Skin and Me - worth it long term?

[MardyBuns]

Hi fellow skincare addicts,

Has anyone got any experience of using Skin and Me long-term, ie over a year? Have you found it worth it and easy to stick to, or have you been tempted back to other products?

I used it for three months but stopped due to the cost (I was on mat leave). I saw some minor benefits but don’t think I used it long enough to give it a chance. I think I had low dose tret and possibly niacinamide in my prescription. Main issues are fine lines, sensitivity, and very large pores in my t-zone (horrible orange-peel skin 🤢).

I’ve got a few tubes of Indeed labs retinol to use up plus a little bit of Medik8 Crystal 3 Retinol before I consider rejoining. I’d plan to keep using a liquid lactic acid exfoliator at least twice a week skipping the daily dose on these days - is this realistic?

I love the idea of a simple streamlined routine and am sorely tempted to go back, I’m just always tempted away by new products but if I saw real results I’d obviously stick with it.

Any thoughts appreciated!

I've been on it the best part of a year and do really rate it. I wish it were a little cheaper but ultimately I get a noticeable result that i'm pleased with and I do find their customer service so good- I've asked for things like formula changes (increase or decrease etc) and they've always done it immediately so I'm yet to waste anything. When I found the strength too high and so couldn't use the doser they sent another with a lower % free of charge.

I just get on well with it, really like the doser and the set amount concept. I recently tried their new cleanser and moisturiser add-on as a free trial and whilst I thought it was ok I certainly think it's hugely overpriced at an extra £30 a month (making it at least £50 in total including the doser). They were fine but nothing special and my usual products are both cheaper and better. The doser is fab though and my skin looks so much better than this time last year.

I think they generally advise not using other active ingredients while you use it, especially if you're using tretinoin. Personally I would just speak with them to tailor the doser to what it is you need and use it daily rather than chop and change but obviously that's up to you.

If you did want to skip a few days a week I recommend working out the exact date you would need a new doser rather than having it delivered monthly on a loop- you can change the delivery date and push it forward on your account settings. That way you'd probably save a little over the course of the year.

My referral code if anyone's interested (you get your 1st and 5th doser for £3.50, I get some account credit which would be bloody lovely)

www.skinandme.com/?promocode=JOANNAC5X4C

Over 2 years for me and I skip days to use an acid toner

I use Dermatica which is similar - it's really a long game with Tret, even many don't see results after 3 months. How long does a tube last you? I always get more than 4 weeks more like 5/6.

You can exfoliate on off days but I'd make sure your skin is well adjusted. I was heavy handed on the actives earlier in year and damaged my skin barrier and had to have 2 weeks off everything. So just go easy!

I use skin and me and acid exfoliators daily (eg glycolic, lactic or paulas choice salycilyc acid)
Would you not advise this?

Thanks all, some good advice here.

I’d really like to streamline my routine and use as few products as possible so I think I will rejoin once I’ve used up my current actives.

Since I had kids I’ve developed a real issue with sensitivity to what I suspect is a preservative or fragrance - retinoids and acids have been fine, it’s daily spf combined with vit C and/or moisturiser that’s the issue, I just can’t layer products like I used to. Don’t know if anyone else has had this. Something can be fine on me at night but in the daytime cause stinging and burning. Reducing the number of things I use might be a good start, and maybe a break from the acids.

Seems like a few users have been S&M customers for a while, which is great.

I dont get why people use subscriptions when you can just get Retirides from the Spanish pharmacy for so much cheaper? Plus Dermatica tell you to use tret every night from the start, which seems really bad advice. I have been using 0.025 for a year now and I can still only really go every other night, and I built up to that. Tretinoin is something to use really long term and I just feel like a subscription isn't going to fulfil that, especially when you will probably have some left over at the end of each month, but they tell you it goes out of date after a month (it doesn't). Its just wasted product.

I use it past the date as I figure it's fine. Used OTC Spanish tret before but skin and me just seems to work better for my skin

Why would you be tempted to use other , less effective products ?

Tret is the most researched thing you can use with proven effects

Also you CAN use other actives at your own risk .

I've been using tret 3+ years and use bha and aha from time to time .

You shouldn't need them regularly though , tret should suffice

You should not need to be using other exfoliation regularly .

Daily is way too much - your poor barrier !

I've been using tretinoin for (I think) 7 years now, so before Skin & Me and Dermatica were options. It's definitely worth it for me. I'm more or less unlined and my skin has a very smooth uniform texture with that tret glow. The evidence is there for tretinoin's efficacy and that's good enough for me. I was looking at an ad for a Chanel serum recently, £100 and the main ingredient is extract of camellia flower. And then small amounts of lactic acid and peptides. I'm sure it smells wonderful and has a gorgeous texture but what's it really going to do?

I use 0.1 strength these days but have always just used it every second or third night.

It's because I follow Caroline Hirons... I wish I was rich enough to just have a dermatologist tell me exactly what to use!

So what would you use on your non treat nights? Wondering if I should ditch skin and me, get it from a pharmacy and use it less...

Marking place for the advice!

@Classica do you mind me asking where you get your tret from?

I’ve been using Dermatica for 2 months. There’s a visible improvement in terms of pigmentation and my skin is much softer. I never had many wrinkles to begin with (36) but I hope they’ll stay away. I plan to use it long term. It’s expensive, but not as bad as actual procedures like Botox, and a big benefit is that I don’t need to think about what to put on my face.