Shit skin advice - give me a routine please

[doozledog]

So i will start by saying dont tell me to go on CH iv6e tryed the 35 step routine and it does nothing for me.

Back story, always had combi skin but dryer in winter. Never spotty apart from the odd one around my period.

Ive had an extremely stressful 5 months Anyway...... my skin is awful, extremely spotty,massive spots,all around my chin,side if mouth and nose.

Ive stripped my routine right back, at the moment it is as follows.

Morning-
Wash with superdrug radiance wash or garnier wash for spots.
Eye cream
Superdrug radiance day cream

Evening
Double cleans with elemis balm and radiance wash
Eye cream
Skin and me tret with niamacide
Radiance night cream.

I know it's not very high end but its all i can do atm. I'm thinking of mixing the tret and night cream mixed as its making my skin abit sore. I did used to add vit c in the morning and HA in the evening but ive stooped and ive also stopped putting moisturiser on my chin.

How long have you been using skin&me? It made the most massive difference to my skin but did take about 5/6 months to see drastic changes. A book called 'skincare: the new edit' by Caroline Hirons is also really good for figuring out how best to look after your skin.

I used to have skin like yours, but now it’s near perfect, and I put that down to tret. Though I use dermatica. Started seeing a difference at 2-3 months and it just keeps getting better. If you have skin&me then just email them and ask. They can adjust the prescription.

I swore by Liz Earle cleanse and polish- Aldi do a rip off version. I also bought tea tree oil and would dab a cotton wool ball with Liz Earle cleanser and a drop of oil and go over my face, then splash with water.
Any non comedogenic moisturiser during the day, none at night or just a dab of eye gel.
Drank lots of water, cut right back on greasy foods, curries, crisps. I would be wary of using too many creams, lotions and potions etc. You could waste a lot of money trying this and that which may not work for you…..

You could try your G.P and see if there are any creams/gels or medication you can try.

Boots have a skin scanning service, it is £65 (plus cost of any treatments if you buy them) you get advice from a dermatologist and a GP. Not sure if this is specifically acne related though. Says any skin condition but then goes on about moles, eczema etc Could look into it first without paying perhaps!

Good luck.

I would pare everything back. Stick to a plain, prescription retinol, a gentle foaming cleanser (like Cerave SA cleanser. It has a little bit of salicylic acid, but it’s very gentle.) I would use a hyaluronic acid-based serum and probably Cerave moisturiser.

I wouldn't say there is much wrong with your routine. Potentially if you have fragrance in your products that could be causing irritation.

The more I read of the skincare threads on here the more it's obvious we are all really different and products others rave about may not work for you. I also think, rather than spend time and money (sometimes over many years like I have), it's better to seek medical treatment, either from the GP or as PP said contact Skin and Me with your specific issues. Dermatica can add Clindamycin in (antibiotic), or Azelaic acid, maybe Skin and Me can too (if not I'd consider switching).

Your routine seems quite simple already really. You could try adding in Hyaluronic acid after cleansing. You could just need to rehydrate your skin. But bad skin isn't always caused by cleanliness/too many/lack of products. Treating the skin topically doesn't treat the root cause which is often hormonal. Have you had any tests done for PCOS or other hormonal imbalances?

I completely sympathise with you. I'm the same age as you and have PCOS and my spots are worse than when I was a teenager. The only thing thats worked for me was the pill, which I can no longer take due to stroke risk. The combination of oral and topical antibiotics like Zineryt works for a few months but not fully. I used The Ordinary face wash, The Inkey hyaluronic acid & The Ordinary Azalaic Acid & a vitamin E day cream for daytime then swap that for Weleda Skin food at night. I still get spots but not any big cystic ones anymore.

Thank's for the replys, i will add HA back into my routine. I used to have dermatica and i wish i stuck with them, my skin just seems all over the place I've got red irritated skin around my nose to mouth lines which is a new thing.

How many days a week should i use the tret?

I think it's pure stress tbh i used to have great skin.

I would absolutely pare it back. All you need is the tret plus a balm cleanser (so keep the Elemis) and a gentle face wash and a simple moisturiser. If you message Skin and Me they can recommend a routine to compliment your treatment and it’s affordable and effective.

So,
Morning,
Face wash
Eye cream
Basic moisturiser

Evening
Balm cleanser
Tret
Moisturiser

Do that sound ok? Any recommendations on Moisturiser?

Sounds good to me but after the balm cleanser in the evening do a second wash with your morning cleanser, it’s called double cleansing and makes sure your skin is free from make up/spf/daily dirt. Moisturiser you can’t go wrong with CeraVe I don’t think.

Just my opinion but I’d drop the eye cream too as I just think they’re a bit of a con but if you like it and it’s working for you crack on.

Are you wearing an SPF daily? Very important if you’re using tret.

This might not apply to you, but cutting down on refined sugar and dairy (I used to eat dairy but now don’t eat it at all for ethical reasons) changed my skin. Worth looking at diet as well as the topical products.

I do need to cut out on sugar and bread, i will reduce the dairy to see if that works.

I have to admit im really bad with spf i usualy forget to put it on! 🙄