Skincare - my heads going to explode sometime tell me what to buy!

[headache]

47yo skin is grey, tired and given up
I’m saving up for Botox (have been saying that for ages but not quite justifying it yet)

Do it was all get Cerave then on TikTok it’s oh no it’s so bad for you, now it’s oh it’s good for you, I am SO confused I need desperate help, I need a list tell me what to buy and I’ll go buy it and put it on lol

Heres what I use at the moment

am
wash with water only pat dry
use Boots Vit C serum
Boots perform and protect day cream
La Roche Posay SFP

pm
make up off with micellarwater
Cerave Hydrating Cleanser (which stings)
Dermatica (Tret, Azelic acid and Nicatinamide about 5 times a week
Boots perform and protect night cream

my skin is probably combination dry and sensitive on cheeks but visibly greasy in the mornings around my nose creases prone to blackheads, depressing this age and still not sussed skincare

I'm no expert but would say strip it right back product wise and work on improving your skin barrier

I'd try The Ordinary! It's absolutely amazing and changed my skin completely. I had very oily skin so I was reluctant to try oil based products, but I'm glad I did and it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

I currently use:

• Squalane Cleanser
• The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% High-Strength Vitamin and Mineral Blemish Formula
• The Ordinary B Oil
• The Ordinary natural moisturising factors + HA

Every morning and night. I have also just bought a peeling solution which is meant to be amazing, which you use once a week too 😊

If you go onto their website, they've got a quiz which asks you questions about your skin and it gives you results on which products you should use as your skincare routine and explains everything. Really good!

I'm not on commission and I won't even give you a referral link but look into a service called renude. There's a small fee, but you get 121 advice from a beauty therapist on an ongoing basis. It's sort of like a skin and me or dermatica but it starts with a video call and they only recommend regular beauty products (mostly brands you'd recognise). It's really, really helped me.

Your existing routine seems reasonable so it’s odd your skin is still grey and tired. Thinking this might be more about your inside. Are you drinking plenty of water? Do you drink much alcohol? Do you get enough sleep? Do you have any peri menopausal symptoms?

What’s your skin colouring? Easy to look grey and tired in winter if you’re pale. Maybe some fake tan?

I would recommend staying away from Boots as their products are tested on animals.

Your cleanser shouldn’t sting. As a PP suggested, your skin barrier probably needs repairing.

I would stop everything and just cleanse and moisturise and then build back up.

You really need a proper cleanser in the morning. Water isn’t enough. The job of your AM cleanse is to remove residue of last nights skincare. I use Cerave, but if this doesn’t work for you, look at a gentle cream cleanser - Curel is good but there are lots out there. Follow with moisturiser and spf. If you are happy with your current moisturiser use that, if you want to change look at Your Good Skin Balancing Skin Concentrate which is great for repairing your skin barrier.

PM, I would stop with the Micellar Water. It’s essentially detergent and very few people rinse it off properly. I would go for a balm cleanser. Inkey List Oat Balm Cleanser is lovely, but again there are lots out there. Follow with a good moisturiser. I use M&S Formula Sleep Cream.

Once your skin is happy with a simple routine, you can start adding other products in, one at a time and use for 3/4 weeks so you can see how it works for your skin.

First thing I would add if your skin is dry would be a hyaluronic acid after your morning cleanse. I use Hada Labo, but there are loads out there. To work properly you need to use with moisture. If you don’t it will take it from your skin and can make your skin more dry, so I follow my hyaluronic with Curel Deep Moisture Spray.

If this works for you, then add a vit C after your moisture spray. Keep adding the products you think you need, one at a time until you’re happy.

Really pay attention to the effect each new product has on your skin. It might take 6/12 months to build your new routine. Good Luck.

First of all stop watching TikTok or Insta influencers. They make up content for the sake of it

My twopenny worth Isra's follows:

In the PM get your make up off with a Micellar water

Then use a cream or oil cleanser using the hot cloth method - you might need to try a couple but you want one that doesn't leave your face feeling tight.

Use Tret but not necessary 5 times a week. On alternate days you could use a glycolic serum or other serums that target particular concerns. Or nothing.

Buffer with a moisturiser suited to your skin type

Am: whatever feels comfortable to get the residue of the nights products off.

Vitamin C serum

Moisturiser/ SPF

It's a long haul finding the right routine for your skin and no one here can assess your needs fully. It does seem overwhelming and it takes time to let products settle in and see results. At least a month to see whether a particular product is working.

Personally I wouldn't stress too much about the non actives like cleansers. They are only on your face briefly and as long as your skin feels comfortable after use, that's all you need.

I use Tret about twice a week, 3 times if I remember. That is absolutely fine for my 52 year old skin. I use Vitamin C serum every day and whatever moisturiser I have to hand. I use SPF in the summer but very little in winter as I'm indoors all the time.

I'm also lucky because genetically I've got great skin. Unfortunately we're not all dealt the same skin complexion wise. If your skin is looking grey ( do you smoke?) and you're exfoliating enough then maybe your diet needs an overhaul?

I'm also going to add that in the course of my job I see hundreds if not thousands of people a day and I can't remember the time I thought to myself ( notwithstanding heroin addicts and homeless people) "bloody hell her skin looks a bit rough!"

We're so used to seeing every flaw close up in a mirror and examining every inch for creases and lines that I think we lose sight of what is natural.

Yes I would too. Just use a gentle cleanser and some comforting moisturiser. The wash you are using is probably stinging due to everything else you're putting on it being too harsh.

These threads boggle my head, so many products.

Your skin is probably sensitive because you're using too much products.
I would stop all of them and invest in some good , simple moisturising cream ie classic Nivea.
Then start using vitamins A they are good for skin repair and nutrition plus Retinol.
Overall drink lots of water and top up on general vitamins.

I'm usually using simple Dove bar soap for cleaning my face and it works the best for me.

If you're using dermatica then they usually give recommendations of what to use. IMO you're using too many products with active ingredients.
Am
Cerave moisturiser (has ceramides)
Cerave/cetaphil spf

Evening
Use a balm cleanser
Dermatica
Cerave

Your no7 will have actives in it and along with the vitamin c it's too much!

The stinging is concerning, it does sound like you may have slightly damaged your skin barrier and I would hazard a guess at the micellar water being the culprit. It’s so harsh.
I would cut it out completely, and focus on really rich moisturizers and oils. If anything stings give it a miss. Stop any active ingredients for a week or two and then start back to your normal routine slowly but with something more gentle than the micellar water.

Good skin, hair, teeth etc are largely genetics. And diet and lifestyle. Very, very often, the use of too many products damages skin and irritates it. (Peeling is a sign of damage, surely? Why would people voluntarily do that?) Most of the currently-hyped snake oils have only existed for the past 20 years approx. People had perfectly good skin before that. As previous poster says, we're not meant to look 'glowing' or 'dewy' as in photoshopped images.

I know someone who is nearly 70. She has very fine almost transparent skin and hardly any wrinkles. She does not sunbathe. She does not wear makeup. She uses only water or very mild soap to clean her face, and a very mild (vegan) moisturiser. (She's been vegan since her teens.) Her diet is very healthy, and she does not drink or smoke. That's extreme, I know, and I know we can't all do that, but it is indicative. (Actualy, come to think of it, I know other people in their 70s with good skin, and mostly they lad healthy/moderate lifestyles, too)

I agree with other posters who suggest that OP lets her skin have a rest, so that it can 'recover' from all that she's been doing to it, and that she eats as healthily as possible at the same time. Skin has not evolved to be constantly messed around with.

Sorry for typos - laptop keyboard keeps sticking.

I'm not disagreeing with any of what you say at all and its entirely possible that the OP does need to scale everything back and reintroduce products slowly and gently.

My skin is in great nick ( largely genetics) and I can throw virtually anything at it in terms of acids, retinols etc without any adverse reactions. We're all different.

From what the OP has said she hasn't found products that work for her yet- it's not that the products she has are necessarily disrupting her skin barrier, she just needs to find the right actives ( and she will need actives if her skin is 'grey') and frequency for her skin type.

Leave your skin alone for a bit

This is what I mean lots of responses, loads contradicting each other, no wonder my head hurts

• use micellar water/ don’t use micellar water, if I don’t use it what can I use to get heavy mascara/liner off?
• ive seen Cerave both gushed about as a wonder product and slated
• the Ordinary, people claiming to be deems saying it’s awful stuff for your skin
• morning cleanse necessary/unnecessary conflicting views

ill try and also answer some questions re my grey skin, I’ve never smoked, hardly drink have always had a vegan/vegetarian diet, I am very clued up on supplements (from sources like the BMJ not TikTok). However, my sleep is erratic due to a chronic pain condition, I’m always tired maybe you can see it in my face? I started using the vitC serum as it was for brightening my skin now it’s no good?!!

so I think the plan is

• find a new more gentle cleanser
• drop the tret to x2 per week for a bit
• find a new moisturiser too

OP, were you expecting everyone who has taken the time to comment to list exactly the same products?

Everyone has different skin. No product will work the same for everyone. There is not a definitive list of products that will work for everyone. What will be a wonder product for some will cause problems for others. Some people can’t use any active ingredients on their skin, others will be able to use anything at all on their skin. We all get there by trial and error and working out what works for us as individuals.

I think the general consensus of opinion was that your skin barrier needs repairing and you should pare right back and start again slowly. I really didn’t see much contradictory advice.

There are no magic beans.

I was going to start in on the advice too (i have become skincare obsessed post-45 and taught myself - well, still teaching, it is as you have said, A LOT) then saw your later message about us all contradicting each other. So I will put a sock in it and just recommend you to a creator called Natasha B (Beauty Junky Monkey is her tag on instagram and tiktok) who is 47 with wonderful skin (doesn't use a filter) and she explains things in a way that even I can understand!!

I have revamped my skincare routine in the last six months or so since discovering her and my skin has that glow that comes so naturally in our youth! There's still plenty to improve but I can see the difference which makes me keep trying.

drop the tret to x2 per week for a bit

I'd stop it for now. Let your skin have a simple a time of it as possible.

This is why I recommended the renude service, you'll speak to a specialist who will make recommendations for you. You'll always get a mix of responses.on a general forum. I actually posted something similar a year or so ago and got some quite abrupt messages because I said I couldn't (at the time) use retinol. Anyway, good luck to you. Might be worth laying off the tret for a bit

You won’t achieve good skin with skincare alone. You need to look at your lifestyle and diet also. Genetics will determine a lot also.