Beauty

[MarenSeattle]

On 8/23/2014 Beejene said:

On 8/22/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/22/2014 Beejene said:

I have been using Retin A for a few years and it does not cause broken capillaries. Retinol is not as potent as Retin A (Tretinoin). I started with 0.025% twice a week, then advanced to every other day and now I use it every day. You should get a lower dose of REtin A and wait 30 - 60 minutes AFTER you wash you face before you put it on. That will eliminate the burning. Why are you using microdermabrasion cream in the first place. Retin A/ (tretinoin) should be sufficient. FYI, I use Retin A 30 - 60 minutes after washing my face (with my clarisonic) in the evening. An hour after applying it I follow with Cerave moisturizer (it was recommended by my dermatologist and can be purchased anywhere.) In the morning, after washing my face - 10 minutes later I apply SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum wait 5 minutes apply my make-up. I go to one of very good Dermatologist and this is the regimen she has me on for over a year and it works great. All of my friends follow the same regimen and they go to different doctors so this must be a standard that works.

I had used the microdermabrasion cream prior to the Retin-a and liked it. I thought I could finish using it up by only using it once a week. Like I said in my above post, live and learn. Please tell me your morning routine requires a good sunscreen. I use a vitamin c serum every AM too. It's a nonnegotiable item for me:-)

Yes, I use an SPF 50 every day.

That makes my heart happy! :-)

[UMDTerpFan]

On 8/20/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/20/2014 griffy said:

On 8/19/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/19/2014 Kind1too said:

On 8/19/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/19/2014 eysie said:

I have very sensitive skin and have been using Retin-A (tretinoin) for years. I started with .025% and now use .05% nightly.

My personal philosophy about skincare is "less is more." With my sensitive skin, I would never touch peels or microdermabrasion. Microderm can easily cause broken capillaries. As far as my knowledge of tretinoin, it does not cause broken capillaries. It stimulates the formation of new blood vessels, but that is good for skin because it increases circulation which delivers nutrients to the skin and takes away waste products. These new blood vessels are not seen at the surface level! If you happen to have rosacea, the harshness of tretinoin can aggravate rosacea, causing the skin to look redder. I had mild rosacea when I started tretinoin and just avoided applying it to the inner cheeks where my rosacea was. My rosacea has since gone away, so I can apply it all over now.

If it were me and I wanted to use tretinoin, I would go to a bare bones skin regimen - cleanser for sensitive skin, the tretinoin, and sunscreen. That's it. The more product you use (even high end products), the more chemicals you are putting on your face. You should start with tretinoin .025% nightly. If that causes irritation, use every other night. No one I know has ever started with such a high strength of .1%.

ETA: Make sure your skin is dry after washing it and before applying tretinoin. That should be at least 20-30 minutes. Applying it to damp skin can cause irritation. The same for using a moisturizer first. Allow the moisturizer to be absorbed, about 30 minutes, then you can apply the tretinoin.

Thank you for all the information. I luckily don't have to worry about rosacea. That's wonderful that yours is under control. I like your idea of simplifying and I have done some of that. I'm using Josie Maran' s Argan milk and oils for moisture. I could skip my BHA but I couldn't give up using a vitamin c serum. I notice a big difference in my skin using vitamin c. I know that Maneula from Isomers feels her Retiniacin is enough for exfoliation and doesn't recommend using chemical exfoliaters with it, so it may be a good idea to at least hold off on using my BHA until I've used the Retin-a or Retinol awhile. I'm still undecided. I really want to be gentle to my skin but I want to use effective products too.

What kind of improvement does the Vit. C make?

Vitamin C really brightens my skin. I use it all over even around my eyes. My skin can get a ruddy dull look but vitamin c gives me an even complexion and a nice glow. It's a visible difference for me. I'm lightening my brown spots with a prescription hydroquinone. Vitamin C is important to me to keep my skin even in the long run. It's a great antioxidant and it can both lighten and prevent brown spots.

What brand of Vitamin C do you use?

I just started using NCN' s vitamin c serum today. I'm hopeful that it will be my HG because it has the best ingredient deck I've found for an L-Ascorbic acid serum. I think if you prefer one without L-Ascorbic acid, I'd highly recommend Isomers vitamin c stem serum. I've really got into testing the ph of my products and have read a lot of information about ph of both our products and what our skin should be. Both of these serums tested what they should to be effective.

Myshell, did you try Isomers Vitamin C stem serum? I didn't like it-it has particles in it that were hard to dissolve and absorb into my skin. And I did not notice much improvement in tone, etc so I moved on. In fact, I didn't like anything in the C Stem line.

An article in the August edition of Allure magazine says to put retinol/retin A on last after moisturizer. Layer serums, then vitamin C, then moisturizing creams, then oils then retinol at night. "Moisturizing helps retinol to penetrate better with less irritation" per Dr. Frederick Brandt. For those with sensitive skin, they recommend moisturizing first, then putting on serums & vitamin C. The article is on page 124 for anyone interested in reading it.

[myshell624]

On 8/23/2014 UMTerpFan said:

On 8/20/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/20/2014 griffy said:

On 8/19/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/19/2014 Kind1too said:

On 8/19/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/19/2014 eysie said:

I have very sensitive skin and have been using Retin-A (tretinoin) for years. I started with .025% and now use .05% nightly.

My personal philosophy about skincare is "less is more." With my sensitive skin, I would never touch peels or microdermabrasion. Microderm can easily cause broken capillaries. As far as my knowledge of tretinoin, it does not cause broken capillaries. It stimulates the formation of new blood vessels, but that is good for skin because it increases circulation which delivers nutrients to the skin and takes away waste products. These new blood vessels are not seen at the surface level! If you happen to have rosacea, the harshness of tretinoin can aggravate rosacea, causing the skin to look redder. I had mild rosacea when I started tretinoin and just avoided applying it to the inner cheeks where my rosacea was. My rosacea has since gone away, so I can apply it all over now.

If it were me and I wanted to use tretinoin, I would go to a bare bones skin regimen - cleanser for sensitive skin, the tretinoin, and sunscreen. That's it. The more product you use (even high end products), the more chemicals you are putting on your face. You should start with tretinoin .025% nightly. If that causes irritation, use every other night. No one I know has ever started with such a high strength of .1%.

ETA: Make sure your skin is dry after washing it and before applying tretinoin. That should be at least 20-30 minutes. Applying it to damp skin can cause irritation. The same for using a moisturizer first. Allow the moisturizer to be absorbed, about 30 minutes, then you can apply the tretinoin.

Thank you for all the information. I luckily don't have to worry about rosacea. That's wonderful that yours is under control. I like your idea of simplifying and I have done some of that. I'm using Josie Maran' s Argan milk and oils for moisture. I could skip my BHA but I couldn't give up using a vitamin c serum. I notice a big difference in my skin using vitamin c. I know that Maneula from Isomers feels her Retiniacin is enough for exfoliation and doesn't recommend using chemical exfoliaters with it, so it may be a good idea to at least hold off on using my BHA until I've used the Retin-a or Retinol awhile. I'm still undecided. I really want to be gentle to my skin but I want to use effective products too.

What kind of improvement does the Vit. C make?

Vitamin C really brightens my skin. I use it all over even around my eyes. My skin can get a ruddy dull look but vitamin c gives me an even complexion and a nice glow. It's a visible difference for me. I'm lightening my brown spots with a prescription hydroquinone. Vitamin C is important to me to keep my skin even in the long run. It's a great antioxidant and it can both lighten and prevent brown spots.

What brand of Vitamin C do you use?

I just started using NCN' s vitamin c serum today. I'm hopeful that it will be my HG because it has the best ingredient deck I've found for an L-Ascorbic acid serum. I think if you prefer one without L-Ascorbic acid, I'd highly recommend Isomers vitamin c stem serum. I've really got into testing the ph of my products and have read a lot of information about ph of both our products and what our skin should be. Both of these serums tested what they should to be effective.

Myshell, did you try Isomers Vitamin C stem serum? I didn't like it-it has particles in it that were hard to dissolve and absorb into my skin. And I did not notice much improvement in tone, etc so I moved on. In fact, I didn't like anything in the C Stem line.

An article in the August edition of Allure magazine says to put retinol/retin A on last after moisturizer. Layer serums, then vitamin C, then moisturizing creams, then oils then retinol at night. "Moisturizing helps retinol to penetrate better with less irritation" per Dr. Frederick Brandt. For those with sensitive skin, they recommend moisturizing first, then putting on serums & vitamin C. The article is on page 124 for anyone interested in reading it.

Yes I've tried Isomers vitamin c stem line. I did like the serum. Are you confusing the serum and cream? The cream is the one that had the little beads and they didn't dissolve that great for me either. The serum is the only one that I really liked. The eye serum stung my eye, the cleanser left residue on my face and I didn't care for the beads in the cream.

Thanks for the information you read in the article. I know Katluvr puts her Retin-a on over moisturizer. I might give it a try. I'm still a little undecided on the Retin-a. I am using my Paula's Choice Resist Retinol Serum and its not irritating at all.

[myshell624]

On 8/23/2014 Beejene said:

On 8/22/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/22/2014 Beejene said:

I have been using Retin A for a few years and it does not cause broken capillaries. Retinol is not as potent as Retin A (Tretinoin). I started with 0.025% twice a week, then advanced to every other day and now I use it every day. You should get a lower dose of REtin A and wait 30 - 60 minutes AFTER you wash you face before you put it on. That will eliminate the burning. Why are you using microdermabrasion cream in the first place. Retin A/ (tretinoin) should be sufficient. FYI, I use Retin A 30 - 60 minutes after washing my face (with my clarisonic) in the evening. An hour after applying it I follow with Cerave moisturizer (it was recommended by my dermatologist and can be purchased anywhere.) In the morning, after washing my face - 10 minutes later I apply SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum wait 5 minutes apply my make-up. I go to one of very good Dermatologist and this is the regimen she has me on for over a year and it works great. All of my friends follow the same regimen and they go to different doctors so this must be a standard that works.

I had used the microdermabrasion cream prior to the Retin-a and liked it. I thought I could finish using it up by only using it once a week. Like I said in my above post, live and learn. Please tell me your morning routine requires a good sunscreen. I use a vitamin c serum every AM too. It's a nonnegotiable item for me:-)

Yes, I use an SPF 50 every day.

Great! It sounds like you have a great routine but I always worry if I don't see sunscreen. I think it's the most important anti aging product we can use. I have used Cerave products before. Their moisturizer in the big tub is one of my favorites for winter. My whole family uses it.

[UMDTerpFan]

On 8/23/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/23/2014 UMTerpFan said:

On 8/20/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/20/2014 griffy said:

On 8/19/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/19/2014 Kind1too said:

On 8/19/2014 myshell624 said:

On 8/19/2014 eysie said:

I have very sensitive skin and have been using Retin-A (tretinoin) for years. I started with .025% and now use .05% nightly.

My personal philosophy about skincare is "less is more." With my sensitive skin, I would never touch peels or microdermabrasion. Microderm can easily cause broken capillaries. As far as my knowledge of tretinoin, it does not cause broken capillaries. It stimulates the formation of new blood vessels, but that is good for skin because it increases circulation which delivers nutrients to the skin and takes away waste products. These new blood vessels are not seen at the surface level! If you happen to have rosacea, the harshness of tretinoin can aggravate rosacea, causing the skin to look redder. I had mild rosacea when I started tretinoin and just avoided applying it to the inner cheeks where my rosacea was. My rosacea has since gone away, so I can apply it all over now.

If it were me and I wanted to use tretinoin, I would go to a bare bones skin regimen - cleanser for sensitive skin, the tretinoin, and sunscreen. That's it. The more product you use (even high end products), the more chemicals you are putting on your face. You should start with tretinoin .025% nightly. If that causes irritation, use every other night. No one I know has ever started with such a high strength of .1%.

ETA: Make sure your skin is dry after washing it and before applying tretinoin. That should be at least 20-30 minutes. Applying it to damp skin can cause irritation. The same for using a moisturizer first. Allow the moisturizer to be absorbed, about 30 minutes, then you can apply the tretinoin.

Thank you for all the information. I luckily don't have to worry about rosacea. That's wonderful that yours is under control. I like your idea of simplifying and I have done some of that. I'm using Josie Maran' s Argan milk and oils for moisture. I could skip my BHA but I couldn't give up using a vitamin c serum. I notice a big difference in my skin using vitamin c. I know that Maneula from Isomers feels her Retiniacin is enough for exfoliation and doesn't recommend using chemical exfoliaters with it, so it may be a good idea to at least hold off on using my BHA until I've used the Retin-a or Retinol awhile. I'm still undecided. I really want to be gentle to my skin but I want to use effective products too.

What kind of improvement does the Vit. C make?

Vitamin C really brightens my skin. I use it all over even around my eyes. My skin can get a ruddy dull look but vitamin c gives me an even complexion and a nice glow. It's a visible difference for me. I'm lightening my brown spots with a prescription hydroquinone. Vitamin C is important to me to keep my skin even in the long run. It's a great antioxidant and it can both lighten and prevent brown spots.

What brand of Vitamin C do you use?

I just started using NCN' s vitamin c serum today. I'm hopeful that it will be my HG because it has the best ingredient deck I've found for an L-Ascorbic acid serum. I think if you prefer one without L-Ascorbic acid, I'd highly recommend Isomers vitamin c stem serum. I've really got into testing the ph of my products and have read a lot of information about ph of both our products and what our skin should be. Both of these serums tested what they should to be effective.

Myshell, did you try Isomers Vitamin C stem serum? I didn't like it-it has particles in it that were hard to dissolve and absorb into my skin. And I did not notice much improvement in tone, etc so I moved on. In fact, I didn't like anything in the C Stem line.

An article in the August edition of Allure magazine says to put retinol/retin A on last after moisturizer. Layer serums, then vitamin C, then moisturizing creams, then oils then retinol at night. "Moisturizing helps retinol to penetrate better with less irritation" per Dr. Frederick Brandt. For those with sensitive skin, they recommend moisturizing first, then putting on serums & vitamin C. The article is on page 124 for anyone interested in reading it.

Yes I've tried Isomers vitamin c stem line. I did like the serum. Are you confusing the serum and cream? The cream is the one that had the little beads and they didn't dissolve that great for me either. The serum is the only one that I really liked. The eye serum stung my eye, the cleanser left residue on my face and I didn't care for the beads in the cream.

Thanks for the information you read in the article. I know Katluvr puts her Retin-a on over moisturizer. I might give it a try. I'm still a little undecided on the Retin-a. I am using my Paula's Choice Resist Retinol Serum and its not irritating at all.

I tried the entire Isomers C Stem line when it first came out. I think I threw the eye serum out-it dried out the skin on my lower lids & made the skin around my eyes look darker. I had the same issue with the moisturizer-clumps that did not dissolve and absorb into the skin. I tried everything including applying to a damp face. The cleanser just never rinsed clean-left a residue on my skin. I think that line is what finally turned me off of Isomers. I do like her Accelerated Recover Serum, R Intensive Serum and R Pur for eyes serum. But I thought the C serum also had bits of stuff in it? I may have some unused left I will have to check. I'm currently using Paula's Choice Resist C15. It's not cheap at $45. And I've used up more than half the bottle and not certain I'm seeing any results. Plus having some small breakout issues on the top of one cheek. I've had those issues before with other products too so it could be an ingredient in the Resist C that is causing it. The Resist C has a lot of other stuff in it besides C-like castor oil, and some kind of a slip agent and I am not crazy about those kinds of additives to a vitamin C serum. So I may not reorder-may try ASDM next. You're welcome about the article in Allure magazine. About a year ago I'd read another article in one of the magazines where another dermatologist said the same thing about order of usage. I read that moisturizer cannot penetrate over top of retinol but retinol over top serums, oils and moisturizer helps those products to penetrate deeper into the epidermis. So I just tried reversing order myself a couple of nights ago.

[myshell624]

On 8/23/2014 UMTerpFan said

<br />

I tried the entire Isomers C Stem line when it first came out. I think I threw the eye serum out-it dried out the skin on my lower lids & made the skin around my eyes look darker. I had the same issue with the moisturizer-clumps that did not dissolve and absorb into the skin. I tried everything including applying to a damp face. The cleanser just never rinsed clean-left a residue on my skin. I think that line is what finally turned me off of Isomers. I do like her Accelerated Recover Serum, R Intensive Serum and R Pur for eyes serum. But I thought the C serum also had bits of stuff in it? I may have some unused left I will have to check. I'm currently using Paula's Choice Resist C15. It's not cheap at $45. And I've used up more than half the bottle and not certain I'm seeing any results. Plus having some small breakout issues on the top of one cheek. I've had those issues before with other products too so it could be an ingredient in the Resist C that is causing it. The Resist C has a lot of other stuff in it besides C-like castor oil, and some kind of a slip agent and I am not crazy about those kinds of additives to a vitamin C serum. So I may not reorder-may try ASDM next. You're welcome about the article in Allure magazine. About a year ago I'd read another article in one of the magazines where another dermatologist said the same thing about order of usage. I read that moisturizer cannot penetrate over top of retinol but retinol over top serums, oils and moisturizer helps those products to penetrate deeper into the epidermis. So I just tried reversing order myself a couple of nights ago.

I have got tired of kits which is why I'm buying more from brands like Paula's Choice, ASDM, and NCN. I can order just what I want. All of the little brown bottles can get a little annoying with Isomers too. I tried PC C15 and it started to make my skin a little pink and burn after about a week. I usually have issues with L-Ascorbic acid. I'm on day 4 with NCN and so far I haven't had any problems. Nancy's has MAP which has always worked good for me in addition to the 20% L-ascorbic acid. I think the MAP really does make it more gentle. ASDM does have a 15% L-ascorbic acid serum that Sweet Susie is using and likes. If you don't have problems with L-Ascorbic acid, it might be a good choice. She's posted about it on the ASDM sale thread if you want to see how she likes it.