on your jaw line.

Niacinamide is supposed to help with pores, and I've also seen people saying larger pores are a sign of dehydrated skin.

The fact sheets that the OP, botemp, has done at the start of the fantastic skincare threads are brilliant.

I wouldn't use the glycolic every day. Too harsh. And I wouldn't use start the retinol until you're used to the glycolic - a couple of months at least. I don't know what's in that particular one or its strength.

The exfoliation should help with spots but over doing it could make your skin produce even more oil if it feels under pressure. It's that balance again.

Definitely no to the glycolic scrub. I'd stick with the pads every second night at most and see if you see an improvement. Really you should only introduce one new product at a time and wait a couple of months to see if there are any improvements or irritation.

CeraVe have a salicylic acid cleanser but it might be overkill. The BHA/salicylic acid is oil soluble so it has the ability to dissolve oil that's blocking pores as well as exfoliating. It is more gentle too.

The whole thing is really trial and error and it's very overwhelming. Also very tempting to throw lots of stuff at your skin but this can be a disaster.

You haven't said what you're doing for cleanser.

This is fantastic, thanks. I hear you re the new products. All I do for cleanser is wash my makeup off with boots foaming tea tree oil! I tried the cerave foaming cleanser but I got a terrible dermatitis attack afterwards. I don't know if it was related to the Cerave but it was enough to put me off it!