Feels like need to remove top layer of skin on my face - dry and flaky! Any recs?

[HolidayShop]

It's awful, particularly forehead, in menopause. Tried all sorts nothing works

Microdermabrasion?

Anyone?

What are you using now?

CeraVe is excellent,the wash and moisturiser.

Have you tried regular use of an enzyme cleanser?

Microdermabrasion seems quite old school now, and is only a short term fix.

Gentle exfoliation & dermol cream.

Struggled with dry flaky & hyper sensitive skin for years, recently prescribed dermol cream & its been a total revelation. 100x better than cereve and all the many other things I've tried

Can be bought otc too

Try a lactic acid serum before you go spending loads of money on salon treatments. It's a very gentle exfoliator that's also moisturising, applied at night, once a week at first. Also, get a hyaluronic acid serum which you can use night and day, every day. The Ordinary do very good serums, they're not expensive and Boots stock them now. After you've applied the lactic acid and hyaluronic acid, use a rich moisturiser and then for extra help, apply a very thin layer of castor oil to the driest parts of your face. It's thick and sticky but it's high in Vitamin E and full of fatty acids which will nourish your skin and it's quite occlusive, which will help keep your other products on your skin. If you apply very thin layers, it does sink in quite well I've noticed and I don't have dry skin, in fact mine can get quite oily still. Try this and see how you get on!

Try and acid toner.
Sali Hughes Placid is a very gentle 5 acid one.
If you skin is dry and menopausal you might like a glycolic. Start slowly though, a couple of nights to start with. Pixi Glow obviously is the best known, but the formulation has trickled down to all high street brands now.

I use an oil cleanser, my favourite so far is the Sanctuary.

Then I exfoliate maybe once a week with No 7 microdermabrasion.

Moisturiser is the simple one at the moment because I'm poor, but I really like the Kiehl's one. Clinique also have a nice moisturiser masque.

I use a mud mask maybe twice a week.

I found Elizabeth Arden’s peel and reveal revitalising mask and REN ‘s ready steady glow AHA tonic great for this. I have bought both repeatedly.

You can pick up a mini of the REN stuff in Boots or John Lewis to check if you like it.

To get more moisture locked in you could look into slugging (terrible term but it does work 😂) - cerave do a brilliant petroleum/hyalauronic acid ointment which you put on at night after cleansing well and your usual moisturiser (cetaphil and cerave do good ones). Can be a bit greasy so don’t use your best pillow cases at night though

Drink lots more water
Get a bottle of rosehip oil. Do a warm facecloth gentle cleanse then massage in rosehip oil. Do this each night for a week then see how you are.
Be careful not to exfoliate too much as you can damage your skin.

Thanks, plenty to get on trying with now, though wondering whether to do a microdermabrastion thing to kick start things

That will remove everything that's protecting your skin and make it worse.

A cheap and gentle version would be to use an emollient and muslin cloth/hot flannel to remove the flakiest bits and then protect further with more emollient after patting your face to damp, rather than dry.

No need to sandblast your skin and make it sore, parched and fragile.

Absolutely this

I love the Body Shop Edelweiss liquid peel. I have sensitive skin and abrasive scrubs really irritate it. This doesn't and it removes more skin, my skin is so soft after using it.

I've found some great, Ren, pixi, and Elizabeth Arden face products in TK Maxx recently hugely discounted.
My mum swears by the EA hot cloth cleanser and has dry sensitive skin.
I really like Neal's yard rose beauty balm in winter. I have combination skin but I put it on dry areas after showering at night and using an almond night cream, it's also good for dry elbows!
Also I use l'occitane shower oils instead of shower gel and that helps the rest of my skin along with moisturiser

Noooooooo definitely not microdermabrasion!

I like microdermabrasion, I am clearly an old school failure at skincare...

Elemis papaya enzyme peel is nice and gentle.

always make sure to use an alcohol free toner under moisturiser.

I use a simple mix of just vegetable glycerine (buy online - which is a natural humectant - e.g. locks moisture into the skin) and rosewater (buy in supermarket). I make it myself and put in a little dropper bottle or spray bottle. This will ensure that the moisturiser applied after is held onto the skin. I always get terrible dry and flaky skin if I don't use it. It is best to apply soon after washing or showering then apply the moisturiser after. I use a simple cold pressed rosehip oil as my moisturiser.

it really works!

I mean Liz Earle not Elizabeth Arden.... I really am becoming my mother