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 have greasy, acne prone skin still in my late 40s.
I use The Body Shop tea tree facial wash and Creighton's Soothing Lotion with Salicylic Acid morning and night and Amber Solaire Anti Age SPF in the morning.
I also get regular micro current facials.

I use a hot cloth cleanser from Superdrug. Evening serum, eye cream and night cream. Morning serum, eye cream and spf. I have really good skin. Your routine sounds excessive.

Nivea soft twice a day. I am 48 and don't have many wrinkles on my face (but my neck tells a different story!)

Really sensitive skin here.

i use make up remover wipes after work then use a Korean toner
balance me wonder eye cream for the bags and dark circles
then balance me age protect moisturiser
then balance me rose oil

in the mornings it’s a quick water rinse

moisturiser

make up

i really need to drink more water as that makes a noticeable difference

I use tret, cerave for barrier repair, and an LED mask. I keep it fairly simple these days and don’t experiment with products anymore.

i am a bit suspicious of these multi-stage regimes, which I think are primarily designed to sell products.

I use-

Cleanser- cerave for dry skin (morning) or Elemis balm cleanser (pm- twice if I’m wearing make up)
The Ordinary multi-antioxidant serum (am)
Uncouth prescription tret+azeleic acid + hyaluronic acid+ traexamic acid (pm)
Olay moisturiser with spf (am) or any basic rich moisturiser (pm). In summer I use a separate spf.

I’ve been looking after my skin since a teen. When all my friends were tanning their faces in the sun I kept mine out of the sun. I’ve never smoked either. The less I put on my face the better but I do like a good eye cream serum and a thick cream. I have always taken it down to my neck and décolletage. I avoid anything scented. I’m not too fussed on the brand but I do check out the ingredients. I’ve been spending more time in my hands recently.

In the last few years I've invested in my skincare (wish I did it earlier - am 52).
Whats really helped my skin is LED mask at least 4 times a week.

At the moment I’m using up stuff from my advent calendars so products are varied but basic routine is

Morning
wash with flannel
milky toner
eye cream, serum, moisturiser
spf

Evening
Balm cleanser removed with flannel
another cleanser
milky toner
eye cream, serum, moisturiser. Sometimes rosehip oil.

My skin hates retinol. I know sensitivity is to be expected at first but I tried for a full six months the first time and looked terrible the whole time. It’s not even sensitivity I just look patchy and dry and more wrinkly the whole time. Now every so often I think I should try again and immediately remember why I don’t use it!

Prescription moisturiser (epiderm - looks and feels like vasiline) if my skin is particularly dry, or a little bit of Bodyshop vitamin E cream if I feel like a treat. Having spent years battling severe eczema and the layers of creams that goes with that, I'm throughly ecstatic when I can go product free!

I don’t think you’re doing too much at all, it’s basically cleanse/tone or treat then moisturise/spf

i am really bad at doing my am skincare but PM I alternate between skin and me with tret, moisturising serums, peptides etc. My skin looks probably the best it ever has

Ummm Clearasil wash in the shower. Never done anything else!

I’m 51 but thought I’d pitch in..

I use a balm cleanser or cleansing oil, then medik8 advanced peptides and vitamin c followed by Dr Perricone tinted moisturiser which has sunscreen

at night I use the balm cleanser again, Dermalogica microfoliant and then either medik8 crystal retinal (20 strength) or alpha H midnight reboot serum on alternate nights. I also get Botox and profhilo regularly and have done since my late thirties.

this is a fairly expensive and intensive routine, and I do regularly have people ask me about my skincare because my skin is decent, but I’ve always had fairly good skin and I’m not convinced it isn’t because I am on the oily side and have always exercised and eaten tons of fruit and veg. I’m sure the maintenance helps, but if you don’t look after your insides I’m not sure it matters how much stuff you put on your face.

Morning

boots own rose water toner
medik8 vit c ( not overly impressed wouldn't repurchase )
Superdrug vit e moisturiser

evening

cleanse with no 7 gel cleanser

rose water toner

medik8 retinal

moisturise with neals yard wild rose beauty balm

I keep mine super simple now:

am - cleanse with homemade cleansing balm, hyalauronic acid serum (Hado labo gold), moisturise with basic cerave, spf if going outside.

pm - cleanse with homemade cleansing balm (double cleanse if I can be bothered), skin&me (contains tretinoin, niacinimide and azaleic acid), cerave basic moisturiser, bit of homemade face oil (equal parts rosehip, black cumin seed oil and castor oil).

I do have an eye cream at the moment but tend to use any one. I just invest in the skin&me and use fairly cheap/basic for everything else. It seems to work pretty well and stops me being drawn to shiny new products!

I think your routine looks great. I also used to try all kinds of products, and I love skincare! But now stick to just Tret in the evening and Vit C in the morning. Obvi I use SPF in the morning and moisturiser at night. I used to use Dermatica, I really loved it, but I don’t live in the UK anymore, so I can just buy tret in a pharmacy. It’s not prescription in lots of places outside of the UK, so worth doing if you travel, as it’s only about £5 for a tube. Have you tried LRP Cicaplast Baume? It’s amazing overnight if you get any peeling from tret. Also the Dermatica vitamin c is really good.

I’ve tried peptides and they’re nice, but I don’t think they are necessary, especially in your routine, as you’re already using the most effective actives. I also have a red-light mask and love it. I use it a few times a week, usually at night before I do my skincare.

AM: Wash face in shower with Dove silk body wash.

PM: Wash face before bed with whatever hand wash I’m currently using (normally Carex).

If it’s summer and I’m spending time outside put sunscreen on.

Done.

I’m 38 and have always had good skin. I put it down to two things: genetics (mam and nan never use/used any skin products and look/looked great - nan died at 87 and her sister at 98 and they looked 20 years younger) and not wearing make up.

I tell a lie. This morning I thought my forehead looked a bit dry so I dabbed on a bit of Nivea creme.

DH was given it during covid because he works in a hospital and they were getting loads of gifts of that sort of thing. So far I think I've used about 1/500th of it so at that rate it should last me till the year 4520. It can become a family heirloom.

AM
Simple moisturising face wash
The Ordinary Hyaluronic acid
The Ordinary Caffeine under eyes (or Clinique eye cream, if I'm feeling fancy)
Either Ziaja spf moisturiser or Estee Lauder Daywear, depends which room I'm getting ready in.
Extra spf in spring/summer, currently La Roche Posay, but I'm not loyal.

PM
Simple or Boots cucumber face wash The Ordinary Retinol occasionally at night
Cerave pm moisturiser

Have you come here via the competitive undereaters club?

Tretinoin pm and factor 50 am

Ha, not at all. Far from the one salad fills me up for 3 days vibe here.

@MrsQuigleysWig Ooh which kind of laser treatment did you have to remove your broken capillaries? Would you recommend? I really need to tackle mine.

@OldMaaaI went to Pulse Light Clinic, it took a few sessions but I found it lasted around 6 months to a year depending.

Yes, if using retinol or tret