Wedding SOS - anti ageing skin regime

[Wonderbug81]

I'm getting married in 3 months!

I'm late 40s and have always just tended to stick the basics of good cleanser, night cream/SPF but would really like to look my best.

I've already added in retinol (ROC) into my night time regime. My current moisturiser and SPF already have vit C but I'm about introduce a 10% vit c serum in the mornings.

What else I can do that's going to have an impact for minimising pores and improving skin texture in particular? Lucky to only have a few lines around the eyes.

Should I buy an LED mask for example? I don't want to overdo it and irritate my skin either!

No major budget in mind, if it's good, I can buy it.

I would do a course of BBL/Moxi (laser treatments). It can really even skin tone, remove sun spots and generally make the skin glow.

Congratulations re getting married

To make a real difference you need to start using Tretinoin. Dermatica or S&Me. It’s an online prescription service for Tret. Much stronger than your ROC retinal.

Also have a look at Korean skincare. Beauty of Joseon for example, love their SPF. Korean skincare is so good because it focuses on deeply hydrating and protecting your skin barrier with gentle, unique natural ingredients instead of using harsh chemicals that can irritate it.

No experience of LED masks. No need atm. I’m late 50s and my skin is better than ever thanks to my current regime.

Thank you so much! My slight worry about using what I perceive to stronger ingredients such as tret so close to the date is the risk of side effects e.g. rashes and irritations.

I never knew where to start with Korean beauty, thank you for the tip!

I think it’s too close/risky to your wedding to introduce tretinoin - though it’s certainly a great option to work towards once your skin is ready.

Maybe Medik8 Crystal Retinal 3? It’s stronger/faster than retinol but weaker than tretinoin. They have an ascending ladder of serums depending on what your skin can tolerate. I had to go off retinoids while pregnant and breastfeeding but restarted on Medik8 four weeks ago. I feel like I can see some lovely changes.

HIGHLY recommend a good quality LED mask. Over time they stimulate collagen and increase skin density - plus add glow! I’ve used mine daily for 4 years and often get compliments on my skin despite the lack of retinoids! I’ve been using the Dr Dennis Gross one but will switch to a new (series 2) CurrentBody one which was released after I bought my original LED mask. It’s meant to be close to clinical strength. My husband and I are just about to turn 40 and he’s looked at me and said ‘I need to start using the LED’ - did his first session last night haha!

EDIT to add: oh on the wedding day use the SKIN111 under eye patches. Pricey but make you look younger for a few hours hehe!

Thank you. I was a bit worried about redness etc from treatements like this so close to the wedding. I'll investigate to see how many treatments I might need.

I agree and it doesn’t suit everyone. I wouldn’t recommend that for you now.

look up face Pilates.

Oh thank you. These are great tips. Researching masks now. Will see if I can get the CurrentBody as well as the under eye masks on offer!

Just to add that a hydra facial a couple of weeks before the big day would be great; they’re expensive but long-lasting and my skin always feels fabulous afterwards.

With three months to go I would book one or two microneedling sessions.

I have the CurrentBody mask and it’s great but I don’t think you’ll see as dramatic results as you will with microneedling over such a short period.

Agree with this - I’ve heard great things re-microneedling. Considering doing this before Christmas

Thank you. I'm a little worried about the recovery time but from what I can tell it's a good option for faster results.

Microneedling is fabulous- I’ve never had any issues with recovery. Also polynucleotides- little marks on my skin afterwards for a day but nothing else.
These procedures and MediMD products have absolutely transformed my dry, red and large pored skin!

I have fairly resilient skin but the redness goes within a few hours for me. If you want to be ultra cautious, you could have one session a month over the next two months with a month buffer before the wedding. Although I would have thought a week would be more than enough. You’ll know more about how your skin will react after your first session anyway.

The redness goes after a day or two. I know people who have had 2 bbl and then a moxi in the 3 month lead up to wedding and had great results.

Thank you. Can you wear make up the next day? Or is it best to wait a bit?

Thank you, I guess now is about the right time to start! Do you do other things alongside it in terms of your skincare products or do you find the microneedling can do most of the work. I'm about to spend a load of money on retinols etc but trying to work out if I need to throw everything at my skin or just focus on two or three big things.

Luck you- the blebs from polynucleotides were large and lasted at least five days! Never again!

This is my slight worry. I think if it was 6 montha away from the wedding I could plan for it around a bank holiday or time when I can clear the diary a bit. I wonder if they could do a patch test first!?

I use retinol at night alongside a bunch of other stuff and vitamin c in the day (again, alongside a bunch of other stuff including a good SPF). You’ll need to skip actives (retinol, vitamin c, etc) at least a few days either side of microneedling.

I’m 41 and decided to do a complete skin over haul this year. I’ve always had terrible skin, and finally I don’t and I rarely wear makeup anymore (before I wouldn’t be seen without at least concealer!).

I had three microneedling sessions in the spring and was really happy with the results so I am going to restart them in the autumn/ winter.

Sorry to detract - but where do people get microneedling from?

Forgot to add I also was using the CurrentBody LED mask every night but have gotten out of the habit the last few months. I do think it helps though. It’d rate the microneedling over the mask though if there’s a cost consideration.

Local beauty salon. I have been with the same beautician for over a decade and she recommended it. I wouldn’t have ordinarily gone for it but really rate her so gave it a go and I was very happy with the results.

Drink loads of water, eat cleanly, cut sugar and alcohol. Exfoliate.
My top tip for moisturising the eye area is to use hycosan night around your eyes.

Drink plenty of water, eat well, cut out alcohol and get ample sleep. Make peace with lines, they show a life lived! Moisturise and SPF daily.

That's amazing! Especially how quick it turned around. I hate the faff of make up, would love to be able to ease up on it.