Retinol + SPF for beginner

[TheLette]

Hi, sorry I know there have been a few threads on this in the past but hoping for a recommendation based on products that are currently available.

I'm 40, combination or oily skin (not sure which) which is generally ok. A few spots on my chin sometimes and my pores are a bit larger than I would like. I don't smoke or drink much, and eat healthily. However, my skin looks a bit dull, lines are beginning to appear, and eyebags are a definite thing, so I wanted to see what products might help. Finding it difficult to pick products as there are so many and reviews are often a bit mixed.

I understand that I need a low % retinol sparingly to begin with to use sparingly, and to use SPF in the day.

My questions are:

1. what would be a good starter retinol? Preferred budget up to £35.
2. is it best to get a retinol night cream or just a retinol serum, and use a separate night cream? I don't currently have a specific night cream.
3. what SPF would be best for oily skin? Hopefully around £10 (but not in an insanely small bottle).
4. is there a good shop I could go to in London which would give me recommendations? Space NK, John Lewis?

My skincare regime is minimal at the moment. I use micellar water to remove makeup and I just started using a LRP cleanser at night. I wash my face with water and use a serum or moisturizer for oily skin in the morning (sadly not with SPF). I wear some makeup but nothing heavy like foundation or tinted moisturizer.

Thanks in advance

I like the Medik8 range, but it is more pricy than you (and i!) would like. I use the vitamin c serum in the morning (after cleanse and tone) followed by the spf 50 moisturiser (good for oily skin, it doesn’t make you shiny or greasy).
At night I use the retinal serum, followed by the evening moisturiser, again after cleanse and tone. It’s quite easy in the skin, you start with using it twice a week and build up to daily. You must use spf though.
It definitely works in that it has improved my skin tone and smoothed out my fine lines and has had a surprisingly positive effect on my sun spots/pigmentation. I think you can ask for testers on the website?
Am currently trying Trinnys Turn Back Time eye cream, but it’s only been a couple of weeks so I’m not sure about that yet.
I know that’s more than you wanted to spend, but I’ve tried a lot of products from the bottom to top end (Augustin Bader did nothing for me!) and Medik8 works the best.
I also have a FOREO Bear and honestly would recommend one of those. It feels weird at first but definitely provides a slight but noticeable lifting effect to the whole face and takes 5 minutes.

I have oily/combination skin and can recommend Olay Vitamin C or Regenerist day cream, both are available with SPF 30, and Retinol 24 night cream.

Also following this! Do you mind sharing which moisturiser that you use as I’m also looking for one suitable for oily skin for the evening.

I have used sunsense daily face spf50 in the morning for the past 18 years. It’s quite a bit more than your budget, so watching for other recommendations.

Following with interest!

Thanks for the tips so far! Please keep them coming.

Glycolic acid is great for dull skin.

I recommend a glycolic acid toner to smooth and brighten your skin. I've currently got these 3 on the go:

https://www.boots.com/loreal-paris-5-percent-glycolic-acid-peeling-toner-180ml-10305493

https://www.boots.com/Nip-and-fab-Glycolic-Fix-Liquid-Glow-6-percent-10237543

https://www.boots.com/byoma-brightening-toner-150ml-10322984

My favourite is the L'Oréal. Says peeling, but your skin doesn't actually peel. They also have a face wash which is nice.

https://www.boots.com/loreal-paris-revitalift-resurfacing-serum-in-cleanser-150ml-10345748

Pixi is rated well and recommended by loads of people although I haven't tried it.

https://www.boots.com/pixi-glow-tonic-250ml-10256343

I also recommend this mask for use once or twice a week. Been using for years. Really gives you a great glow. It stings and feels a bit itchy when you put it on (like an acid treatment in a salon would), but don't let that put you off or think something is wrong (unless you're known to have sensitivity with certain products!) I find fanning myself helps!

https://www.boots.com/the-ordinary-aha-30-bha-2-peeling-solution-10267772

In my opinion, you don't need to spend a fortune on skincare. The ordinary are really great, with plenty of acids and products to choose from. If you go to their own website, it can give you recommendations for products and regimes for your particular skin concerns and skin type. It's all reasonably priced, so if you decide its not for you then you've not wasted too much money.

Although I'm 41 and starting to get fine lines, my main concern atm is pigmentation, so am buying products to brighten and lighten my skin. Unfortunately I don't have recommendations specifically for fine lines. But I hear haemorrhoid cream is good for eye bags 🤷‍♀️ and I enjoy using L'Oréal serums and moisturisers (not the cheap basic range).

SPF is a must! Every day, even in winter. Take it from someone with pigmentation issues! The sun ages you considerably, and if you're going to start using acids, you must absolutely 100% of the time use a good SPF30+, preferably 50.

A regime is based on cleanse, tone, treat and moisturise so would recommend all 4 steps, twice a day. Night creams can be quite thick, heavy and greasy, so if you have oily skin, find one for that skin type that also includes what issue you'd like to treat.

Skincare is a minefield!

Just remember that an spf in a moisturiser only gives about half the stated factor. There's no conspiracy about it but you only use about a half amount that you'd need for full coverage.

I did NOT know that! I will layer up!!!

Hi new here but jumping on.

Your basic regime should look like this:
AM
Cleanse (gentle cleanser)
*tone
Treat (vitamin C serum)
Moisturise (gel moisturisers like Byoma's moisturising gel cream are good for oily skin)
SPF

PM
Cleanse (oil based cleanser or micellar water to remove makeup and spf)
Cleanse again (gentle cleanser to remove any remaining spf and dirt/grime)
*tone
Treat (retinol)
Moisturise (gel moisturiser or **thicker night moisturiser)

Once you're happy with the products you're using, can add extras in like a toner after your cleanse (Paula's Choice skin perfecting BHA liquid exfoliant is the bomb for minimising the look of large pores), and heavier moisturiser for PM (Glow Recipes watermelon glow aha night treatment the one 😍

Spots on or around your chin are usually to do with hormones. Pores you can't technically shrink, but with a decent regime they'll appear smaller.

Finding a decent SPF that you are happy to wear daily is THE most important bit. It is HARD to find one that works for you personally and I have tried A LOT!
A couple of recommendations for SPFs that: dry down nicely and don't feel sticky or tacky, don't sit in my once large pores, don't look shiny or leave a white cast, sit nice under makeup, and don't break me out. They are more expensive but trust me when I say you won't regret it!
I would 100% recommend Ultra Violette's Lean Screen SPF 50+ mattifying zinc Skinscreen. My other recommendation is La RochePosay's Anthelios UVMune 400 invisible fluid spf50+

As for Retinol, I would say use a targeted retinol and separate moisturiser, just because you can always sandwich the retinol with moisturiser if your skin really doesn't like it. I recommend Naturium's Retinaldehyde cream serum 0.05%. I won't say more, the reviews speak for themselves☺️

I can't say much for shops you can go to. Ideally you'd go to a dermatologist, aesthetician or even esthetician. Decent ones will recommend products for you and won't just try to sell you stuff, which unfortunately a lot of (but not all!) beauty shops are likely to do.

Good luck and sorry for the mammoth post!x

Hi, as below:

1. Ideally get a retinoid (more effective than retinol) like adapalene or tretinoin, these cost £25 from Monderma and Skin+Me.

1. Apply your retinol/retinoid as a single night cream. At most get a second eye cream that contains niacinamide and/or peptides.

1. Heliocare, which is £15 so a tad over budget but 50% better than anything under £10. Sunscreens are costly to produce so be wary of using anything that cheap.

1. Preferably conduct on your own research, as shops flog their own products and you are only seeing a small portion of the market in person versus online. The best information is at our fingertips now. That or consult your GP or a Derm.

I hope this helped.

X

1, 2, 3, 4* in response to OP - numbering broke.

Thank you to everyone who has posted! Really appreciate the tips. So many products and lots of different things to buy so a bit overwhelmed.

Skincare is a minefield! Most ingredients don't work. Make an informed decision based on reviews and dermatologists, not fancy ads.

I’m 52 with combination skin. Following reviews on here I tried the Medik8 range and feel it’s the first skin care I’ve had to make a difference. You can get travel sizes which last ages and it’s free postage. If you look out, there are frequently offers around.

i particularly like the Crystal Retinal (start at the low level and work up) and the Vit C day cream. Their suncream is good too.

Medik8 is probably the best OTC retinol for in your 20s and early 30s, but tretinoin and tazarotene work better after that.

Good to know... what about tinted SPF?

If it’s marketed as an SPF, and also had a tint, that could be a really good option, especially if you have melasma or similar as it provided an extra barrier so to speak!x

Hey! It’s pretty daunting going in at the start when there’s so much advice and mixed messages but it makes sense as everyone’s skin is different! My advice would be to just not overcomplicate things and start off slow or you’ll end up wasting money on products that don’t work for you (been there!)

I’ve found the best for me (after a lot of failed attempts and a lot of wasted money!) is a prescription custom formula from one of the few UK online prescribers (there’s Dermatica, Monderma, Skin & Me etc.). They basically have dermatologists that look at pics of your skin and a questionnaire and prescribe a formula for you. Sometimes it takes a bit of tweaking but they work with you and change it as your skin adjusts! (My current formula is Tret 0.01%, Azelaic Acid 3% and Niacinamide 2% just FYI). Considering it’s kind of a one off product rather than spending loads on loads of different ones I’ve found it’s the best for me as I basically just cleanse at night, apply that and then moisturise. And SPF of course! Which you already know about.

Happy to give you any more deets if you need advice! X

Thank you all. I ordered some samples including a retinol from Medik8, seemed like the best way as free except for a small delivery charge. I can then try them out and see if I want to commit to a larger spend. I'll probably just invest in their retinol and try cheaper products for the other things I need.

For the prescription options - it seems a bit extreme (medically and in terms of cost) given that I don't really have anything wrong with my skin. Are those options still recommended for people looking for cosmetic improvements or are they best explored by people with specific skin issues such as acne? Happy to be educated on this!

Let us know how you get on!

Personally I don’t have any severe skin issues, but prefer the prescription route as it’s kind of a ‘one stop shop’ for everything I want out for my skin rather than having loads of odd bottles and potions. They also have something I believe is called ‘active’ ingredients, which means that they’re much more effective. It’s really the only thing I’ve seen make a difference to my skin personally! I wish I had my before pics to show you, but my wrinkles that had started deepening are so faint now, and the texture and colour of my skin has evened out. I had a few sun spots from growing up in South Africa that have almost completely disappeared. I’m probably just over a year in now!

For anyone not wanting to pay the costs of Medik8, I've recently discovered a fantastic alternative via a company called Geek and Gorgeous. Same strength of Retinal at a fraction of the price.

Medik8 should do you good. Monderma, Skin+Me and co are also for cosmetic improvements. I'm not even sure if it is a prescription. You just complete a questionnaire and get it basically. It's retail in other countries. Try stick to retinol as it's better than not using any night cream. It just didn't do much for me. Tret looks 2-3 times more effective.

Watching with interest as a soon to be 44yr old looking to try retinol for the first time.

Update for anyone interested - I bought the Medik8 crystal retinal 3. I do think my skin has improved after using it for 2-3 weeks. It looks brighter and smoother, pores are less noticeable. I also bought their night cream as it's lovely, but I'm keeping an eye out for something cheaper when it runs out. Any recommendations for a more budget friendly night cream gratefully received (e.g. £15-30)! I can afford the Medik8 but I'm conscious it will add up over the course of a year and frankly would rather spend money on other things or save it. Fancy night cream is not my priority in life.

I also like the Medik8 day moisturizer with SPF but in the interests of budget I bought a Cerave moisturizer with SPF 50, I think it was about £13 and I really like it.