Skincare advice!

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I'm looking for a skincare routine, I have tried most the no7 range but they just don't seem to suit me. They make my face peel, not sure if it's products or my actual skin but they just don't work. I have no idea what else to try.

I have normal skin, with some rosacea on my cheeks. I get hormonal breakouts sometimes.

Looking for recommendations for products to try please!

Are using actives in the No7 products?

Yes I think they contain vitamin c and retinol.

La Roche Posay and Avene are my go to lines of skincare.
I'm 52 and I started using La Roche Posay at the age of 23. Avene a little bit later.
I can't live without Super Facialist Vitamin C cleansing oil. But 10 or 15 years ago, it would not have been right for me. So I am not sure if this would be right for you.
But you can't go wrong with LRP or Avene at any stage in life. And Avene (not Aveeno, just to be clear, but Avene) is especially nice to my sensitive skin.

I will add, at 52, I avoid retinol/retinoids and I always will. It's not for everyone. It may not be for you, OP.
Cerave is also a great range. Anything with ceramides is nice to rosacea.

I have roseacea too and as above le Roche posay (spf) and avene (skin soothing cream- their roseacea moisturiser burned!!), Cetaphil gentle skin wash to cleanse and then I wear Aimee Connolly primer or glossier and a bb cream and mac spray. Any retinol breaks me out really badly!!

This is an interesting thread - I have rosacea and found retinol was just really drying. I got none of the supposed benefits over several months of use.

Yes same here, it just makes my skin peel it's awful!
It's a minefield knowing what's best to use, and how to get good advice as they always just sell their own brands at the beauty counters!

I've found The Ordinary azelaic acid cream helpful - stops me getting little rosacea pimples. The Cerave Hydrating Foaming Oil cleanser is great for removing make up whilst gentle on my skin.

I have rosacea and use Dermatica and it says not to use toners, astringents, or skincare products that contain glycolic acid, salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.
So avoiding them may help.

I can't use vitamin c, tret etc. currently using Nivea soft and my face is no longer falling off.

If you’ve been using retinols and your skin is peeling, you may have damaged your skin barrier. It’s not as scary as it sounds, but does mean you want soothing repairing products for a bit.

You might find it helpful to think about individual skincare products to start with - ie what style of cleanser do you like, do you prefer a light moisturiser or a rich one, etc?

similar to what a previous poster said, what I used ten years ago is the opposite of what I use now. I used to have skin that leaned oily, but now my skin likes nourishing products ( not necessarily rich)

if it helps, this is what I use ( prone to rosacea)
cleanser - aldi cream cleanser in the morning, revolution pink clay cleanser in the evening
toner - aveeno oat toning lotion (the whole aveeno range is meant to be very gentle on the skin)
moisturiser - beauty pie oxygen moisturiser in the morning, Inkey list peptide moisturiser in the evening

I’m also currently using the ordinary azaleic acid and a serum that gives similar results to Estée Lauder advanced night repair but turned up to max, at a quarter of the price, I love it.

good ingredients to look out for are azaelic acid and peptides, possibly niacinamide as this is good for the skin barrier.

it’s easy to get overwhelmed, particularly if you start looking at a range like the ordinary or inkeylist when there’s a LOT of different ingredients on offer!

Many things could be going wrong here. Retinol and vitamin c can be quite harsh if used too much or in combination with other products. Were you using them together ie both in the evening or alternating so vit c in the morning and retinol at night? How often were you using them? Every day or a couple times a week? What strength are they as they may not be suitable for beginners?

I'm assuming you didn't have much of a skincare routine before you went with this No 7 selection? I think a problem is often to try introducing too many new things at once. Vitamin C and retinol are both products that need a little getting used to so introducing them both from day 1 (and I don' tknow what the concentrations are in the No 7 range but that could exacerbate the problem) is probably a mistake. Especially if your skin tends to sensitive.

The basic of a skincare routine is:

Evening: good quality cleanser
Serum to target specific things you may want to deal with
Moisteriser - richer/more nourishing.

Morning: light cleanser (optional).
Serum - either something specific or a good all rounder
Moisteriser
SPF

I also agree with @dizzyupthegirl86 what is it that you like/don't like.

So for example, I love a balm, rich cleanser. I use the Farmacy one (Green Clean) which is epensive and would probably love the Elemis one (even more expensive). My budget choice is the Body Shop camomiile one and I believe M&S has a few in between ones. Sali Hughes for Revolution also does one.

For DS, who has also got a damaged skin barrier and doesn't want such a rich cleanser, we have The Ordinary Squalane cleanser. Very very gentle, foams lightly etc.

In your case, I would avoid cleansers with actives like BHA and BPA.

Re serums, to start with, I'd go with an all rounder personally. Just while you figure out what you like and get your skin back to basics. Clarins double serum is popular. There's an estee lauder one i haven't used but I've seen gets good reviews. I used the Revolution one on the cheaper end and it was good but I hated the smell so had to throw it away.

YOu could also try a very lightweight vitamin C serum such as the Inkey list one as a starter.

Moisteriser - I really like the Neutrogena hydro boost range.

With your skin barrier issue, I'd look at a moisturising, soothing serum for mornings. We like the Amino acid and B5 one and the aloe one from The Ordinary.

Moisteriser and SPF - you could go for a moisteriser with an SPF as a start. I like the Elf one. People rave about Cerave but both DS and I have found it makes our skin a bit sensitive. La Roche Possay is on my list to try. There are also a wide range of Vitamin C moisterisers with SPF - the Boots one is nice but a bit oily so depends on your skin. I've tried the l'oreal one - nice but pricey for what it is I feel unless you get it on the sale. Also I think Simple does one.

Avoid retinols for now. They're for helping with anti aging. Fine to give it a go, but get your skin stable and broadly in a good place first. Then start with something with a very low concentration. I haven't used any of these products but thought this was an interesting and useful guide to retinol concentrations here

I love neals yard frankincense moisturiser,I have very sensitive skin

@GerbilsForever24 @dizzyupthegirl86 which serums are you using please? You don't give the full names.

Mines called manyo bifida biome complex ampoule. Apparently the main ingredient in ANR is this bifida biome, at a small concentration (less than 10% if I remember rightly). The manyo one is 70%. It might be that I can use more of it because it’s so much cheaper than ANR, but I do really like it. My skin was in a real state after a combo of being ill, going on holiday, plane air, and eating rubbish - and using azaleic acid and that serum has worked wonders within two weeks.

this is the Amino Acid one - very moisturising and I can get Hylaronic Acid in other ways although I do have one from the Ordinary which I use with retinol.

This is the aloe one. DS uses this as a moisturising, soothing one because of his skin barrier issues. I use it occassinoally when my skin just feels a bit sensitive

this is the vitamin C serum I started with when I graduated from vitamin C just in moisterisers. It's less strong, but a good start for a few months when you start using vitamin C

Clarins Double Serum is a great all rounder and people love it. I love it too - pricey but lasts for ages.

That's a lot of serums, I'll take a look!

La roche posay is good. 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

I don't use them all. My original post was giving ideas for the OP but perhaps I misunderstood when you asked for more detail.

I personally use the Amino one and a strong vitamin C one (that I didn't provide details for as it's very strong and not for the vitamin c newbie). I started using vitamin C with the Inkey List one I provided a link to.

I have a hylaronic acid serum but only use it when I'm feeling extra dry due to retinol (which I also don't recommend if you're building an entirely new skin care regime as I think get the day to day sorted first, THEN you can think about the fancy stuff. If you really do want to keep using a retinol, then yes, get a cheap and cheerful hylaronic acid serum or moisteriser to apply on top).

I have previously used Clarins Double Serum in the morning and had suggested it as an excellent all rounder if the OP didn't want loads of serums or isn't sure what she needs.

I don't use the aloe vera one - DS does as he has a terrible skin barrier (thanks to my dad's side of the family) and it's good for that and also very soothing and as he's a teenager, I don't want him using anything too hardcore. Again, I think the OP had said she had similar issues so I'd suggested it as an option.

Going back over the thread, I see you're also a rosacea sufferer and don't like retinol. I don't have specific advice on rosacea - I have slightly red-leaning skin but I'm not sure it hits the rosacea level - but I think overall things that are gentle, soothing etc are likely to be better for you so perhaps the aloe vera or the amino one. And I'd start with vitamin c in a weak form - perhaps in a moisteriser or an SPF.

What is tretinoin and what is it for?

Iit's a type of retinol. Usually stronger and/or prescription strength I think but not 100% sure.

@GerbilsForever24 thanks for following up and OP, apologies for the takeover of your thread. I'd come to the same conclusion on the serums having read up about them. I fancied the Clarins one as I've always liked their stuff - once you find something from a brand suits your skin, most of their products tend to - but £88!!! I already use Tula Bright Start moisturiser which has Vit C.

One thing I WILL say about the Clarins one is that it lasts FOREVER. The smallest one lasts at least 6months and the mid size one around 9 months. Also, little tip - if you do like it a lot, buy it but don't use it daily. For reasons I've never understood but I'm chalking up to expensive ingredients (to make myself feel better) the Double Serum has a sort of cumulative effect so if you use it every second day, it still seems to have the overall positive impact. Similarly, if you stop using it, it takes a good week or two before you notice it on your skin.

When my skin was really dull and just generally ick, I really found it amazing on that basis and I have stretched the mid size bottle to 11 months by using it every second day or, say, 4x per week. Now my skin has settled a bit - I think HRT has me stable for now - I don't feel I need it so have stuck with my more cheap and cheerful options.

You're right, I use it everyday