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.

A charcoal face cleanser in the shower in the evening or Pixi Glow toner in the morning. Aldi Q10 eye cream and Aldi Q10 night cream (day and night as the SPF irritates my skin).

That’s it. I never wear make up.

I use Vaseline lip balm when needed.

People are obsessed with skin - most of it is genetics and you can’t rub a cream in to fight genetics.

I have a similar routine to you. I’m really proud of my skin after years of teen acne and rosacea.

AM
flannel & water, maybe with some rinse off cleanser
serum (Skinceuticals CE Ferulic although I’m looking for a cheaper alternative)
day cream (Laroche Posay cicaplast baume with SPF)

PM
oil or balm cleanser - currently using Anua oil
serum - Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
moisturiser - Glossier After Baume

I spend £££ on the serums and the rest is more normal. I haven’t tried Tretinoin or retinoids yet because I am scared of the peeling!

I also use Pixi Glow a couple of times a week.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a fancy skincare routine if it brings you joy. Don’t let the soap and water brigade make you feel shallow! Some people spend money on pets or books or wine or stamp collecting, for me it’s skincare.

My poor skin would crack and bleed if I even looked at a bar of dove soap, I had to use some of my hands once and they didn’t recover for almost two weeks.

I cycle between neals yard, Paula’s choice and the big thick Nivea body moisturiser mainly because my face starts to get irritated with anything I use long term. I apply when it feels like my face needs it.

Could you possibly link the Dermatica product you use? Sounds really good but I'm not sure I've found the right one

Very simple as I hate the thought of putting lots of different products on my skin.

Faith in nature soap morning and night
Nivea moisturiser morning and night
Suncream in the morning

I’m mid 40s with good skin.

My skincare routine in my 40's was practically non existent apart from I always used spf and nivea.

I'm early 50s and catching up a bit now.

AM
Wash face with just water or if I'm feeling oily Simple face wash
Naturium Vitamin C serum
Cerave spf moisturiser

PM

Superdrug Vit E hot cloth cleanser
Inkey List cream to milk cleanser
The Ordinary Retinol 3x per week OR Paula's Choice Mandelic & Lactic Acid 2x per week
Medik 8 peptide serum
Cerave PM moisturiser

My skin care regime (65) is the same as it ever was. Only use water to wash face. That’s it.

Sure if you go to Dermatica.co.uk - hopefully you will get this page and you can click on "Start Consultation" and it will take you through the process.

Palmers cocoa butter to moisturise. Make up removed with micellar water (supermarket own) & baby wipes. I have recently started to take collagen capsules, but for my nails not skin. Late 40's, everyone thinks I'm mid 30's.

Doesn’t sound simple. I’ve never heard of most of that stuff!

I pretty much do the same morning and night
cleanser
hyaluronic acid serum
skin food moisturiser
rehab face oil
at night I put the byoma hydrating recovery oil on aswell

my skins good I’m 40

I also take oral collagen every morning, I use the nutrition geeks one and highly recommend it’s been a game changer for me

Nutrition Geeks was the one I was looking at.

49 here, just simple face cream. I use Vinoperfect and have been told I look good with it. My skin is decent anyway so I dont need much. My belly on the other hand....

@OldMaaa I use the nutrition geeks collagen powder (it's says put in coffee but I don't drink coffee so I just put it in my morning protein shake instead) and I have found it to be good. It fixed my nails which were flaking and becoming weak and helped with hair growth

Am
cleanse, tone, spf50, eye cream and moisturiser (all boots no7)
A few times per week I use an exfoliating face scrub in the shower instead of normal cleanser.

PM
cleanse, tone, serum, eye cream or collagen eye mask, night cream (again all no7)

Twice weekly I use sandwich method for retinol. Once a week collagen face mask.

I got a new Una Brennan vit c serum today so will update as to how that works.

I'm 43 and not only have rosacea, but also have highly hormonal skin; you can literally track my cycle by my face which is nice.

I don't often wear make up anymore, but when I do, I use an oil cleanser to remove - No7 at the moment.

My skin needs a physical exfoliant, it's much better with one, so I use the Vit E hot cloth cleanser from Superdrug most days (evening) and a salcylic acid foaming wash in the morning. I've got a blag Cerave one at the mo from Lidl.

I've found in the last few months that a Vit C serum really does wonders for evening my skin tone so I use one every morning and evening, again a Lidl one, and my preferred day cream is the very bland one from Kiehl's, but I do like Aveeno too.

I own and do sometimes use the Kiehl's microdose retinol but tbh by skin is very reactive with acids so I have to use sparingly. It's quite nice though as retinols go.

I'm not very loyal to any product though if I'm honest and try lots of varieties of things. Trying to do that less though!

Nice for all of you talking about diet and water, some of us have never ever had good skin despite doing everything "right". Reading those comments is like when I had acne as a teen and being told with a sneer that I should just wash my face more often.

Cleanser is Cerave or Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

Morning Skincare is
Some days I use biologique recherche p50 in the am
NIOD SOD Mist 3
NIOD Eye Serum
NIOD Survival Serum or Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP (depends if I am out or not)
Sometimes a Vitamin C serum
NIOD Hyaluronic Acid if I feel like it
The Ordinary Lash serum
Ordinary volufiline (on lips, I have it so why not).
Inky List Peptide Serum on lips
Cerave PM Lotion on face (thin layer)
SPF 50 changes

Evening:
Cleanse with Elemis Balm
Tretinoin
Thin layer of Cerave PM Lotion
Thin layer or Cerave Healing Ointment where needed.

Some nights I do NIOD Copper Peptides or if I am having a break just a layer of Estee Lauder Advanced Night repair and some Aquaphor.

I use the NIOD Flavanone Mask once a week and then maybe a sheet mask. I use the current body LED Mask and I do my own dermal needling at home with a derminator. I have peels done sometimes and microcurrent. I do get botox for migraine at the hospital on the NHS but to be honest I didn't really have any forehead lines prior to starting it.

I've never smoked, drank or sunbathed and I've used SPF and Tretinoin since my teens so I think that does most of the heavy lifting but I like to use all the nice bits so I do. I never wear make up as I don't really need to. I avoid caffeine most of the time and eat a vegetarian whole food diet, with enough protein and lots of water and I exercise and walk most days. I take some supplements mostly for my migraines but I think ones like DHA, Co-Enzyme Q10, B Vitamins, Magnesium, Zinc and D3 with K2 also help with my looks. I also meditate daily which I think is really helpful for your skin and I prioritise sleep.

I also use HRT Estrogen patch, Utrogestan caps and Testosterone gel.