Skincare advice please!

[onetwonetoo]

Looking for some advice from the wise folk of MN

I've recently turned 40 and my skin while good is definitely in need of more TLC.

I've never had any "tweakments" and while I'm not ruling that out, I would like to get my skin in as good a condition as possible before I do.

So the question is who do I see for advice on skin care? A dermatologist?

Inker previously gone to beauty counters to advice on creams etc. but they're obviously just trying to flog their products and while I'm happy to spend I do want to to be right for me.

TIA

Really dermatologists are mostly for if you’re having actual problems with your skin - a good aesthetician is probably your best port of call (and won’t be £££!)

TBH, Ive had dreadful skin until recently , combination, so dry in places it was actually tearing when in the shower. Suffering from extreme temp changes, it was a pure mess

So I started reading the threads on here and the same brands and treatments came up time and time again, so I researched them, read up on what they did and learned what my skin needed

I now know my skin really needs Hyaluronic acid and a peptide. It could possibly do with a retinol but Im outside all day and me and SPF arent best pals but the first two are doing great things for me

Skin tone and texture has evened, dryness nearly banished, friends are commenting

Im using just run of the mill products yet seeing a huge difference

Book a facial with a beauty therapist and ask them to do a skin analysis. Yes, they'll recommend products they sell but it will give you an idea what you need. If you're serious about treating your skin right, salon brand products are going to be head and shoulders above anything you'll buy in the chemist, imo.

Definitely not always the case that salon is better! In this day and age with high quality brands like Avène, Paula’s Choice etc available to easily buy anywhere there just isn’t a big need to be purchasing salon products for £££

You can try something like this. So here is my routine:
Morning:
Using water to wash your face,
Sebamed clear face gel,
Garnier spf
Evening:
La roche posay moisturizer,
Tretinoin (0.1) from skinorac
Sebamed clear facial gel

Re Tretinoin- the advice is to start off with the lowest possible dose and gradually work up according to how you skin reacts. 0.1 is the highest