Skincare - never done it. How do I do it?

[Whirlywiccan]

Hi, I'm turning 40 in August and thought it was about time I started taking care of my skin.

All my life I've just washed with whatever soap (or handsoap!) was in the bathroom and barely moisturised so I need a complete overhaul!

Please treat me as though I'm freshly down from Mars and trying to learn how to be a human, as I have no clue about lotions and potions!

My skin:

Very pale, fairly freckly, very dry on forehead, cheeks and chin, quite oily feeling on my nose.

Very uneven looking skintone - dull, some lines around my nose/eye area and frown lines, brownish freckle looking patches, umm...oh, my nose and cheeks are permanently dark pink and I just can't cover it up with foundation! Tried all sorts and foundation just kind of looks scaley (hard to explain!) and if anything, makes the redness look worse.

Unsure if it could be rosacea as no spots or anything, but ever since my early 20s my nose/cheeks/chin have always randomly turned a really dark reddish-purple at the slightest change in temperature, along with a really hot, flushed feeling over my nose/cheeks - I can feel it happening now slightly, just thinking about it! Wearing foundation seems to intensify that hot feeling.

So. Please tell me where to start with regards to skincare routine...also can you go and get skincare/foundation type anywhere now, like boots, or is that not a thing anymore?

Thanks all!

Ps - added a couple of photos if they work. The first one show the pinkish parts where the redness is usually worst along with over my entire nose and I also added a photo so you see the 'texture' of my skin, which is kind of crepe papery at the sides of my mouth and chin area and obviously all the lines :( bear in mind I'm wearing foundation in these photos....

I don't usually wear make up and my morning routine, wash with water, I use one of those mini cloths, followed by an essence/toner, then a hyaluronic acid serum and then a moisturiser, with sunscreen. If I'm out all day I'll also use a factor 50 sunscreen.

You absolutely go to boots and pick stuff up. Quite a lot of people will suggest expensive brands but it's far cheaper to start at the cheapest end and then work your way up on price

I suggest you follow James Welsh on YouTube he's not afraid to say if something is rubbish.

Hi OP,

I'm late 30s with combination skin. The products I'd recommend are:

Cerave hydrating cleanser
Byoma gel moisturiser
MooGoo vitamin c serum (I usually use this in the evening but think you can use it AM too)
Beauty of Joseon spf

I've started using a retinol serum recently - Indeed Labs retinol reface - which I like. I'd only use retinol if using spf though

Hello skin care twin!

I posted a couple of weeks ago with similar face care regime, and got some suggestions about moisturizer.
So, as a first step, I am now continuing to wash with soap in the mornings, and have got some very light moisturizer gel (a Neutrogena one).
I'm also washing at night with plain water.

Baby steps! I know if I add 17 things in at one time, I'll never stick to it!

I have a lovely lady I go to for facials who has given me a definitive list of what to do because I'm rubbish!

Skin needs:
To be clean
To by hydrated
To be protected from the sun.

If you want to start a "routine" you could do worse than watch Nadine Baggott's 5 ingredients video.

A cleanser- anyone you like at any price that's good for you. Goes down the sink, no point spending.

A moisturizer - again, doesn't need to be spendy.

An SPF50.

Then, if you want to start anti-ageing card, a vitamin C in the morning, a retinoid at night.

But start with the first 3. And the video.

Agree with the posters saying start simple. You shouldn’t introduce lots of new products at once in case your skin reacts and you won’t know which product caused it.

AM - I would start with a hydrating cleanser. Cerave hydrating cleanser is very good and cheap. The main job of your morning cleanser is to remove your PM skincare. Then I would moisturise. Byoma Moisture Gel is great for repairing and maintaining your skin barrier, then I would finish with a good face SPF50. I use La Roche Posay, but the new Ambre Solaire one is very good and usually on offer in Boots.

PM - I use a balm cleanser to remove make
up. Either The Ordinary Squalane cleanser or The Inkey List Oat Balm Cleanser, then a moisturiser. Your day time one will be fine to start with.

Once you have introduced those steps, come back and ask for more advice. Next steps would be to maybe introduce a hyaluronic acid for hydration and a vitamin c for brightening.

Modern skincare is very good and there are some amazing, affordable brands out there. You really don’t need to spend lots on skincare to get good results.

Oof. Ok, lots to get my head around. Thanks all!

I’d stop using soap, that will be drying out your skin and potentially leading to the redness. Get a nice gentle cleanser, a good moisturiser and an SPF50 for daily use.

I had a skincare consultation at a local place and they were brilliant and really sensible, basically said get the basics right (cleanse and SPF moisturiser) and no need to buy expensive products if you're not going to use them.

I have always preferred a wet face wash and have fairly oily/combo skin so I alternate between Aveda skin botanicals gel which is £ but smells lovely and lasts ages (as you only seem to need a small squidge and it goes a long way) or the hot cloth one... I can't now remember the name (it's a woman's name) but then discovered the Aldi hot cloth ingredients are identical bar no beeswax (as it's vegan). Love that.

Then I usually use no 7 spf moisturiser in the morning and various no 7 night creams at night. Recently started using retinol sometimes at night (again no 7) but building up slowly.

I added in a vit c Aldi toner recently as well when I remember.

It is simple and fairly inexpensive, aiming for consistency and daily rather than anything complicated that I won't stick to

Liz Earle, that's the hot cloth cleanser. But I have now loaded up on the Aldi fake one instead.

To wash:

• This cheap Liz Earle dupe cleanser, both night and day
• Aveda for posh! Also like this one best in the shower

Aldi vit c toner - To tone when I remember (currently out of stock but Boots seem to do an equivalent)

To moisturise:
Day - Boots No 7 collagen moisturiser for day contains spf

Night - the equivalent night cream for night or the No 7 retinol range- building up slowly as per instructions

Thank you so much, this thread has slightly put me in a state of overwhelm (I suffer with anxiety) so having it all listed like that is really helpful, thank you.

Off to google! :)

Don't stress. It is just skin. It's just washing your face.

I can relate though and also get very anxious and obsessive about getting things "right" (eg right now in a fashion rabbit hole on another thread.... Skin was a couple of months ago :P).

Start with a simple cleanse and moisturise, morning and night, and you won't go far wrong, and keep an eye on reactions given your skin is sensitive. I think the Liz Earle dupe from Aldi that I linked to would be good as it's quite rich and creamy, yet also refreshing because you are using water to wash it off. And it's £2 a bottle so if it doesn't work it doesn't matter!

I paid £25 for a skin consultation at a local salon and thought it was going to be awful and really stressful, and she was so sensible and down to earth and said "look, there's no point booking expensive treatments and facials and things like that if you don't do the basics - and the basics don't have to be expensive either."

Try not to worry!

Ok, so how about this to start...

AM:
Lacura hot cloth cleanser
Boots collagen day cream SPF 30

PM:
The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser
Boots collagen night cream

I do already have a vitamin c eye cream but do I need to add a toner or serum of some type or is the above ok to start off with?
Any other advice on things to add?

Retinol looks terrifying at the moment so staying away from that!

I’d see your GP about the rosacea before anything else, as rosacea is known to react very badly to skincare products.

It’s actually an allergic reaction to the tiny mites that live in our skin, there’s lots of good treatments available for it. My partner gets tablets from his Doctor to treat it but the woman who does his facials recommended he use the brand ‘simple’. Try a cleanser and a moisturiser from them :)

It's tricky to recommend individual products as skincare is very personal and what works for one person, won't work for someone else.
Azelaic acid is worth looking into as it is good for redness, evening skin texture and dullness. Also a low strength acid (glycolic or lactic) will help with exfoliation and getting rid of dullness and any dark spots.
When you get a spare hour or two, maybe browse the skincare addiction forum on reddit or download a beginners skincare book on kindle. Caroline Hirons has a book on there that goes over the basics and explains how to build a routine based on your age/skin concerns.
Definitely start small though as if you just buy a load of products and start using them all at once, you won't be able to identify what's working for you and what's not.

What you’ve suggested is absolutely fine to start with. The only thing I would change is the day moisturiser. You really need a separate spf. You’d need an awful lot of moisturiser to get an adequate amount of spf to actually be of any use.

And to be honest, from your pictures, I think you have fairly good skin. If you’ve been using soap, that will dry you skin out and strip all your natural oils, then your skin over compensates so you end up with oily patches. I’m not sure that you have rosacea either.

Should have also said that skin care is really trial and error. For example, Simple skincare, I find to be anything but and I avoid it like the plague! It’s one of the few brands that breaks me out in spots, but another poster has recommended it.

It might take you a while to find your ‘go to’ products, but it will be worth it.