Today is the day I start fixing my face!

[Fixingmyface]

2026 New Year’s resolution is sort the face!

All the kids out the way and a year post partum. I look like I have crawled out of being in Victorian prison house for a decade. Self neglect has been real! Forehead wrinkles, pores, texture, elevenses. Only 35! A complete disaster.

So the face plan…

• I am taking 11000mg Zooki collagen sachets
• One other vitamin or electrolyte satchet a day for the next month (came as a free trial bundle with the collagen)
• Drinking an extra 1L a day of water as I think chronically dehydrated.
• Signed up to skin+me so awaiting that
• I do like Elizabeth Arden hot cloth cleanser so using that atm; although have some freebies with skin+me
• order frownies tomorrow
• wear spf50 every day and potentially get a fringe.

If this fails and no improvement in 6 months then I am getting Botox or lasering.

Anyone else aiming for a skincare revolution this year?

Oh and then get it shipped here?

Good luck! Skin and me is awesome but you do have to stick it out to see maximum results, maybe a year or so. I find it means I can just use a very basic cheap moisturiser (I use the aldi cerave dupe) over the top. And you don't have to use the skin&me every day, I have a couple of days off per week or whenever my skin feels a bit sensitive and that means you don't need a new tube every month or you can skip the odd month.

I also do some facial massage/Gua Sha for lymphatic drainage. I tend to apply a basic oil (like almond oil), do the massage in the morning then wipe the oil off with a warm wet flannel and it cleanses my face as well. Even 5 minutes helps. If you look on Youtube there are some free tutorials.

It's not good to trust Amazon for ointments or derma products because of many fakes reported over other reddit users

Wow thanks everyone! So many great ideas!

I need to start small to get the routine or it will all fall apart! But keep the ideas coming. I like the idea of the guasha and also the microdermabrasion/ needling. That might give a use to all this collagen I am taking.

And my new face has arrived…

How are you getting on with being consistent? I also let things go for a bit too long but I know I wont stick to things properly. I tried to book in for a facial last week. Or a massage. Massage place was closed for some reason and facial place no longer does normal facials (despite advertising on their website) and now only seem to do injections and the likes. So I ended up in superdrug yesterday and bought a cheap glycolic acid type serum for overnight and a clay/salicylic product that can be a face wash or a mask. I use moisturiser every day anyway and nights a few times a week but my skin definitely needs more and I’m living with quite a lot of stress which always affects my skin annoyingly.

Botox, skin booster and under eye booster and continue lots of water an good skincare (pure tret low dose only) but you can’t beat the injectables

With skincare, consistency is a must. I have spent thousands and the moment I leave, my skin gets back to the older version

Which skin and eye booster are you using? X

Skip the collagen (it gets broken down into amino acids and there’s no evidence it’s used to make more collagen - your body knows how much structural protein it wants to make you can’t trick it).

And I’d save money on the frownies too and just get Botox straight off. It’s the only thing that makes any real difference to lines.

Diva eyes but I’ve had others can’t remember what they are called I just go with what the nurse recommends and profhilo skin booster, again I’ve had others that are brilliant too.

Re the frownies idea. I am a chronic night-time face scruncher and always wake up with really deep frown lines. I honestly believe frownies do work if you're consistent (they are not going to get rid of lines but I definitely think they improve mine a little over time and at least stop them getting worse!).

However, they are ludicrously over priced, a bit faffy, and believe it or not there are actual fakes on the market, so a good deal on eBay or whatever may not be genuine.

I've recently started using the little triangular blumbody brand patches instead - they're a bit cheaper and much easier to use, and they work well for me. I do usually use two as my frown lines are annoyingly far apart! But maybe worth a try.

Start from the inside out, skin reflects your diet. You definitely need to hydrate, it makes a huge difference to fine lines.
More water and definitely more protein from diet rather than supplements.
Vitamin B5 to strengthen your skins barrier which will even out skin tone
A hydrating mask once a week
A gentle acid 2/3 times per week for exfoliation
I’d use a cream cleanser if your skin is dry, rather than a balm. It will give a deeper clean, unblock pores and improve hydration.
A hydrating mist throughout the day

OP, when you have had a couple of DC and they are still young, most of us look like Stig of the Dump.

With reflection on my early child years, I think I did something that helped me a lot long term.

Yes, now go for the Tret, I use it and at 56 I have the best skin of my life. I have no crows feet or 11's, just a bit of ageing round my marionette line area. I can live with that.

My advice to you would be just to keep it simple now through these young DC years. I used to just wash my hair and let it dry naturally and then put it in a pony tail. Then one day I had it down and someone gasped at how long and shiny my hair was, all due to being untouched and left alone in peace. Instead of putting on makeup (I'd do a tiny bit of eye), I'd just slap on some cream and leave it.

Engage your core and take every lift of a child as a squat, a lower back strengthening and a triceps and bicep curl. 😁

I’d focus on SPF 50 every damn day. Vitamin C in the AM (Medik8 is great, or Dr Brenner is cheaper if you want to try) then a retinol in the evening. Tretinoin is the best but you’d have to work up to it a bit. That will help collagen production and make your skin glow. Those are the building blocks in terms of skincare and then work from there

There is a good episode on skincare on the BBC sounds ‘sliced bread’ series. A skincare expert summarising what was worth it and what was pointless. Can’t remember the details now but definitely SPF and Retinoids.

Ooh, I might have found my people!

I turn 40 in July and have finally realised I need to be consistent with skin care to see the results…

I’m using:
Rodial bee venom cleanser morning and night
Rodial bee venom under eye cream at night
Medicube triple collagen cream at night
Rodial dragon’s blood sculpting gel in morning
Dermalogica age smart micro microfoliant in shower

once a week:
medicube collagen peel off mask

when needed:
medicube collagen glow booster serum
Rodial bee venom jelly eye patches

Daily I take:
a multivitamin that includes iron
evening primrose & starflower capsule
1000mg marine collagen
2x Glowwa hair food capsules
drink 1.5 litres of water a day and include a water drop electrolyte

i also get Botox every 3 months between my brows and a deep line in my forehead

Second this. Vitamin c and spf is a must

Hmm sorry for the delay in updating! Having a bit of a wobble with this tret skin and me and not sure if I am going mad!

Felt really energised by all the water and electrolytes etc. Then the past few days (since starting tret) have felt super tired and lethargic and my eye has been twitching. Skin also feels tight, dry and tingly when I put it on (which I know is normal to adjust) but I am really not sure!

I am on a super low dose, and my skin is not sensitive at all! It usually does incredibly well with all acids and stronger treatments.

So basically having a wobble. Especially with the eye twitch! Which could just be a coincidence but I found some others talking about that and eye dryness.

So now I am taking a bit of a break and have been researching and now thinking about Alpharet instead.

I struggled with tret too and my skin isn't usually sensitive. In case it helps my routine that I've found really works for me is:

Morning:

Cleanse with micellar water
Vitamin C serum
SPF 50

Evening:

Cleanse (I use a Rituals cleanser but whatever you like.)

Tone (I do alternating days so one evening I do an acid toner for exfoliation and the next evening a soothing toner like snail mucin or hyaluronic acid.)

Serum (I use Nivea Cellular Bakuchiol serum as it's a natural alternative to retinol and hasn't given me the skin issues tret did.)

Moisturiser.....any old thing you like using.

Thank you! That’s really interesting actually. Never thought about just cleansing with micellar in the morning but that might work.

A historical reason the skin care probably falls apart might be over- cleansing. And then I start skipping as I don’t want to do twice a day and then it all falls apart.

To just say no - not doing a proper morning cleanse. That might be easier and more achievable!

A few things about retinols OP to help prevent soreness:
Never apply in the morning. Retinol and sun = ow.
Never mix with anything Vitamin C. Also ow.
Always wear SPF when using retinols.

Yes a spf is a must as tretinoin makes the skin more sensitive

Seems a very low percentage of tret! I’m with Dermatica and it started at 0.025, raising to 0.05 . I couldn’t tolerate 0.1, so have stayed with 0.05

Mole remover pen-is that safe?

Also do not apply around the nose and mouth