suncream, zits and wrinkles: rolling skincare thread?

It sounds like you are having an allergic reaction to the oil you're using, if your eyes are red.

Hey y'All here's something nuts: I noticed my skin has improved by 1000% and couldnt work out why until I realized I've been drinking a whole lot of milk lately. Go cows!

loool my skin started improving when i STOPPED consuming so much dairy!

Have any of you ever used Lush's Ultrabland cleanser? I am trying it out since my skin gets so incredibly dry in the winter. So far, it's p nice.

I'm a Kiehl's gentle foaming facial cleanser (which does not actually foam at all) gal year-round. I am liking the Cerave PM cream after washing, but my face is not uber dry. My hands, on the other hand. . . constant winter battle.

Jenny - ultrabland is v nice! I've used and liked it in the past. I guess Cetaphil is my go to but I switch things up a lot.

I use Cetaphil or Cerave cleanser half the year, but I basically desiccate starting about now until April. How is the Cerave PM?

The hand battle... Dear god. It's endless. Q, what is your hand cream of choice? I like L'Occitaine.

oh god the hand battle :(

My cuticles haven't recovered yet from the constant handwashing/hand sanitizer assault on them during my last job.

I try to hand moisturize at night so it can soak in, but it's not enough. I think I need to start drinking CRAZY amts of water, I don't know what else to do. I overwhelming prefer this weather to anything that happens between late June and early September, and my skin prefers it too and is the best in fall, but my hands get wet too often to survive.

my face exploded this week. i have not had a breakout like this in as long as i can remember. i am sad.

I keep this at my desk and reapply it PRN throughout the day: http://usa.loccitane.com/FO/shea-butter-nail-cuticle-cream.htm

There's no way I can justify spending $18 on cuticle cream right now, though.

try some olive oil, christine

I do like the l'occitane shea butter hand cream! I had forgotten about that. But really, other than "I can tolerate the texture and smell vs. I cannot tolerate the texture and smell" hand cream issue, it really hasn't mattered ime. I think the only way I could possibly win the hand war is to keep them coated in a thick layer of vaseline under a pair of gloves 94/7.

Ha, yeah.

That cuticle cream is pricey, no doubt. The tube I have has lasted over a year, though, so there's that. I am always on the lookout for cheaper drugstore alternatives.

I sample sized tube of Bliss (I think? Is that a brand?) hand cream but it smells strongly enough that I feel bad using it in public. I keep a giant pump bottle of Jergins original scent at my desk so I can reapply every time I wash my hands. That helps, but it's not quite enough in the winter. I used to regularly do the moisturizer and gloves trick but I read a lot of ebooks on my iPad now, which is incomparable with nighttime hand moisturizing.

The idea of sleeping in gloves kind of weirds me out for no good reason. But I should try it, because not only do my hands look like those of someone twice my age, it *hurts* to have cracked/chapped hands!

And then you try to fix it with cream and the cream STINGS when you apply gah

Jeff always makes jokes about sleeping next to Minnie Mouse when I do it but it does help.

Also I get why that would weird you out. It's weird. I usually pull them off during the night (I am an inveterate nocturnal clothes puller offer though).

Hahaha I just envision waking up in the middle of the night and having the overwhelming urge to pop some jazz hands.

IRL LOL

And, another thing--hangnails and skin cracks can let germs into your body just like any other broken skin can. People have contracted some pretty nasty infections that way.

jenny, sew some contact wire into the fingertips of the gloves - then you can still use the touch screen

i have a hard enough time sleeping with socks on, the gloves thing just freaks me out.

aveeno is my preferred hand cream. very hydrating and absorbs quickly. i have a trace of psoraiasis on my hands but it's good for normal skin too.

I can't sleep with socks on at all and there's no way I'd be able to do so with gloves.

I like the Ahava hand cream a lot but it smells sort of what I imagine diaper cream smelling like. It's not but bad it's just something I can't get past.

Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Therapy creams are really good. I still haven't found my holy grail handcream though. Still on the hunt and specifically for a good non-greasy one with SPF.

Agree w you, jed--Aveeno is my favorite body lotion, hands down, no pun intended, still feels moisturized and supple at the end of the day when I get home from work (or the next morning!).

The Crabtree & Ev ones have a wonderful silky feel, I agree with that also.

That's what I like about them. It sinks in immediately and is so silky feeling.

for ENBB: http://www.etsy.com/shop/amykarol?ref=pr_shop_more

^^ i got the balancing facial oil. i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. i've been doing the OCM nightly, followed by this face oil, avoiding getting my face wet in the morning shower and just dabbing a bit of vitamin e oil on, and using a neutrogena scrub every few days. my skin doesn't seem improved, i have some new dryness on my forehead and still clusters of blackheads near the corners of my mouth. i'm going to persist and see if this is a hump that i'll get over... i just want nice skin, damn it!

pretty much sold on DDF restorative serum followed by moisturizing dew right now

i am considering a huge splurge on luxurious skincare products in the next month or so.

KATE78 I need you!!!

Remember a while ago when you so awesomely sent me those RetinA samples? I remember at the time I started using them and got a couple huge zits and it freaked me out so I didn't see it through and stopped using it.

Because I am now officially pretty old I figured I should start on some retinoids so bought a cream and have used it approx 3 times and all of a sudden I have two zits on each cheek! They're not awful but this is really unusual for me. I don't really get pimples anywhere except my chin area. It's awful and making me feel really bad to the point of wanting to stop the cream. This is normal though and will stop, right?

:(

Yes, it is normal and will stop. The first 12 weeks or so of using retin-a/retinoid, your face will break out and look like hell, but stick with it! You may also notice some peeling/flaking. If that happens, maybe use it every other day to start and gently exfoliate. Use sunscreen. And as a reminder, retin-a is pregnancy category C drug, so it might be good to stop using it if you're gonna get knocked up.

12 weeks

TWELVE WEEKS?!

That is a long time. I'm only using it 2x a week right now as is. Hmmmm.

Oh, lol, there's no way I'm getting knocked up anytime during that time frame at all but thanking you for the tip. :)

Think of how lovely your skin will be! What are you using?
I think I sent you a link to this article before, but it's a good one: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/fashion/30skin.html

Hmmmm, yeah. I will try to tough it out.

I don't know if it's even any good but I bought Green Cream. I think I saw Mandee rec it on an old thread somewhere.

http://www.dermstore.com/profile_Green+Cream_500391.htm

Thank you, btw. :)

No problem! Remember to use that shit on your neck and top-boobs, too. And if you want anything stronger, just let me know.

hahaha top-boobs! I might be msging you for some advice in the near future if I need it. :)

i have always been scared of retinoids after using retin-a in my teen years and remembering how harsh it was! maybe i need to start using something more advanced now that i am old bc my skin is just... not young anymore :(

I just washed my face and this is depressing! I am going to soldier on though because I want retinoids to work for me. Overall (and before this retinoid induced freakout) I think my skin still looks pretty good but I guess the goal is to keep it like that, right? I will keep you all updated. 12 weeks. I can do this.

What is this stuff meant to do?
I have been acquiring lots of skincare stuff recently, I now use at least 4 products morning and night (one is medicated stuff though)

Retinoids are Vit A derivatives applied topically that are one of the few things actually really proven (by science!) to fight aging in skin. I believe they work by speeding up cell turnover leading to brighter skin and less fine lines etc. Retin A is the best but it's prescription strength and not sold OTC so it's expensive. There are less potent drugstore versions available, most notably the RoC line.

I bought this Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Soothing Lotion because I'm getting a little rosacea and my face is definitely red a lot and this shit stings and smells bad! Like, I put it on 30 minutes ago and it still stings! $15 down the drain!

Cerave 4 eva

I was recommended to use a glycolic facewash by a skincare clinic (I also have rosacea) and after 2 days I have the same problem as ENBB: massive zits right on my cheeks where I don't usually get any, and all sore all over my face, just horrible and I don't know whether to push on or stop using it.

take it back to the store!
xp

glycolic acid is not recommended for rosacea because of just that kind of reaction!

i was reading about Tretinoin (aka Retin-A and other brand names) for rosacea too and it seems it can work but it's all about the low dosage (0.025%) and building up. like, don't use it every day, just 2-3x week at night, after waiting 20 minutes after washing your face. seems the generic version of the drug isn't that pricey, actually... but for sensitive skin it's all about what it's formulated with, e.g., alcohol vs water base (water all the way) or whatevs. i haven't gone to a doc about it yet, but will.