Hey girls! Anybody start a retinol skin care routine?

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

I had seen a couple of comments here about trying retinol. Especially when staying home, because of the early breakouts. I had been thinking about doing this too! And I finally watched some really good youtubes from ladies that had learned how to do this and had been doing it for years. Wow they look great!

Is anybody else starting this right now. Does anybody want to talk and share how it is going? I think that the big thing is to start slow. And to use moisturizer like crazy. I know that the early breakout from the acne under there can happen. If you have acne. But the red and irritated and dry flaking skin doesn't have to happen.

I just started. I picked up some Differin. I figured I would start with that. I think it should be milder than any of the prescription type creams that have the real Retin A. Going off of what I learned from these ladies on youtube I got the Cereve moisturizing face wash, the Cereve pm face moisturizer and the Differen. I am also waiting for some Co Q 10 serum from Timeless. I was so afraid that this would be too greasy and sticky for my face. I always feel like I want my face to like really clean and dry and no oil. But these do not do that at all. I like them!

Anyhow, I think I have found out a lot about doing this. I am hearing that this isn't all about getting rid of the outer layer of skin. With all of the irritation and flaking and peeling and red skin. You don't want that. This isn't supposed to be like a peel. This is a treatment. This stuff works from deeper in your skin. It makes more collagen. And, it takes quite a bit of time. You have to start slow. Then your skin like gets used to it and you can gradually use more often. then you can use it every night. Then some people can use the stronger stuff without all of those problems.

Is anyone here seeing any good progress?

 

[FigmentSpark]

I haven't found a product in a 'trial' price range that I like. I have been using No7 products, but I don't think they are the full Retinol.

How do the products you're using smell?

 

[Eeyore daily]

I recently bought retinol oil since I heard it helps minimize pores but since I just started using it I can’t say it’s helped so far. Plus it’s not exclusively retinol.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I haven't found a product in a 'trial' price range that I like.

The Inkey List and The Ordinary both are well-reviewed and affordable.

 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Hello Figment! I really like the Differin and the two cerave products. They do not have any smell. And I would be like really sensitive to that! I have been learning a lot. I think best thing you can get just at the drug store is the Differin. That is what I am starting with. It is in the Acne section and it is cheap. It is the next best thing to getting real prescription retinol. The other beauty stuff in all of the face creams and beauty oils just doesn't even have enough to do anything. It is not real retin a. You can get the real thing online thru places that kind of operate under the table. Some of them ship from overseas. It is the real thing. One of these ladies I watched who have done their research and done this for years used to get hers by her doctor prescription. Back then she used to get her insurance to help pay for it. She now uses a place called Curology. lt is a really neat sounding service. You talk with them about your skin. Even send a picture. And they will send you a nice product with the amount you need and any other stuff in it like other acne meds. All together in a nice pump bottle. But that might be expensive!

I have ordered stuff thru Beauty Bliss. But, ohhh nooo!!!! They are not selling these products that should need a prescription any more. I am seeing one lady who is online who is now recommending one web page called reliablerxpharmacy. She has ordered from them for a while and contacted their customer service and everything.

You can watch the first few minutes of this video and it is one of the ones I think really explains a lot!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Hello Figment! I really like the Differin and the two cerave products. They do not have any smell. And I would be like really sensitive to that! I have been learning a lot. I think best thing you can get just at the drug store is the Differin. That is what I am starting with. It is in the Acne section and it is cheap. It is the next best thing to getting real prescription retinol. The other beauty stuff in all of the face creams and beauty oils just doesn't even have enough to do anything. It is not real retin a. You can get the real thing online thru places that kind of operate under the table. Some of them ship from overseas. It is the real thing. One of these ladies I watched who have done their research and done this for years used to get hers by her doctor prescription. Back then she used to get her insurance to help pay for it. She now uses a place called Curology. lt is a really neat sounding service. You talk with them about your skin. Even send a picture. And they will send you a nice product with the amount you need and any other stuff in it like other acne meds. All together in a nice pump bottle. But that might be expensive!

I have ordered stuff thru Beauty Bliss. But, ohhh nooo!!!! They are not selling these products that should need a prescription any more. I am seeing one lady who is online who is now recommending one web page called reliablerxpharmacy. She has ordered from them for a while and contacted their customer service and everything.

You can watch the first few minutes of this video and it is one of the ones I think really explains a lot!

Yeah, I see it's a prescription here, too.

 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Hello again! Here is another video that is good. But I don't know anything about this doctor at all.

 

[Lilsia]

My cousin is a dermatologist's physicians assistant. And when my teens started getting bad acne, she recommended differin gel. It works great and cleared up my teen's skin. She said that it used to be available only by prescription and that many people have had success with it. It is worth a try if you suffer from acne.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I started adding stuff to my skin care routine last spring, just about a year ago. I had been sick most of winter and felt it reflected in my skin/face. I didn't go right to retina A/retinoid but used other anti-aging products and retinols (the weaker versions) because I have dry somewhat sensitive skin that tends to overreact, probably due to allergies. I'll say this, if you really want to tell, you should start taking pictures of your face everyday, starting now. I felt it was difficult for me to say whether I could see progress or not. Now, I started slow, starting about once per week with the strongest stuff, but daily with the not so strong stuff (hyaluronic acid, vitamin c). I built up to using the retinol-containing stuff maybe 3 times per week. I didn't have any issues until winter came. In December I started breaking out way more than is usual for me. It is probably because my skin is just too dry in the winter to tolerate it. So I went back to a very simple routine for the winter (wash and moisturize, no other products) and my face cleared up. I just started about a week or 2 ago working the products back in since it's getting warmer again.

 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Hey! Can you tell us what face wash and moisturizer lotion you are using? I think you do have to be careful if you have sensitive skin. The milder retinol might be okay, but maybe it is making your skin more sensitive to other ingredients. A lot of people say that when you do this, everything has to be mild and not make your skin sensitive. Is vitamin c supposed to be mild? It makes me think of acid. like citric acid? The stuff I have been watching mentions good things might be niacinimide and co q 10 serum.

 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Some of these ladies who do this started to try to get rid of adult acne. And then when they saw what they could do, they started doing it all the time!. My nephew tried the proactive differin and he probably didn't know that it could get worse at first. He was like I can't use this stuff it is killing me!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

So honestly, nothing in particular is my go-to product. I rotate face washes and moisturizers based on what I feel I need that particular day. I have tried many, many things at pretty much every price point.

I have really dry skin that flakes so I like heavier moisturizers. I like "the dewy look." One of my recent favorites, though pricy, is Tatcha's dewy skin cream. I love the smell and the texture and the way it makes my skin look. I also like Belif's moisture bomb, Clinique's moisture surge, and Youth to the People's adaptogen. I like many of the Olay and Pond's products as well. I loved Sephora's sleeping masks, before they discontinued them in favor of the sheet masks (which I don't like at all). I have even tried the exceedingly expensive (imo) Fresh Crème Ancienne and it is almost downright greasy. A little goes a long way and it smells great and I like it but I really can't recommend for someone unless they have skin as dry as me, or drier (if that's possible) and I can definitely find things I like as much or more at a much, much lower price.

I always use an eye cream. Again I'm not too picky here but I have sensitive eyes and bad allergies so it's more about finding something not irritating and moisturizing than anything else. Since I have terrible allergies I also have terrible dark circles. I have never found anything where I was like, OMG this got rid of my dark circles! Belif moisture bomb for eyes is ok, I find it slightly irritating if it gets into my eye. I really like the Crème Ancienne eye cream, again though super expensive it really helps with dry skin around the eye area. I usually couple it with Benefit's It's Potent, which I find does give a slight brightening affect for my under eye circles but only if I use it regularly. I am trying a couple of eminence products (hibiscus eye ultra lift, you can feel it tightening; neroli age corrective serum; and marine flower peptide eye cream) but I haven't been using them long enough to decide if I would repurchase. I very very rarely wear makeup, so no concealer for me, but I can say good things about Tatcha's The Pearl. If I had any complaint it would be that the package is too large because you use so little of it and it will surely go bad before I can ever use it all. I've never used this as a standalone cream but rather over my regular eye cream. It does brighten up the under eye nicely without being full coverage like a concealer.

Face wash I tend to rotate between Clean & Clear deep action cream cleanser and then something else milder. Whenever I do feel the occasional break out coming on, the clean & clear helps keep it from materializing usually. But it's a bit drying to use everyday in winter, so that's when I rotate it with a milder face wash. Right now it's a Cetaphil, but I'm not really particular about the brand as long as it's gentle and not drying. The Drunk Elephant bars (pekee and juju) are nice and I've also liked the face wash "sticks" I've tried (St Ives, H2O)

For hyaluronic acid I've used The Ordinary, Cerave, and Cosmedica, didn't feel like there was any real difference between them (they are all affordable), but the Cerave is more like a light lotion and the others like a serum. It's supposed to be good for keeping moisture in if you apply it right after washing while your face is still damp.

I tried a couple expensive Vitamin C serums (Volition beauty, loved the texture and lack of scent; Sunday Riley - hated hated hated the orange scent and would not purchase again) and a cheap one from TJ Maxx (don't remember the brand). I also have a Tatcha one and a Cerave one in my bathroom closet right now that I will try when the TJ Maxx one runs out).

For retinols I've really only tried 2: Murad Retinol Youth Renewal and Sunday Riley Luna. I didn't really have any reactions with either up to 3 days a week prior to the wintertime issue, other than my neck not really tolerating especially the Murad. So even though you are supposed to use the same products from the décolletage up I use a different anti-aging moisturizer (Pond's) below my face. I didn't care as much for the Murad and I really didn't like the smell, but Luna has a peculiar scent as well and I could see a lot of people with oily skin feeling odd putting oil on. I follow the Luna with the Sunday Riley Good Genes, which people seem to swear by, but I'm not sure. It does smell really good though. I also hate the packaging so I'm not sure if I'll repurchase when I run out. I have I have The Inkey List out to try next but again I will probably start at one day per week with that.

 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

That is a lot of good info on different products! Wow! Here is another good video that was just popped up for me. I've had too much time to look at this stuff being here at home! Anyhow, this is another lady who has been doing this for years. She has used a dermatologist to get her retin a and tried the Cureology service. And she is now getting hers from another online place like that called Apostrophe. She seems to really like them. A lot of promo going on!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I really like the lady from the first video you linked, hot & flashy I think is her youtube channel. Her skin looks so great for her age. I've watched a few of her videos about order of skincare routine and concealers.

 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

I think she is like you and likes to use a lot of products! With sensitive skin, like you, and with so many products and ingredients I am starting out keeping it simple.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I think she is like you and likes to use a lot of products! With sensitive skin, like you, and with so many products and ingredients I am starting out keeping it simple.

She definitely uses way more than I do! I for sure prefer a simpler routine: wash, serum or 2, eye cream, moisturizer. But as I get older that tune may change...
I've had Birchbox and Sephora play subscriptions in the past, so I have gotten to try a lot of samples. I'm lucky in that usually my skin doesn't react to trying new things, and I can usually quickly pinpoint when something is a problem because my skin is so reactive. But I also am careful about what I try out because of those reasons. I know what I posted was super long, but I wanted to show the other poster also that you can find a good skin care routine that works for you at any price point.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes! The things I am starting with are pretty cheap.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I am also waiting for some Co Q 10 serum from Timeless.

I am looking forward to your review of this!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Hello again! Here is another video that is good. But I don't know anything about this doctor at all.

very interesting. I just realized my DS15 was just put on Retin-A .1% for bad acne. After a week of using it as prescribed by our doctor, his acne has been cut in half. But he is also getting red dry splotches on his skin. Luckily for him, we are using it on his back, not his face. After watching your video, I can see now that this is a reaction, so I've cut back on it a bit until his skin is able to get used to using the cream. But I can tell you from an acne standpoint, it's doing amazing things.