Turning 30, help me take proper care of my skin!

[hentheeighth]

As the title says, I'm turning 30 this week and so far in life have been pretty rubbish at maintaining a proper skincare routine. I have a toddler and find myself rushing out of the door in the morning and collapsing into bed at night but really want to start taking some time to look after my skin before it's too late! It's OK at the moment but the odd line setting in and the obvious side effects of poor sleep...

Can anyone suggest a simple routine and products to get me started? Or inspire me by telling me how proper skincare changed their lives?!

I don't really want to be faffing with 10 steps morning and night, but don't mind spending a few £ on good quality products if they're worth it!

The most basic I can think of is:

AM:
Cleanse any will do
Moisturise any cheap will do
Separate SPF of at least 30+ choose non-comedogenic to avoid spots

This is every single morning even if it's not sunny.

PM:
Cleanse (twice if wore make up)
Moisturise

once or twice a week you could use a mask.

Drink a lot of water, cut down on alcohol and sugar, sleep as much as you can (hard with DC I know!)

The ordinary can suggest acids and serums for you depending on your skin concerns:
theordinary.com/en-gb/skincare-regimen-builder.html

That's brilliant @HelloGooodBye thanks so much. Definitely need to get in the habit of SPF. Do you know if there's an advantage to having a separate one rather than moisturiser with added SPF?

Hoping I will be grateful for it by the time I'm 40!

Best tip, whatever you decide to use, do it when you are not rushing around/ too tired to do it. That might mean your morning skincare happens as soon as you get up and the night time might happen while you are watching your toddler in the bath.

Good shout @Theoldwoman ! Might stop leaving it till bedtime!

@HelloGooodBye has it.
We need far fewer products than companies would have us think.

We need clean skin (cleanser goes down the sink so no need to spend for the time it sits on the skin) Make sure if you have make up on you remove that first.

We need hydrated skin.

We need SPF separate from moisturizer and makeup if possible.

Other things to consider introducing:

A vitamin C in the morning (anti-oxidant and anti-pollution) will make your skin glow.
A retinol/vitamin A in the evening.

An acid toner (glycolic for dry/ageing, salicylic for oily)

Have always been told I have good skin and my routine is minimal (but constant... never ever skip washing and moisturising your face).

The only things I would add to the above is an eye cream (patted around eyes with your ring finger) and a collagen supplement (more important when you get older but a real game changer for me).

This is my current routine

AM Garnier vitamin C serum followed by Garnier SPF 50 then make up ( I have naturally oily skin so don't moisturise during the day)

PM I use makeup wipes to remove make up and then just use a good old flannel and water. It's a gentle way to exfoliate as I then follow with my Skin+Me treatment which contains Tretinoin, niacinamide and azelaic acid. (It's important not to use harsh scrubs or acids when using Tretinoin or a retinol). About twice a week I take a break from my skin+me and slug my skin with a really thick layer of cerave.

The main things to do are SPF, Vitamin C and a retinol or Tretinoin- a stronger retinol you can only get on prescription in the UK, which is why I use Skin+Me. You can get a month free just £3.50 p&p if you use my link:

www.skinandme.com/?promocode=LAURENS5YP3

Most straight forward I do (early 30s)

Morning
Wash with water

Vit c serum (Medik8 £££ or La Roche Posay ££ or Revolution £)

Spf (altruist face fluid very cheap)

Evening
Cleaning balm or oil

Face wash

Tret - increases cell turnover so your skin looks boosted

Moisturiser

If you want Tret you can use Dermatica or Skin and Me
If you want to try I have a discount code
www.dermatica.co.uk/referrer/Y2K0NE

I started Tret around 28 I think

Can I ask which collagen supplement you use? I'm looking into starting to take one but don't know where to begin!

These suggestions are brilliant, thanks everyone - a few things to add to my Christmas list....!

Separate SPF because moisturisers are supposed to sink into your skin but SPF needs to sit on your skin. I forgot to say check that it has 5 stars for UVA and UVB sunrays. Not all SPF's have this.

Another reason is that SPF in moisturiser is simply not enough to provide adequate protection. It gets too diluted and for you to have adequate amount on your skin of SPF you would need a lot more moisturiser and I think most people don't like that greasy feeling on their skin sort of like when you have too much cream on your hands that you keep trying to rub in but then give up and wipe off :)

I love a jade roller or gua sha as well. It's so nice giving your face a massage. It helps depuff my face. I'm a huge fan of Lisa Eldridge and watch her videos on YouTube and she swears by face massage. Her mother did it and has beautiful skin, according to Lisa.

If I were you, I would spend the most amount on a decent facial SPF of 30+ as if you like it you are likely to use it daily. Cheap ones can leave a cast, cause pimples or have a strong smell.
Of course don't forget your hands, neck and decolte area with the spf.

This explains so much thank you! Like the sound of face massage too..

I'm an oldie. One of the people with the best skin that I know is a doctor, about the same age as me. She's a natural light blonde with pale delicate skin. Years and years ago she told me that all we need to wash our face is cool/warm water, with nothing added. If our skin is dry, then afterwards apply a good-quality moisturiser with SPF.

I have sensitive 'Celtic' skin. In my experience, my doctor friend was 100% correct. Doing as little as possible - just a quick splsh of warm water - has kept my skin healthy for dcades.

Of course, make-up complicates the issue (and so often does not look good, IMHO), but I think that the principle still applies - leave your skin alone to work as nature intended and give it the beat chance of staying healthy, as much as you can.

The people sharing dermatica/skin and me links seem to have forgotten to tell you they get a £ bonus if you sign up using their link.

What a good thread! I'm doing minimal skin care. I shower in the morning and so kinda wash my face. In the evening a flannel wash. And moisturiser morning and evening. I've never used SPF every day, I didn't realise we'd need it? (I'm from another country originally and never heard that there recommended despite it being hotter). Something for me to look into.
My skin has definitely suffered with a baby and a toddler. Less time for self care and lack of sleep and hormones. So I do want to improve it.

Any recommendations for a nice under eye product?

I don't really use make up besides some mascara and eye shadow. Sometimes some lipstick.

@PAFMO
Yes apologies you're right to flag this but I do share lots of skincare advice across a few usernames and never products I don't love myself

Oh also any recommendations for a good night cream?

If you want a rich hydrating cream astral and nivea, I have dry skin and actually use pure shea butter with some vaseline over. But I realise not everyone likes this.
My favourite mid range moisturisers are La Roche Posay in the blue and white tube and Naturium Ceramide cream

Very similar to you - 30 with a toddler and started to notice fine lines creeping in. Someone recommended Beauty Pie to me so I switched to this routine in July:

Morning:
Cleanse (I use the Body Shop camomile butter cleanser)
Beauty Pie Niacinamide brightening drops
Beauty Pie retinol eye serum
Beauty Pie retinol serum
Beauty Pie spf 50

Evening:
Cleanse
Tone - currently using Soap and Glory In The Glow How - I use any glycolic toner as I typically have dry skin
BP retinol eye serum
BP retinol serum
BP retinol night moisturiser with vitamin c

I can honestly say my skin has never looked better and almost all my lines have reduced/disappeared - the Beauty Pie products are really, really reasonably priced too. The only thing I'm looking to add now is a collagen supplement but I haven't got round to doing my research on that yet!

@MarceyMc
Can i ask why you use the Retinol in the morning? It's broken down by the sun so you might be better just doing it at night 🙏

@scoscottishnames thank you that's encouraging, I don't wear much makeup during the week so hoping that'll work in my favour!

Thanks so much, glad it's not just me! Seems a few on here suggesting collagen supplements so definitely something to look into I think!

Sounds like we are in a similar boat and think this thread has convinced me on the need for SPF. I don't wear much makeup either but a friend just gave me some Brighten-i eye cream so giving that a try at the moment!

Hi, I use quite a few products from Facetheory and would recommend. There's a section on the website that helps you build your routine, so you can make it as simple or complicated as you like. I'll try and link it for you. It can be quite overwhelming starting a skincare routine! I love it though and as someone said above doing it when you're not too tired makes a difference! 😁
Skin care routine

Sunblock every day (don't forget to do your toes if you are a sandals wearer, mine look like cocktail sausages after 25 years of flip flops) and avoid motherhood. This is based on my observation of my older sisters and my friends.