Beauty

[SilleeMee]

@monicakm 

What type of VC are you using? Ascorbic?

[monicakm]

@SilleeMee 

Yes

[monicakm]

 And I just looked.  I have another bottle in the fridge.  I'll continue using it in the AM and pair the LA at night with Retinol,GA  and Niacinamide if it's ok

[SilleeMee]

@monicakm 

Here's my recommendation based on what I know about VC. But first...once VC has absorbed into the skin some of it gets processed right away and some of it goes into intercellular spaces between skin cells. A reservoir of water-based ingredients go there. Even if you skip a day or sometimes two days, the VC will be present in the skin reservoirs. So you can skip a day and still have the benefits from yesterday's VC application. That day would be a good day to apply your other stuff...the stuff that isn't compatible with VC. 

A routine of every-other-day with the VC or use VC at opposite ends of the clock from your other stuff.

Another thing about VC is that once it gets absorbed you cant just wipe it away. Once it goes into the skin, it's in there for the duration until it gets used up.

[NYCLatinaMe]

Take care @monicakm so you can get better.  

I just noticed the glycolic I am currently using has Vitamin C.  Not sure this should concern me.  No irritation issues.  I like the pads, so I use Lumiwill Glycolic Acid Pads 35% - Peel Pads with Natural Glycolic Acid, Vitamin B5, C, E from Amazon.  Very affordable.  After skin dries, I apply generours amounts of the PTR Retinol Fusion PM Serum that is a time-released microencapsulated 1.5% retinol with vitamins C and E! Ha!  Only noticed that now.  Maybe I should read the labels of the products I am using!  Looks like I use lots of Vitamin C!  I didn't know.  I just look at the percentages of the ingredients I am interested in.

Currently I am then apply StriVectin, but this is the part of my routine that I vary the most.  

When going out I add sunscreen, sometimes make-up.

I am generally happy with my skin except for the sagging due to weightloss.  I stopped dieting to give the skin time to catch up.  It is improving.  I started Vital Proteins after I saw the sagging, and maybe that has helped, it is definitely better.  I have some wrinkling here and there but no big deal.  I have patchy skin that bothers me, freckles that don't.  The freckles all my life, the patchy skin since my thirties, probably because I didn't start with sunscreen until well into my forties, when the texture started showing up.  Didn't know any better.  Ocasionally use Porcelana on the patches.  Might be fading a little.

I will be trying red light and/or microfrequency to see if they help with the sag.

[monicakm]

@NYCLatinaMe 

Is this what  you use?

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@monicakm wrote:

@NYCLatinaMe 

Is this what  you use?

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That's it!  I don't know, maybe my routine is bad, but it does keep my skin smooth.  Notice the difference when I skip a few days.

I think trying the tretinoin is a great idea.  If I knew someone who could prescribe it for me, I would be all over that.  Don't want to spend the money on a derm.  I probably will have to, to get rid of the sag.  Not there yet.  @SilleeMee has posted she uses the Tretinoin .05% cream, a generic brand called Retino-A.  I think there is also a gel version for oily skin, but the cream is for dry skin which I have.  @SilleeMee has also written that those starting out with tretinoin may prefer to start out with a low-dose formulation, and that the next one down would be 0.025%.  I made a note of all this because I want to buy it when I have the guts,  She has posted she buys from an Indian pharmacy, AllDayChemist dot com.  It takes time to ship but she finds them reliable.  I have looked at it and it is very affordable.  Probably a better value (and more effective) than the PTR that I buy.  I don't want to worry about an overseas purchase at this time, and that is the only thing holding me back.  I will get there, because I do think it's better.  I like the PTR because I put it in a spray bottle, easy to apply.  QVC sells the gigantic bottles I buy. 

[monicakm]

@NYCLatinaMe 

$7.50 for the .025 tube??  Whoa!  Seems like mom used to pay close to $100.  I could be wrong.  She used 0.1%, I think.  She's used it for decades and has had beautiful skin.  She no longer uses it.  She's aged so much since my brother died and they had to leave their home

[monicakm]

@NYCLatinaMe 

Would your regular Dr not write a prescription for it?  

If you are happy with your complexion, your routine isn't bad.

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@monicakm wrote:

@NYCLatinaMe 

Would your regular Dr not write a prescription for it?  

If you are happy with your complexion, your routine isn't bad.

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No, I don't think he would write a prescription just because I asked.  And it would be for cosmetic purposes, which he doesn't treat.  

Many many years ago, I think early 90s, I went to a derm that a friend went to regularly, they prescribed her the retina and gave her facials covered by prescription.  But she had acne and I did not. Retina is a medicine for acne, the skin smoothing is a side effect, and doctors can prescribe off label for that.  He recommended to me some products that he sold in his office, and I later found out were not available in regular retail then.  They made a positive difference in my skin.  I think it was glycolic acid, and some other stuff.  But since I did not have a medical condition (no acne), I had to pay for everything out of pocket, and I decided not to spend my money that way, which would have been a lot for me at the time.  Several hundred dollars for everything, each visit.  Since it is prescription, I would have to see the doctor regularly for monitoring.  The derm was Trish McEvoy's husband, before she had a cosmetic line.  She did the facials!

With regards to the prices at AllDayChemist, maybe it's cheaper because it is from India.  No prescription needed.