What's your skincare like in your 40s?

[OldMaaa]

After years of being a total beauty magpie, and wasting so much money on endless beauty products, I finally feel like I have a solid routine that doesn't cost the earth and is a relatively well put together routine. That being said I'm by no means an expert and always love to read about what skincare others use.

I'm 41 and I have normal/dry skin, very fair and quite freckled (some genuine freckles that developed when I was a toddler and some sun damage from being careless when I was younger).

This is my routine.

AM Routine

• Byoma Creamy Jelly Cleanser or Dermatica Squalane Cleanser
• CeraVe Vitamin C (every other day)
• Byoma Balancing Mist followed by their Milky Toner.
• CeraVe Lotion.
• CeraVe AM SPF 50.

PM Routine (Evening)

• Double Cleanse with Dermatica Squalane Cleanser followed by Byoma Jelly Cleanser
• Tretinoin Night (every other night) - Dermatica Tretinoin/Azelaic Acid/Tranexamic acid
• CeraVe Moisturising Cream.
• On non-Dermatica nights I use the Milky Toner followed by Cerave Cream.

For lips I used Aquaphor Lip repair religiously and also Bepanthen.
Beef tallow (got for Christmas and probably won't repurchase) and Bepanthen on my hands (or sometimes foot cream!!) and I sleep in a cheap pair of silk gloves.

Things I'm considering adding at some point: squalene oil, facial massage (I already do a bit of this but not really consistently).
Possibly something with peptides and/or niacinamide (I have the Ordinary Niacinamide but I find since starting tretinoin it makes my skin feel sensitive - I've tried it once or twice - so I'm avoiding it for the time being).
Oral collagen (I'm on the fence about this!)
Equally I don't want to overdo it and stress my skin, and undo my efforts thus far, so I'm happy where I am at the moment, and the fact I'm not spending a fortune on skincare. But the beauty magpie in me will always wonder what else I could add, but I'm working on ignoring it.
I am also tentatively starting to use red light therapy a couple of times a week (when I remember) but very cautiously due to using tret. I have a Current Body mask I brought during covid.

I think my skin is in pretty good shape and I'm definitely seeing improvements since using tret but I'm probably not at the stage of seeing max results (I started just before Christmas on 0.05%). I have had minimal unpleasant side effects, although a fair bit of peeling initially.

Future goals are to have some treatment for a couple of small patches of broken capillaries I have on my face, but I've read mixed things about the effectiveness of the treatments available so I'm a bit on the fence about it.

I'm of the belief less is more. I do the same morning and night. Wash with cerave then moisturise with the clean and clear oily skin £2 moisturiser. Am in my 40s and don't have any wrinkles at all.

47, genuinely look younger , always told by everyone so not blowing my own trumpet ,
my mum has great skin and has never used anything at all so believe a lot of it is genetic ,
I use Clarins face wash & their normal day cream in morning, nothing at night , this hasn’t changed in 20 years .

I’m 41 and using a lot of Claudalie, Medik8 and Zelens products, along with Dr Sebagh Deep Exfoliating Mask. I use vitamin C, peptides and retinol. I tend to decide what I’m going to use on any given day based on how my skin is feeling and what treatments I’ve had (laser hair removal and microneedling at the moment so a lot of the time I have to be fairly gentle!). I rarely wear makeup now which I think has helped a lot.

Squalene is the oil from a shark’s liver.

One could use that if one wanted. Personally I prefer to use the 100% plant based version, but each to their own. https://theordinary.com/en-gb/100-plant-derived-squalane-face-oil-100398.html

Yoir skin sound similar to mine OP - I’m fair and freckled, but I’m 48 and have a warm undertone.
AM:

• Nivea milky cleansing lotion with a cotton wool pad then splash with water
• Mario Badescu face mist (currently lavender)
• Tesco Vit C serum (one drop!) and once a week Sali Hughes acid toner
• Simple Glow SPF 30 / Beauty of Joeson SPF 50

PM:

• The Ordinary Glycolipid Cleanser & flannel
• Alternate nights: MediK8 Crystal Retinol and ROC retinol for eyes
• Non retinol nights: Revolution night serum (meant to be a good dupe for Clarins)
• Cerave Peptides moisturiser (in anti aging range)

I don’t tend to wear make up unless I’m going out.
Im using inkey skincare atm & think it’s brilliant. I’ve got very sensitive, eczema prone skin so have used a lot of different products over the years from expensive to cheap.
My morning routine is the inkey oat cleanser, hyaluronic acid & azelaic acid serum (I also have rosacea), caffeine eye cream & their vitamin b,c & e moisturiser. Night is the same but add niacinamide serum after the hyaluronic acid & change to the retinol eye cream. Plus Vaseline on any extra dry/sore bits. Best my skin has looked in years.

My skin gets breakouts alongside my cycle and isn't perfect. But I find when ever I've used stuff, the balance gets really out of whack. So I used warm water and my natural oils

I am just getting into taking care of my skin:

morning: splash with water, Lidl vit c serum, inkey list peptide moisturiser, inkey list brighten eye cream

evening: Superdrug hot cloth cleanser, inkey list hylauronic serum, same inkey list moisturiser and my only luxury: Aesop Damascan Rose oil. I’ve got some Lidl retinol that I whack on a few evenings a week, going to get the new inkey list retinal when that runs out. I’ve also got a thicker eye cream for when I look particularly ropey but can’t remember what it is called.

I’m 43 with dry skin and use:

Morning
Cream cleanser
Hyaluronic acid serum
Facial oil
Tinted moisturiser with SPF

Evening
Cream cleanser
Retinal serum
Moisturiser

My skin generally feels pretty happy with that combination. I’ve not tried tret.

I use Tretinoin.

I am trying to resist the urge to Google the Shark thing you mentioned!

The bare minimum really as I have rosacea flare ups!
SPF 50 every day.
ponds cold cream for cleansing and ponds dry skin moisturiser afterwards!

Have you tried Safflower Oil or Evening Primrose. I used to get awful hormonal spots but these really helped!

I have heard good things about Ponds Cold Cream!

@OldMaaayes it’s been great for me! It’s the only thing I’ve found that my skin can put up with, I don’t want to jinx it, but my acne rosacea looks so much clearer since using it!
It’s just getting harder to find in shops now, so I need to hunt online and keep a spare pot at home!

It takes 5 minutes. 10 tops when I use Tretinoin and need to leave it 5 mins before I moisturise.
If I use the LED mask, which I only use once a week at the moment, that's 10 minutes.

pm
hot cloth cleanse with cleansing balm
moisturise
facial oil

am
rinse
moisturiser
sun screen

I used to do loads more but to be honest none of it really made a difference. I have Botox and filler, eat healthy diet and take supplements.

Oh my god I don't do anything. Reading this makes me feel guilty!

I have some lovely expensive products and good intentions but I just don't use any of them.

I use a baby wipe and a splash of cold water in the morning and a Tesco face scrub in the bath at night. I don't even moisturise as I find my skin balances itself quite well (I think).

The biggest thing I do for my skin is not drink, smoke or vape. I drink lots of water and sleep well too.

I don't know how far this will take me however! (Im also terrible at using sunscreen ).

Honestly - I use clean and clear face wash each evening and aldi moisturiser in the morning.
I really don't understand why people have to have so many products and spend ages putting it all on. Unless you are a content creator and tap your nails on each bottle before applying!

Seriously though you do not need that much at all

Eek that’s a lot, are you sure it’s all necessary? I’m 46 with oily to combination skin (oily nose, chin and forehead with cheeks that tend to be dry). I don’t have many wrinkles yet so perhaps I’ll change it up a little when I get more. I get the odd spot and my skin can feel quite ‘teenage’. It always has, except perhaps the dry bits are a bit dryer now.
I use Clinique face wash or cleanser in the morning, sometimes their clarifying lotion and then the moisture surge moisturiser. At night I use their cleansing balm which is applied with fingers and then wiped off with a hot cloth and then a cold cloth is applied. Then I use their more intensive moisturiser at night. I probably should be using eye cream.
I use burts bees lip balm when I remember or if I really need it.
I didn’t arrive at Clinique as the best brand for me through any rigorous tried and tested approach, I don’t have the money or inclination for that! Someone just gave me a set one Christmas, I liked it and I’ve used it ever since. I have found that since I’ve used their stuff almost exclusively my skin is clearer and brighter.
I find it quite light. Most moisturisers are too oily for me and leave me with a shine.

Oh and although I’m very good at putting SPF on my body when out in the sun and I’m shit with my face as I have not found an SPF for face that isn’t too oily for me.
I have recently started using hand cream more regularly. Again I need something super light as I also have oily hair which I touch a lot!

Morning- soap, water, L'Oréal Hyaluron Expert.

Bedtime- soap, water, Boots skin cream to remove leftover makeup, wash again, Boots skin cream with a Vitamin E capsule squeezed into it on my hand and rubbed in face and neck.

Cetaphil cleanser morning and night. Factor 50 if I know I'll be outside for a while.

I don't wear makeup. I moisturize (with cetaphil or another plain brand) if my skin is dry, which is not very often.

Blimey! You must spend more time in the bathroom than actually doing anything! Literally all I do is wash with a facial cleanser, use a toner and then use a moisturiser - takes me all of 3 minutes (if that) twice a day!

Do you really need an SPF in the UK in winter? I work in an office and it's a rare day when even the feeblest photon manages to stroke my cheek.