What's the best thing you did for your skin?

[wintertime6]

I'm in my 40's and my skin is awful. Really red and blotchy and sensitive. It hasn't always been like that but I don't really remember when it got so bad.

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations of products that have worked for them. Not sure if I should be investing in a good SPF, oils, exfoliation, cleanser etc? I've been guilty of drinking a bit too much wine and not drinking enough water, and I'm trying to rectify that and hoping that will help too.

Don't want to spend lots of money but happy to invest in one or two products if they might make a difference.

Thanks, lots of really great advice. Think the first thing I'm going to do is purchase an SPF. Any recommendations of products?

The best thing I ever did for my sensitive and spotty skin was giving up the facewash and using a cream cleanser. Not putting water on my face has made the world of difference. Lancôme do a lovely one and No7. do a decent one if you're on a budget.

• SPF 40 everyday (I use Clinique Cityblock, it’s great)
• 2 litres of water a day
• loads of fruit and veg
• plenty of oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
• moisturise in the morning and before bed religiously
• I recently started using Clarins double-serum and my skin looks fab

Mine was like this I used Avene skincare range, upped my water in take and tried to eat healthier increasing fruit and vegetables

Exercise, cutting down drinking, eating oily fish and olive oil, decent nights sleep. Facial oil, nice stuff that smelled nice to encourage me to us it.

Definitely a cream cleanser, a serum (I keep eyeing up Dr Barbara Sturm) I’m currently using an ARK one I got in the sale.
Pai Rosehip oil is nice or Boots Botanics Cannabis oil.

SPF is a bit of a minefield, especially for sensitive skin, and mineral ones are probably better for sensitive. Avene do two, tinted and untinted. The Clinique city block I think is mineral. Heliocare mineral. Clinique do a specific mineral one but the bottle is tiny. The Inkey List does a cheaper one but it's harder to rub in and only comes in spf30.

Chemical ones are La Roche Posay for sensitive skin, I think it's called hydrating or something like that now. Also the Shaka fluid. Frezyderm velvet, Biore watery essence. Heliocare, Vichy, Avene and Eucerin all do chemical ones too, I'm not sure which ones would be best for sensitive skin. I saw a Nivea one while looking through Boots online the other day that looked ok.

You need to be protected from UVA as well as UVB, and you want high protection but without a heavy sticky layer on your skin. It's not easy.

The mineral ones can leave a white cast which is ok if you wear make-up but I don't, but the Heliocare and Inkey List are ok for me as they are slightly tinted.

SPF 50 from March to October since l was 18, l am very pale, and have sensitive skin that dehydrates fast, but now at over 50 l have really good skin due to the protection, it is never to late to start.
Also little alcohol, plenty of vegetables, no smoking.
Cleanse make up off every night, put moisturiser on without fail.

Also don't underestimate treating your skin really gently and only using gentle cleansers. Never soap, and foaming washes aren't great. No essential oils or fragrance. Keep your shampoo away from your face and use lukewarm water only. There's a good fact sheet on repairing your skin barrier on the fantastic threads, and the posters are really knowledgeable.

Dermalogica here, although I only use cleanser at night.

Loads of water.

Cutting massively back on booze.

All so boring, all really work 😭

Pregnancy (unhelpful, sorry)

Sunscreen 50, properly applied. Nivea soft. Hat. Sunglasses.

The last two are not sniggered at in Australia, at any time of the year, though I know the sunnies outside summer have a pretentious aura in the UK.

I am 65 + so you may want to ignore this, without the MN diagram of my wrinkles. :o

I make my own cleansing oil. You can google which oils will work for your skin, mine is mostly olive oil, I add in other oils depending on the season. If you cleanse with oils you may not even need moisturiser but I use a different oil as a moisturiser. My skin is so much better for it.

Thanks everyone. I've just ordered the Clinique city block and the Avene cream cleanser. And I'm logging my water intake on my Fitbit app to try and remind me to keep my water intake up. Hoping that this will help my skin a bit!

Very low-carbing. No sugar makes a huge difference to my skin (and the overall shape of my face).

I use the Ordinary AHA + BHA peeling solution once a week.

Well done, OP. It's all part of looking after yourself as a person.

@ShouldHaveCouldHaveWouldHave

Definitely a cream cleanser, a serum (I keep eyeing up Dr Barbara Sturm) I’m currently using an ARK one I got in the sale. Pai Rosehip oil is nice or Boots Botanics Cannabis oil.

I got this serum in my beauty advent calander. I thought it's rubbish! I'm a huge fan of the espa serum, I always go back to it.

I really think it's trial and error. Whenever these threads come up, some people swear by coconut oil and a bar of soap. For others they layer a lot of products. For me my skin only started really glowing when I invested in good products. I've always drunk a lot of water and my skin was always OK but never glowing.

I find an acid exfoliate and a vit c make a lot of difference but I'd get very gentle about introducing products and get the small sample sizes where you can in case no good.

Oh really @doadeer. The Barbara Strum? I’m looking at the Calming one, it got a great review in Cosmopolitan and that’s what was swaying me

@ShouldHaveCouldHaveWouldHave

Oh really *@doadeer*. The Barbara Strum? I’m looking at the Calming one, it got a great review in Cosmopolitan and that’s what was swaying me

Oh sorry it wasn't the calming one it's the anti pollution one I had in space nk calendar. Definately wouldn't recommend that one.

I'm a bit suspicious of Barbara Sturm. I notice it's used by a lot of celebrities on those Vogue celeb skincare videos, and wonder if the high prices and the celebrity endorsements are just a way of creating a luxury hype around the brand. Her hylauronic acid is £235. I just don't think a hyaluronic acid serum is ever worth more than £25.

@Frequentflier can you get it on prescription in the Uk do you know??

I've struggled with extremely sensitive, blotchy skin all my life. It's taken me 35 years to get it under control properly to the point I'm glowing and can actually go without makeup if I want now. My routine is slug of almond oil in the bath to wash face and remove makeup with microfiber flannel v.gently. splash of simple sensitive skin toner cerave facial moisturiser aveeno with an added drop of the rip off bio oil (I react to the branded one!) leave to sink in for a few mins. nivea q10 eye cream around eyes and I put a bit further down on my cheeks *top it all with v.thin layer of aveeno dry healing balm, or vaseline, or both. It sounds like I'd be an oil slick after this but my skin slurps it all in. My skin barrier is AWFUL (always has been, I was never soft even as a child!) so I really need it!

[quote Glitterandglow]@Frequentflier can you get it on prescription in the Uk do you know??[/quote]
Yes, From Dermatica or Skin and Me which work on a monthly subscription basis. Both quite new to the market but gaining popularity fast.

Giving up the booze for me too. I gave up wine first and that made the biggest difference, but giving up beer a year later also helped.

I like lush ultrabland for cleansing - it’s very gentle and very good.

I was very red and very spotty - now clear.