Dull skin

[scarediecat]

My face looks really dull. I was hoping for maybe some serum suggestions? Or similar! I do drink 2-3l of water a day.

mid 40s
i use Boots hydra-luminous day and night moisturisers
liz Earle to cleanse

Bonus points for anything under £20!

thank you for any hints 😊

Do you use any active ingredients?
I’m 42 and use vitamin c, lactic acid and have a tretinoin prescription (I don’t use them all together) and feel my skin is looking and feeling better.
The tretinoin has made the biggest difference for me, it’s big a quick fix but over and 6months it’s changed my skin for the better

Umm…. Active ingredients?

you’ll have to talk to me like a complete novice please!

oh that made me laugh! I’m. No expert but I got immersed in blogs and other bits and pieces to overhaul my skincare.

physical exfoliation can cause microscopic damage to the skin but offer faster results. I love a bit of Clinique gommage exfoliation every now and then. It’s just the right level of grittiness and not scratchy

chemical exfoliants usually called acids (not as scary as it sounds) help to remove surface dead skin and give you brighter/glowier skin. lactic acid is my preference and gives me better results.

vitamin c helps to even out skin tone, brighten skin and makes you look more glowy.

tretinoin is a power house. It’s potent stuff but with perseverance it reduces fine lines and wrinkles, brightens skin and rejuvenates the skin.

caroline hirons had some really good blogs and a bit trial and error with different products is usually required

Ok, thank you for that - honestly really helpful!

In addition you also need to consider your diet, amount of exercise, fresh air, and regular good quality sleep.

@scarediecat check out Boots £10 Tuesdays, usually quite a few serums are included.

I like the Superfacialist Vitamin C serum which is usually available in Boots and Superdrug and would fit your budget. Vitamin C serum is my go to if I want a brightening effect.

I’ve found the boots range of moisturisers good and not stupidly expensive. But sleep, good oils in your diet, fresh air and exercise are what make mine look better….

Hi, OP -

You may have heard of retinol/retinal. They are precursors of tretinoin, which is a prescription retinoid. There are others. Adapalene is milder and cheaper and available without a prescription in the US. It is a good starter. I will return to tret below.

Another good one is the newest, trifarotene, which Boots OnLine will prescribe. (The service is free) It is about £55-60 but that’s for 75g, a large amount that will last for several months minimum. They also do adapalene very reasonably. I started with their adapalene and worked up to trifarotene. I also use Face Theory Azaleic Acid for soothing, anti redness and mild exfoliation. I am very happy with the results from about two years of mild cleansing, morning sun cream/night time treatment and lots of moisture always. Much more effective than the toners, multiple serums and creams I was using before, and less expensive. It’s been good for my mild rosacea, great for my skin texture and pores and very good for my sun damage (I grew up in a Mediterranean climate scorning sun cream and I am older than you, and moderately fair). I didn’t have many very deep wrinkles and I haven’t kept photos but I think they are softening, also.

But tretinoin is the gold standard. Unfortunately unless you have significant acne the only way to get within the UK is through a subscription service: Monderma, Uncouth, Skin and Me and Dermatica seem to be the main ones, also the very upmarket Klira. These services will compound your tret with some other ingredients for, I think, £25-30 pcm for 15g, which you can cancel or stretch out. (Except for Klira) Many on here really rate them! There are bargains, too - some will share their codes to give you a month almost for free.

Also pure tret can be imported from various online sources cheap as chips. Many rate online pharmacies Skinorac and All Day Chemist from India or buy it in Spain, Mexico, the Mideast and Far East where an Rx is not needed.

This may be more than you wish to know. Can you tell I am stuck in an airport half way round the world? Anyway, good luck

PS I lied. There are private dermatologists in the UK who will prescribe tret. Very expensively.

Hello @poetryandwine and thank you. Food for thought!

You can use, my code for skin+Me if you like 1st and 5th month is free just £3.50p&p. I've been using it for 3 years and really rate it! If you use my code I get £10 off my next month.

https://www.skinandme.com/?promocode=LAURENS5YP3

I really also rate the garnier vitamin c daily uv fluid, it's spf 50 and slightly tinted.

I find although I don't have sensitive skin it is sensitive to most acid exfoliators ro I use boots cucumber scrub which is about £1.50!

You are very kind, OP. I see that @Cotswoldmama has offered you one of those discounts, if you want to try a monthly subscription. I would only say that tret and the other prescription retinoids are a long game.

When I started I would scrutinise my face a couple of times a week for changes. That’s disappointing. After ignoring it for 3 months while following a simple skincare routine carefully, I took a good look and the changes were dramatic. They kept going, slowly but steadily.

@Cotswoldmama has stronger skin than me. I would not use any kind of scrub or acid until very well acclimatised to the tret.

Tret is definitely a long game skin&me start you very low and although it's called a daily doser to start they recommend building up from about 3 times a week to every other day, it's a slow game. I am now on 0.03% there is stronger but I've read lots of articles and the optimum amount is 0.025%. The subscription is great because it's very easy to delay or pause if you gave extra left. I also found that one month when the strength of tret was increased I got irritation and I contacted them and they sent me another doser of my previous strength for free! Their customer service is really good.