suncream, zits and wrinkles: rolling skincare thread?

Theory confirmed, I didn't use the MFactor last night and I didn't have burning or redness. So I guess that's out. The Buffet and the Granactive 2% retinoid seem to be working great, though so of course I bought 3 more things from Deciem! Squalene cleanser, SPF 15 mineral block, and the Ascorbic Acid 15% sln. Jed, you said that was the biggest game-changer for you, so I cross my fingers!

I have a dry patch betw my eyebrows. Cld it be bec I have done my eyebrows w henna? Anyway finally started using Nivea and it seems better. Yes, I'm cheap. But apparently Nivea is pretty good quality. It's for dry ageing skin types. Lol i r old

EYECREAM. I seriously hate looking for one. Anyone have any recent loves? Maybe I should just get the Khiels avocado one and call it a day. I think I have only ever used it in a sample before.

Shiseido benefiance. Have used it for years and it’s the best.

I was thinking of that ^^^ because of your past rec! The price is holding me back a little because I never feel good about any eyecream. I was just reading something about eyecream not really being necessary unless your regular face moisturizer irritates your eyes or you think you need a targeted approach. I've been doing some crazy eyeshadows because of KJH and that is when i noticed some crepeyness for the first time.

Omg omg Yerac I was just coming to post that I’m going to meet her tomorrow night!

She’s here and doing some work with Elemis so it’s a meet and greet and skincare demo with a free goody bag worth £50 pounds and I’m very excited!!

The eye cream lasts about 6 months which is what makes me feel better about the price. Maybe there’s somewhere you can get a sample to see if you like it?

ask her what eye cream she uses! She's basically the only makeup person I look at (or can remember).

I am sure they will have the shiseido at duty free. so maybe I can apply some before my flight.

Ooh yea try that!!

Lol since it’s sponsored by Elemis she’d prob have to say something by them but I remember her really liking ole Hendrickson’s banana bright. And yeah I don’t follow any others either.

a friend was recommending one of the snail mucus eyecreams, but I dunno. I was looking it up on amazon but I am kind of leery about all the product reviews about possible counterfeit items and then all the paid reviews.

Oh yeah. I’ve read about that. :/

KJH????

Katie Jane Hughes. enbb turned me on to her. I am really into her makeup slant although I showed her to l4ur3n and she was like "tooooo shiny!" But I don't wear foundation, hate the look of contouring, and her eyeshadow is magnificent so she's a win for me.

Just tried my first Korean face mask, from a Facetory selection box (Carat Plane Crew Diamond Mask). Not sure quite what to expect, if anything, but my face does feel pleasantly cooled.

lmao ctrl+f says I have asked twice already and never followed through BUT I am 32 and feel like I should definitely positively start a nice skincare regimen?? My goal is basically to keep my skin looking the way it does now, like I'm fine w my skin aging naturally but I want to preserve it and keep it healthy and happy for as long as I can. I do not currently have skin that feels, idk, inadequate, or like I need to fix it. This is basically just for long-term maintenance.

1. The (unfortunately named) r/SkincareAddiction subreddit says a basic regimen is a cleanser, a moisturizer, and a sunscreen. This is a solid starting foundation, yes?

2. I really don't want to spend a lot (like more than $10-15 for any one of these products, unless it's going to last me months and months) and with so many options even at the drugstore, I should be able to pull all of this together for under $40-50, yes?

3. I have normal skin that does not get particularly greasy or particularly dry even if I don't wash my face for like 2 days, I don't wear any sort of makeup, and I am only in the sun for maybe a total of an hour a day (broken into morning/evening commute and maybe going out to get lunch or coffee), so I don't need anything particularly intense. I really want products that are going to feel as minimal and invisible as possible, bcz going from putting 0 things on my face a day to 3 is going to be an adjustment.

4. Should I explore a retinol? Is that a silly thing to jump to this early?

CLEANSER:
Since I'm only just cleaning a day's worth of dirt and oil from my face (also maybe sunscreen soon) and not makeup, I assume I don't need anything crazy (also I've just been using glycerin bar soap for several years and that's been just fine but ppl keep telling me I should stop), I've heard Cetaphil and CeraVe make good stuff?

MOISTURIZER:
My understanding is that these really don't penetrate v much and are thus better for short-term stuff or trying to make your current face look nicer, and not so much good for long term prevention, but maybe I should do it anyway? Like something I put on at night and let soak in? I really have no idea. But probably something lightweight since my face doesn't seem particularly thirsty.

SUNSCREEN:
My understanding is that this is the most important thing for preventing signs of aging. Would I apply it throughout the day every time I go outside? Or just once in the morning? I really don't get it bcz sunscreen only lasts for like 2 hours or so. I'm maybe willing to spend a little more here bcz I HATE sunscreen and really want it to feel as invisible as humanly possible. I've heard good things abt EltaMD, La Roche Posay, and Neutrogena.

I'm not really *into* skincare like as a lifestyle so none of this particularly excites me and I really don't want to buy a million things before I find the right thing, but I do understand that some tinkering and experimenting may be necessary. What is the best way to, like, try things?? Can I get samples from Sephora or Ulta? Will brands mail you samples if you ask? like what do I DO

imo - cleanser, just find whatever works for you. I have oily skin but I love oil cleansers (not balms although loads of people love them). Foaming or soapy cleansers make my skin feel tight.

moisturiser - personally I use a light one like Avene Hydrance Optimale Light (these are usually on special offer where I am so last a while) and this has spf20 in. Mainly as a base for makeup. I don't like heavier or greasier moisturisers but ymmv. Because of the spf I don't use an additional sunscreen except in summer (and have yet to find a really good one, but Ultrasun has been pretty ok! I agree this is where you should spend your money if you're gonna) although apparently you should every day because you won't get enough moisturiser on your face to give you the spf coverage. I don't know. Maybe a serum??

You can get things like leave-in creams for night which may or may not do anything - I'm happier to have something a bit heavier on my skin at night. Some have retinol iirc; I have not tried any retinols yet.

I am not a skincare expert though. You may find you actually don't really need anything - my husband doesn't. (Except sunscreen, always be safe in the sun, kids)

If you have insurance, I'd recommend visiting a dermatologist even just once. They will be able to tell you what is best for you and you can save time/energy/money trying to figure it out yourself.

Alternately, curology.com provides a service like that where you get a custom product based on your own needs and priorities. The first month is free so you can see if you like it. You gotta upload selfies and everything.

I know I'm a shill for The Ordinary but their squalane balm cleanser is seriously good.

I only washed my face morning and night and did a moisturizer at night until I hit my 40s. I really should've used a daily spf but I think I did well enough by being a vampire and always walking in the shade. I agree with the above about visiting a dermatologist at least once if you are able. Or getting some kind of consultation about your skin type. It's on the pricier side, although the bottle lasts a long time (half a year?), but I loved Kiehls ultra moisturizer for over a decade and was thinking of going back to it, I have never found a drugstore brand of face moisturizer that I like. If you buy one thing at kiehls they are very good about giving lots of samples. I am bad about moisturizing for the day but at night I slather it on my face. I have typical sensitive, oily asian skin so even though my skin doesn't feel thirsty, at night I make sure to keep it super moisturized. Also, insert mandatory *drink a lot of water*. I am a water pusher.

I think retinols are too early? I only just started dabbling in it. If you are outside for an hour I would definitely do a daily spf. Everything I have liked has been $20ish+ for a small bottle, because I also hate the feel of it (most recent is la roche posay anthelios line that was decently priced when on sale). I think any drugstore facewash is fine.

Not wearing sunscreen catches up to you. The sunspots will just magically start appearing one day.

Is that that ball of fire thing I see a few times a year?

I think of serums as doing the fixing and moisturisers as making my skin feel comfortable. So if you don’t feel like you have anything to fix, I guess you’ll be OK with just moisturiser (lucky you, ha!) and then it’s a bit of trial and error until you find one you like because it’s a bit of a personal thing.

Retinol is pretty harsh and gives loads of people dry patches around the nose and mouth if they go in too strong so I wouldn’t touch it unless you think you need it and then introduce it gradually. The Ordinary’s 0.2 in squalene is good and gentle if you start with it every other day.

I like balm and cream cleansers which you remove with hot water and a cloth because it’s a bit of daily exfoliation. My favourite is Garancia but I don’t know if you can get that in the US (I have to stock up on trips to France). Over here Superdrug does one which costs about £3 and is very good for the price - there must be a good value version over there.

I don’t like the feel of sunscreen so I use a tinted moisturiser with it in (and a Vit C serum now that I have sun patches appearing; it’s surprisingly effective at toning them down).

i didn't start skincare until i started transitioning in my 40s, but i've had really good results from just some really basic stuff. cetaphil facial cleanser, some vitamin c for the sunspots, and cerave moisturizer with sunscreen. it's made a huge difference in my skin.

I thought I still had very nice skin until I went to sephora to figure out foundation for an event and they did the deep analysis matching thing and I saw the scary sun damage that wasn't yet visible. My spouse started having sun spots and deeper lines come out in full force in his mid 40s so I have been mandating the spf and moisturizer.

Steve:

SPF: try a Korean one like cosrx or biore. They’re super light weight and generally don’t leave a white cast and are also affordable. Slather it on generously. Technically you should reapply every time you go outside but no one does that. Available on amazon for $10-15

Moisturizer: this is a sealant. You gotta put it on damp skin to prevent transepidermal water loss. CeraVe makes a cheap and gentle moisturizer you can get anywhere. Slather it on lightly. $10-15

Cleanser: go for CeraVe here as well.

Routine:
Rinse your face with tepid water in the morning, moisturize while damp, let it sit a couple mins to dry down, apply spf.
At night, use the cleanser with tepid water, (use it with a washcloth once a week and gently GENTLY massage your face to exfoliate). Moisturize while damp.

Extras:
Vit C serum - this is for advanced users bc there are different forms and formulas and a lot of vit c products are bogus.
Retinol - see a derm
Chemical exfoliant - highly recommend introducing an AHA into your routine. AlphaHydrox (I think they changed to just Alpha?) make a 12% glycolic cream that’s good. Apply it at night, after letting your moisturizer dry a few mins. ALWAYS USE SPF THE FOLLOWING DAY. These products keep your skin smooth.

Oh with the chemical exfoliant: patch test first! Some ppl are more sensitive to it then others. Start off using ONCE a week and increase to 3 x a week if you think your skin likes it.

Moisturizer: this is a sealant. You gotta put it on damp skin to prevent transepidermal water loss.

oh, this is good to know!

If you have skin that’s on the drier side, use a hyaluronic serum on damp skin first, then slap the moisturizer on top.

I like being fancy, so I DO pat my face dry after I wash it, then I use a mineral water spray to redampen it before applying products.

you're gonna laugh but I use one of those little battery-powered fans to dry down the layers.

The sunspots will just magically start appearing one day.

This is true. I can't even with the weird spots on the back of hands and chest and one on my neck and wtf is that thing on my face. I'm using AHA and BHA products (Dr. Gross - lol but super portable for all the travel I do) to resurface and lighten these definitely-not-freckles.

I splurged on Sunday Riley good genes and will kind of wish I hadn’t because it’s amazing and my skin hasn’t looked this good in years and now I can’t go back!!

OKAY HERE'S MY SKINCARE UPDATE:

CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser: this is... weird. I've never used a cleaning product that didn't lather and it's VERY off-putting at first just spreading goop on my face but after a few weeks with it I've gotten more used to it and it seems to be working okay. I don't mind it. I'd still like to try the Foaming Cleanser (I went to like 6 stores one afternoon trying to find a travel bottle of it and none of them had it in stock).

Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion: this is annoying because the product is pretty thin and the travel bottle has an opening the size of like a dime and it's a real pain in the ass to only get a small dollop out w/o overdoing it. I'm still getting used to this, it feels superfluous and it might be making my face greasy throughout the day. I try to only use like a pea-sized dab and I think I'm acclimating to it but I don't feel tied to this product in any way and will prob try something different when it runs out.

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion: I had this already for hands and elbow and I have to say I prefer it for my face too. It's thicker and it seems to dry/soak up quicker. I've only used it a few times though and should prob use it a little more.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 30: This is fine. And for me, "fine" is probably very great bcz I don't mind it and I ALWAYS mind sunscreen. I think my issues are less with the specific product and more with sunscreen itself, like it goes on fine and dries to a nice matte and I don't notice that it's there, it doesn't feel sticky or clammy or anything on my face, but whenever I touch my face w my hands I notice it's there.

My routine is the cleanser in the shower, and then as soon as I get out of the shower I do the moisturizer, and then 15045 minutes later I do the sunscreen.

I've noticed that my hand touches my face a LOT throughout the day! Like when I put my elbow on the table and rest my cheek on my hand, that sort of stuff. I'm trying to do it less.

All in all I think this is a pretty good start and it's only been 2 weeks but I've been sticking to it pretty consistently??

oh also after learning the thing where you put a blob on your finger and then make lots of dot dot dots all over your face has made applying minimal amounts with even coverage SO much easier! total game changer!

I am very bad about doing the dot thing. I just smear it everywhere. I am good about washing my hands a lot though (because I also overtouch my face).

If your skin is on the oilier side, a foaming cleanser is fine. Foam usually dries your skin out. But if not, stick to the hydrating cleanser - one or two pumps and massage it into your face for a minute or two.

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion: I had this already for hands and elbow and I have to say I prefer it for my face too. It's thicker and it seems to dry/soak up quicker. I've only used it a few times though and should prob use it a little more.

A+++++ Aveeno is magic for my skin. Everything else is basura.

But if you feel like even a light lotion is making you greasy, as a person with oily-ish skin that is really well suited for braving the winter wind and looking rosy-cheeked without chapping, may I recommend The Ordinary Buffet serum? It's super thin and watery and doesn't feel "moisturizing" at all but it is making my skin P E R F E C T. And it's like $8. Which frankly is about HALF the price of a bottle of Aveeno.

Also it comes in a frosted glass vial with a medicine dropper top so you feel like an uber glamorous tincture.

Honestly I love the concept of the ordinary, I would be into that. I have also determined that I will buy everything at drugstore prices (i.e. anything at a rug store, and also the ordinary).

I haven’t had coffee yet and was having a hard time figuring out how carpet pricing was factoring in here

lmao whoops

quincie i want to come visit you so we can do our skincare together and make like a 45 minute youtube video about it

I can introduce you to the ACID PEEL!!!

okay I tried the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser and it made my skin feel REALLY dry and tight! So I am sticking w the hydrating cleanser, which I just bought a huge bottle of from CVS an hour ago! As well as a big bottle of Aveeno. I feel like I have gotten into the skincare groove.

insofar as I will prob just use these 3 products (cerave cleanser, aveeno daily moisturizing lotion, neutrogena ultra sheer dry touch spf 30) in perpetuity

I still have most of a bottle of the st ives apricot scrub but now i'm worried it's too harsh on my face and I don't want to use it

you can use the st ives as a body scrub for rough areas or your butt.

yes. . . just ask a booty cleaner

Yeah apricot scrub is great for body, definitely avoid using on face.

still swear by korean/japanese skincare, but I've cut down my routine a fair bit after correcting the issues I had last year (mainly that chemical exfoliants just don't work for me!). Right now it's:
- double cleanse: Banila Co sherbet cleanser + Hada Labo foaming face wash
- Cosrx snail mucin essence, which I use pretty much as a moisturiser
- Sunplay skin aqua watery gel spf 50

I will recommend Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop if anyone wants to try a Vitamin C serum, by the way. it's not as potent as other vit c serums but it worked wonders for me, and isn't likely to irritate as much as some other brands might. it's a korean brand but widely available (and affordable) online in the US and elsewhere.

Ok so Sunday Riley good Genes and Skinfood Light seem to be my holy grails. Now I just need a good sunscreen. Is the wAtery biote one as good as everyone says?

I got the biore off amazon recently and it had a really strong alcohol smell that I don’t remember it having the last time I bought it

E, you might like this article about good genes and trying to find dupes: https://www.fanserviced-b.com/the-hunt-for-a-good-genes-dupe-17-lactic-acid-reviews/

Basically, she thinks using gg as a “special event” product and a cheaper lactic acid daily, is the way to go if you don’t have the $$ to drop on it regularly

isn't Glycolic the main active in gg? that article talks at length about lactic acid rather than glycolic.

They changed the biore watery essence formulation end 2017 I think? The reviews have not been as good, and yeah complaints about the smell.

The sunplay skin aqua sunscreen (also Japanese) has been my go to for the past couple of years. They have a few different formulas based on skin type, but all of them are super light and non-greasy.