Suddenly very dry wrinkly skin

[SugarPlumpFairyCakes]

I'm 53. This year my skin has really deteriorated. I was quite youthful before but now my skin feels really dry and crackly.

My lines are much more pronounced - my cross feet and wtf lines are so deep now.

My cheeks now have broken veins all over them.

I'm a bit sad because I have always had nice skin with very few spots. Now I look knackered and ugly.

I drink 1.5 litres if water a day. Loads of veg and some fruit. And protein in the form of eggs. Ax protein powder.

I need a lush, rich moisturiser and just want to stop feeling like my face is parched!!

Crows feet not cross feet

Elemis is rich and creamy
Clinique moisture surge
Also, try oils eg rosehip

I use Rosehip and almond. And I find they're seem to add to the dryness.

Give tretinoin a go. My mum started in mid 60s and her skin is fantastic. I’ve been using for about 4 years and always get compliments on my skin. My mum started using after seeing my results

Even the best moisturiser on its own won’t make a huge and lasting difference to parched, wrinkled skin. It will just help temporarily. You do need moisturiser every day but perhaps consider adding the superpower of Tretinoin (a prescription only retinoid) at nighttime. It speeds up skin turnover, which over weeks and months means your skin sloughs off all the dead, dull skin cells and looks so much better. I started on Tretinoin and Hydroquinone from Monderma and now have Tretinoin and Azelaic acid in a formula from them which has made a huge difference to the quality and appearance of my skin (I’m in my 60s).

Has there been any environmental change, @SugarPlumpFairyCakes? Location, heating, personal or laundry products?

Given that you feel you eat well, I would consider a GP consultation first - to check bloods and hormones, etc.

I second tretinoin as a good option - it will help with cell turnover (exfoliation) and building collagen over time. The early stages can be a bit harsh with peeling and irritation so I would recommend taking it slowly, and also wearing regular subscription.

You could also try adding more healthy fats to your diet - avocados, walnuts, salmon and olive oil.

I'm late 40s and do the following:

1. I use Retinol (which is Tretinoin)
2. A multi peptide serum
3. A vitamin C serum
4. An exfoliating serum. I use one that has glycolic, lactic and pyruvic acid
5. You can also consider Botox for the wrinkles.
6. Find a great face wash
7. Make sure you leave the house with a high SPF
8. I also use a facial sheet moisturizing mask every day

That sorts me out.

How do you get tretinoin? my skin is going same way and just 44!

1.5 litres isn't enough. Up your water.

I don’t think a rich moisturiser is necessarily what you need.
A serum, hyaluronic acid product and a light moisturiser on top is what I do.
I use Beauty pie and the Ordinary.
I find the layers better than one rich product.

I taking it all in this advice. Thank you.

I particularly dislike those vertical lines appearing on my top lip making me look like I've smoked all my life.

@SugarPlumpFairyCakes I would also think about facial oils. I moved from rich creams for moisturisation to oils in my 50s and swear by them. A favourite which I return to over and over is the Clarins Blue Orchid Treatment Oil. It smells
like heaven! Around £40 for a smallish bottle but you only need a few drops, applied to slightly damp skin if possible. I use every other morning and it’s great for use on mature skin, especially if you move to trying tretinoin or other actives as they can (temporarily) make the skin more prone to
dryness.

@WinchSparkle80 My daughters and I all use Monderma - an online subscription service who send your personalised skin formula to you each month. So good! Skin and Me similar but I haven’t used them.

@BlackCat25 thank you very much. Will give it a try!

Tretinoin & nothing will sort out crows feet only Botox , especially if they are deep & inset 🤷🏻‍♀️…

Either from Dr (for acne) or one of the pharmacy subscription companies – Skin&Me, Dermatica, Uncouth, etc.

For moisturiser highly recommend Aveeno – it’s extremely moisturising and nourishing. At around 40 my skin suddenly went very dry, having had oily skin my whole life (I assume caused by hormonal changes). Nothing would moisturise it – all my usual stuff would just disappear and my skin would still be dry as anything. It just seemed like an impossible task. So I tried a lot of things and this is now a staple. It’s not expensive either – £9.50-ish from Boots.

Yeah, I would assume it’s hormonal.

Do look up their lymphatic massage. It should be on their website.
it’s very simple but effective.

It sounds like you need humectant, i.e. your skin needs hydration. Look for stuff with glycerin high on the ingredient list. (The Aveeno one mentioned above for dry to very dry skin does.)

I guess we’re all assuming it’s hormonal, @kungfoofighting- but I’d have thought it’s better to get on top of any root cause before resorting to a cosmetic fix?

Do you drink and /or smoke? Have high blood pressure. I had lots of briken veins once and my cheeks were red but that was due to high blood pressure (never smoke, very very rarely drink).

I am younger than you but I had a sudden deterioration in my skin a few years ago which I've turned around completely.

Vitamin C was the first change I made. I started by using it as a moisteriser/spf but quickly moved to a morning serum.

My skin was so dry I used a hylaronic acid serum for a long time - it's more of a short term fix but just helps while you're getting everythign else settled and makes your skin feel better in the moment. Now I only use it occassionally.

Retinol - I'm always a bit surprised by people who recommend going straight to Tret. Maybe their skins are just a lot tougher but I think you have to build up. An entry level retinol, used once or twoce a week to start, Is a gentler solution. I used the Neutrogena one in the cream then used a regular rich night cream over (also neutrogena).

I also always highly recommend a good all-purpose serum. I love clarins double serum and for a long time I found that I used it and it made all my other products work better. My skin looks and feels a lot better now so I've stopped using it (it's hard to justify the initial outlay even though it's good value for money) but I'll go back to it at any point if I feel I need to.

I would also take a look at the Laneige night mask stuff. I tried it in store a few weeks ago and thought it ws fab and that if I have another period of very dry skin, I'd probably buy some.

Finally, what are you using to clean your face. Dry, dehydrated skin really responds better to balm cleansers I think. YOu can get cheap and cheerful ones like the Superdrug one or the Elf one or the Sali Hughes one or expensive ones like the Elemis or Pharmacy ones.

I tried this at a friends house this weekend and have ordered it
https://www.aesop.com/uk/p/skin/treat-masque/damascan-rose-facial-treatment/

it is super spendy for me, but she swears by it and uses a very basic cleanser and moisturiser. My skin was looking rough as anything on Saturday and despite far too much alcohol on Saturday night it looked so much better by Sunday, so putting it down to a couple of drops of the above

I used to use tret and stopped as my skin went weird but I think upon reflection it wasn’t the tret as my skin has stayed weird despite stopping a year ago, so will start that again soon, when I feel I can deal with the spotty purging I get at the beginning